Morgan: House Speaker Says ‘Yes’ to Rich, ‘No’ to Students, Parents, State Employees

Statement by Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan

“Throughout the regular session and especially in the last two weeks I have tried very hard to be respectful of this process. It’s seldom productive to attempt to negotiate a budget in the media.
“My counterpart in the House has repeatedly breached good faith in an attempt to gain favor with the voters. He remains, as he has been all session, focused entirely on the next election.
“My focus remains on the next generation but I want today to explain to you exactly where we are.
“Two major obstacles to an agreement on a framework for the budget remain: Adequate funding for Higher Education and a state employee pay raise.
“House leaders continue to be unwilling to increase funding for higher education by $130 million and they want to rob state employees of a pay raise for six months.
“While they are insistent upon hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich, they want to leave millions of dollars on the table – dollars that could prevent large tuition increases and fund a full-year pay raise for state employees.
“We feel like we have been reasonable and have been willing to compromise but we cannot agree to a budget framework without the proper investments in the future of Oklahoma.
“If the Speaker will agree to properly fund higher education and give the hard-working employees of the state the pay raise they deserve, we can reach an agreement that will allow the budget process to move forward.
“It is that simple but so far he is unwilling to budge. The Speaker is willing to hold up the entire state budget over these two issues.
“If we can just clear these two hurdles we can begin the difficult work of writing a state budget that includes major tax cuts phased in over the next few years.”