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LaFonta: ‘There Were Ways To Solve This Budget Crisis’
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 14, 2009
State Rep. Juan LaFonta (D-96) this afternoon voted against the state’s budget for FY09-10, saying the governor and House Appropriations Committee did not do enough to address vital needs by taking difficult stands.
The $27 billion budget includes drastic cuts to education and healthcare, and neglects certain mechanisms that could have at least partially restored funding to crucial services.
“If they would suspend the business tax credit it would for three years it would have accounted for one-third of the shortfall,” LaFonta said. “A 50-cent tobacco tax could have remedied $50 million in healthcare cuts.”
LaFonta was joined by Reps. Karen Carter-Peterson, Cedric Richmond and Jared Brossett from the New Orleans delegation, along with 13 others who voted against the bill. The final vote was 87-17. Last year, no one voted against the bill.
“In 2008, the state was flush with money and we had a far more open deliberative process,” LaFonta said. “This year, the anti-tax movement went too far in refusing to make difficult choices to fund the vital services of education and healthcare, among other vital state services. We have a duty to the people of Louisiana. There were ways to solve this budget crisis and they were ignored.”
Media contact: James Hartman, 504.458.4600 or
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