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| Date: | January 17, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Sandra Whalen | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5238 | | Contact Email: | sandra.whalen@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATE CAPITAL INVESTMENT CHAIR STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL |
(ST. PAUL) – Senate Capital Investment Committee Chairman David Senjem (R-Rochester) released the following statement today in response to Gov. Mark Dayton’s unveiling of his $775 million bonding bill:
“Senate Republicans appreciate the Governor’s focus on jobs and getting Minnesota’s economy back on track, but we fundamentally disagree on the overall philosophy. The purpose and scope of the biennial bonding bill is to repair and build infrastructure, not to serve as stimulus or short-term jobs program. We must be prudent about placing debt burden upon our children and grandchildren.
“Our committee and its counterpart in the House will come out with recommendations in the next few weeks that take into account our research, personal visits to sites, and how much the state’s taxpayers can manage in new debt. Minnesotans should recall the nearly half-billion in borrowing the Governor requested and the Legislature agreed to in order to resolve the budget stalemate last summer, and know that more than $2 billion in previously authorized bonds have not been issued.
“Rather than using debt as a jobs plan, Minnesota would be much better served if the Governor turned his attention to creating a positive tax and regulatory climate in which job creators were more confident about expanding and investing in Minnesota.”
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