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 currently 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 Procedures and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues described 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 announced lawmakers would ask themselves how much help can we expect from D C Now Rodrigues explained 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 establishment is low our budget our values and our actions reflect and embody good governance bringing state establishment to where it is the greater part needed while never forgetting our solemn responsibility to care for and aid our residents in need especially in the face of federal uncertainty he mentioned Minority Leader Bruce Tarr mentioned 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 several of the new budgets we ve dealt with A expected 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 a great number of 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