For Immediate
Release: July 16, 2004
Hobson Challenges Brogdon to List ‘$1 Billion’
Republican Freshman Says Can Be Cut from Budget
Senate President Pro Tempore Cal
Hobson said Friday that a Republican senator who recently
claimed that $1 billion could be cut from the state budget
needs to produce a list of just where those cuts could be
made.
“I challenge Senator Brogdon to put his cuts where
his mouth is. Rhetoric like claiming that nearly 20 percent
of state spending can be eliminated is easy to spout. It’s
much harder to enumerate, however. If Senator Brogdon is
so certain that $1 billion is being wasted on state services
that aren’t a priority, then he owes to all of Oklahoma
to tell us where to make the cuts,” said Hobson, D-Lexington.
In a recent published report, Senator Randy Brogdon said
state leaders haven’t prioritized Oklahoma’s
needs and claimed “we probably have $1 billion that
we could cut out of our budget if we would really prioritize
our spending ….”
Hobson issued his challenge to Brogdon,
R-Owasso, in a letter delivered to the freshman senator’s
office Friday. In the letter, Hobson told Brogdon that it
would only be fair for the list of cuts to affect his district
and not be aimed specifically at other areas of the state.
In the letter, Hobson questioned why Brogdon hasn’t
already come forward with a suggested list of cuts.
“He’s a member of the zero-based budgeting committee
that has met more than a dozen times in the last 11 months.
If he knows how to save $1 billion why hasn’t he shown
us how it can be done already,” Hobson said.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Mike
Morgan, co-chair of the zero-based budgeting committee,
said Friday he would consider calling a meeting of the committee
soon to allow Brogdon to identify the $1 billion in cuts
he says could be made in the state budget.
In his letter, Hobson, a 26-year member of the Legislature
and former chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget
Committee, also reminded the second-year Republican of a
plea Brogdon made in the spring for the president pro tempore
to make more money available for appropriation by the Senate
Appropriations Sub-committee on Human Services.
“Certainly you realize that cutting $1 billion from
the state budget would make even less money available for
the budgets of agencies under the sub-committee on which
you serve. You can’t have it both ways.
You can’t cut $1 billion from the budget and not affect
families and services in your district or without cutting
the budgets of almost every agency, including those who
come to the Human Services Committee pleading for money,”
Hobson wrote in the letter.
Hobson pointed out that the FY 2004 state budget of $5.1
billion was actually more than $500 million less than the
original appropriations for FY 2002.
“Over two years we cut $500 million out of the budget
when the national economy crashed and state revenue plummeted.
Those cuts affected real people in every county in every
corner of our state,” said Hobson, who compared the
recent budget crisis to the state experienced during the
oil bust in the 1980s when Hobson was a member of the House.
“I’ve had to make those hard choices twice during
my legislative career. I know how they affect Oklahomans
and I know first hand that making the cuts is much harder
than telling a reporter about it without providing a detailed
list of the proposed reductions,” the Senate leader
said.
Hobson also criticized Brogdon for claiming that the Democratic
leadership in the Legislature is standing in the way of
meaningful tax system changes in Oklahoma.
“Before you came to the Capitol, I served on a task
force that worked for two months on a comprehensive tax
reform proposal that lowered the state’s income tax
rate and broadened the state’s sales tax base. The
task force included Democrats and Republicans, government
leaders and business people appointed by the Democrat legislative
leadership and former Governor Frank Keating, a Republican.
“The proposal died, however, because in the end we
couldn’t garner any Republican support when the Oklahoma
State Chamber of Commerce president said his organization
wouldn’t back the measure. Even Governor Keating backed
off his call for tax reform. It turned out that it was easier
for the governor and members of the minority party to talk
about tax reform than it was for them to actually do something
about it,” Hobson said.
The Senate leader said Republicans are always banging their
drum for tax reform and budget cuts, but almost never offer
specifics to back up their politically-motivated rants.
“Senator Brogdon has bragged about his budget writing
experience as a member of the Owasso city council. Surely
he knows that you can’t just cut $1 billion out of
a $5.3 billion budget without detailing what programs and
services would be cut back or eliminated,” Hobson
said. “I challenge him to show us the list of cuts
he proposes.”
For
more information contact:
President Pro Tempore's Office -
(405) 521-5605
