State Senate acknowledges ‘uncertainty’ out of D.C. ahead of budget debate

Lawmakers met on Beacon Hill to offer their opening statements ahead of the budget debate scheduled to begin Tuesday morning and the theme of the day seemed to be the acknowledgment that no one can be sure of what s happening in Washington As we gather here at present in this honorable chamber we find ourselves at a critical juncture where we as a body are at a crossroads where our fiscal prudence and responsibility align face-to-face with our moral and constitutional obligations Means and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues reported his senate colleagues on Monday According to the senate budget chief over the first months of President Donald Trump s second term lawmakers have witnessed firsthand how our federal partners have unleashed unprecedented amounts of uncertainty unpredictability and volatility In past budget debate sessions the chairman mentioned lawmakers would ask themselves how much help can we expect from D C Now Rodrigues noted the Legislature is forced to ask themselves how much is D C going to hurt us the present day At a time where trust in the federal regime is low our budget our values and our actions reflect and embody good governance bringing state administration to where it is the bulk needed while never forgetting our solemn responsibility to care for and endorsement our residents in need especially in the face of federal uncertainty he declared Minority Leader Bruce Tarr revealed that Rodrigues rightly cites the uncertainty coming out of D C adding that the consequences of our decisions with this budget are perhaps more intense than a few of the contemporary budgets we ve dealt with A prospective economic downturn is a worrying scenario the minority leader revealed However it s also not the first time that state has dealt with uncertainty and perhaps is all the more reason to remember the people paying for the budget That s why in addition to looking at the various investments that Rodrigues outlined we also need to make sure that we use this budget document and other matters that we consider in the senate to make our state more affordable to make our state more competitive to increase the sustainability the reliability and the robust nature of our business activity Those are things that we can work on together right now he explained Senators are scheduled to open debate on the amendments attached to their billion spending plan on Tuesday at a m