Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle released the following statement Thursday on the FY 2018 Appropriations Act:
“I’m proud to support this year’s budget because it is a living, breathing embodiment of our values as a state, one that protects the most vulnerable among us.
“There is no reason – whatsoever – that a last-minute plan to overhaul the state’s largest insurer should stand in the way of ensuring that desperately needed funding continues uninterrupted for programs that support cancer victims, pre-school, special education, domestic violence victims and many others. Particularly during this tenuous time, when continued access to affordable health insurance is uncertain, we should not be toying with a plan that could hurt nearly half the people of this state.
“There is a time and a place for every policy debate, but not at the 11th hour when so many lives depend on the annual appropriations act. Using it as leverage to score a political win is dangerous and ill-advised.”