(TRENTON) – Democratic members of the Assembly Budget Committee today issued a multimedia package commenting on a state revenue update and overview presentation given to the panel by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Service’s Legislative Budget and Finance Office.
The multimedia package consists of a video on the committee’s hearing, audio of the same and a transcript of statements from Democratic legislators on the panel.
The video can be accessed directly via our Web site — www.assemblydems.com — or by clicking here.
The audio file is available upon request.
A transcript of statements from the legislators is appended below:
Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D-Camden), Assembly Budget Committee Chair:
“We wanted to state the New Year off with this new sense of bipartisan spirit. We’re going to attempt to, I think, get some clarity to where we are with the numbers in the state budget as we start to plan for the upcoming budget negotiations. There is no doubt that as the worldwide economy continues to suffer, so does the state budget. And the intention of this hearing is to make sure that we can get a grasp the best that we can – how we react to those numbers and how we plan for those numbers, I think, are crucial to the budget process.”
Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Essex):
“This is a continuation of the national dilemma of the national recession. New Jersey is not different from other states and there is no, let’s say, shocking new information. The problems continue.”
Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley (D-Hudson):
“And yet we’re still paying our bills, so I think that New Jersey has been doing something right all along. We’re not as bad as other states, but nevertheless we have a very, very serious challenge for next [fiscal] year.”
Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair:
“This has been a difficult time. Now is the time for us to work together, to not make this a partisan issue. This is the time for us really make a difference and come together and bring about some real solutions for New Jersey residents.”
Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer (D-Passaic), Assembly Budget Committee Vice-Chair:
“We have a choice, and the choice is do we go forward or do we spend our time pointing at each other in terms of who did this and who did what, and it’s going to take that bipartisan commitment from everyone to find the appropriate solutions here.”
Greenwald:
“The bickering as to what the number is really is less important than how we approach this going forward.”
Coutinho:
“We’re at about the same position we were last year. There’s no question there’s some tough decisions to be made, but working together I’m comfortable that we’re going to be able to handle this and move forward.”
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