A
week after he was elected by the Legislature, Brigadier General Steven Cray has officially been sworn in as the next leader of the Vermont
National Guard.
Governor Peter Shumlin says he’ll ask lawmakers to
close a $50 million budget shortfall by making cuts to state programs and not by
raising any broad-based taxes.
There’s
good news and bad news from a special budget briefing at the Statehouse. The
good news is that the recently approved $38 billion cut in this year’s federal
budget will not have a big impact at the state level. But the situation
next year could be a lot worse.
Progressive Party leaders Rep. Chris Pearson and Sen. Anthony Pollina say tax increases on the wealthiest Vermonters would help close the state’s budget deficit, as opposed to cutting the budget for Human Services programs.
Congressman
Peter Welch is urging his colleagues to consider a budget reduction plan that
includes changes to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. He
says such changes are needed to truly address the nation’s fiscal problems.
Agency Of Human Services Secretary Doug Racine talks with VPR’s Jane Lindholm about how he’ll manage services in the face of $44 million in budget cuts.
Key
legislative leaders say they need to conduct a thorough review of Governor
Shumlin’s budget proposal before they consider raising new taxes to offset some
of the Governor’s most drastic cuts. But
they say it is likely that some of those cuts will be restored by the House and
Senate Appropriations committees.
Dartmouth College has announced a series of cuts to close a budget gap
of $100 million over the next two years. Dartmouth’s President said trustees and administrators have
worked to minimize the impact of the cuts on the community.
Governor
Jim Douglas will deliver his final budget address to the Legislature Tuesday
afternoon. All
the talk of budget cuts has prompted some lawmakers and policy advocates to say
they’d rather tap into the state’s rainy day funds instead.
House
Speaker Shap Smith says it’s likely he’ll support cuts in some programs in
order to balance next year’s budget, because he
says it’s not possible to close a $150 million dollar budget gap without
reducing some services.