Minnesota House of Representatives
Republican Caucus

Most Americans can remember where they were on that fateful morning of September 11th, when our country was rocked by a terrorist attack not only aimed at instilling fear in the hearts of Americans, but dealing a massive blow to our economy. The terrorists understood that our economy is based not on bricks and mortar or gold and silver, but on the confidence of our people.

Although economists can argue about when this recession started and what the lasting effect of the September 11th attack is, there is no question that it has had economic ramifications that are now hitting everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.

The State of Minnesota has not been immune to this economic downturn. In fact, the critical importance of the airline and tourism industry to our state's economy might even have made the blow to the North Star State even more forceful than in other areas.

The economic downturn has dealt our state budget a blow as well. Income and sales tax returns are down, causing a budget deficit of nearly two billion dollars. Almost every state in the country is facing a deficit, having to make tough choices about state taxes and spending.

As Speaker of the House, I'm proud of the prudent and responsible way we shaped the budget for the current biennium. We increased the state's "rainy day fund" to $653 million. We have a cash flow account of roughly $350 million. And during the special legislative session in June, the Legislature and Governor left more than $230 million on the bottom line unspent as well as another $158 million that reverted back in a special account at the end of the budget year. No one could have predicted the magnitude of the September 11th aftermath, but we are as well prepared as we can be.

Minnesota is in one of the strongest positions of any state in the nation to deal with the budget deficit caused by our national recession. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 45 states are dealing with budget deficits.

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That is why it is so unfortunate to see Democrats in the Senate and House engaging in the most tasteless kind of partisanship by trying to blame Governor Ventura and House Republicans for the budget deficit. They say we should have kept Minnesotans' tax rebate this year so we could better confront our current budgetary situation.

Those Democrats who try to bring partisanship at a time when we should be united are forgetting some important facts:

· The tax bill that passed the House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan vote of 117 to 16 and the Senate 52 to 11 provided a much-needed economic stimulus. When the economy is slowing, putting more money in the pockets of working families makes more sense that letting the state bureaucracy continue to grow unchecked.

· While the DFL was in control of the Legislature in the early 1990's, our state budget nearly doubled. If looking to pin blame, it might be more appropriate to look at the DFL's decades of excessive spending rather than a relatively small tax cut that gave working Minnesotans back a small fraction of what they pay in taxes.

House Republicans are committed to balancing the state budget. Since such a significant portion of our tax revenue comes during the holiday season, we need to wait until February to see the full impact of the recession on our state budget.

A balanced budget will come from a combination of tapping our reserves as well as prudently cutting state spending. After a decade of budget surpluses, it is a much-needed exercise for us to find ways to do things more efficiently. It will be important to protect local schools, nursing homes and public safety from any spending reductions.

House Republicans stand wholeheartedly opposed to raising taxes to balance the budget. When an economy is struggling to free itself from recession, there is nothing worse than raising taxes and asking working families to pay more for government.

Whether it is a firefighter tirelessly pushing through rubble at Ground Zero, a citizen waiting in line to give blood, or a solider fighting for our country in Afghanistan, we have all seen heroic stories of sacrifice in the last several months. It is now time for us to expect something from our legislators and governor to balance the state budget without raising taxes or harming critical state services.

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Note: Text available by email from Dan Wolter at (651) 296-0640 or dan.wolter@house.leg.state.mn.us