The Remarks Of Speaker Sheldon Silver

Response To The 2008-09 Executive Budget Proposal

State Capitol, Speaker's Conference Room
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver praised Gov. Eliot Spitzer's Executive Budget proposal at a press conference following the Governor's budget presentation, calling it balanced and responsive.

Certainly, we concur with his assessment of the economy. There is a great deal of uncertainty in the global markets just as there is on Wall Street, which drives our state economy.

Looking at the "big picture," Governor Spitzer is striving to address two significant challenges simultaneously.

First, he emphasizes the issues that are critical to the working men and women of this state, such as education, health care, higher education and jobs.

Second, he put forth an Executive Budget that was both balanced and responsive to the failures of the Bush Administration and its economic policies.

We appreciate that Governor Spitzer is listening to us and is heeding our message that the education of our children and the health of our citizens are - and should always be - the top priorities of government regardless of the ebb and flow of the national economy.

I believe that the Governor's proposal provides us with a solid platform from which we can commence the budget process in the Legislature.

We look forward to working with him and with the Senate to move this state toward a better and a brighter future for our working men and women.

That said, we also have concerns about the Executive Budget.

Please keep in mind that this is the beginning of the budget process. A significant amount of analysis needs to be completed.

Serious discussions of the Governor's plan must take place within both houses of the Legislature and there will be an open and public vetting of the Governor's submission at the joint budget committee meetings.

Once this process is completed, the Legislature will make the necessary modifications to the Executive Budget and pass an agreed upon state budget in timely fashion.

In assessing Governor Spitzer's plan, the Assembly Majority begins with our core principles:

• Quality education - from pre-K to B.A. - for each and every child living in the State of New York;

• Appropriate, affordable, accessible and quality health care, for every New Yorker regardless of their income or where they reside in this state;

• Higher education - be it an advanced degree or job training - that is available and affordable to all New Yorkers;

• And jobs in every region of this state: jobs that pay a decent salary, jobs that offer security, jobs that will enable our young people to launch their careers here at home.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, joined by members of the Majority Conference, commended Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s Executive Budget proposal for its increase in aid to assist high-needs school districts and develop universal pre-kindergarten programs. Audio Excerpt 1 (25 seconds) Audio Excerpt 2 (26 seconds) Audio Excerpt 3 (27 seconds) Audio Excerpt 4 (25 seconds) View Transcript

Let's begin with education.

Overall, we are pleased that Governor Spitzer is honoring his commitment to CFE and is adhering to the timeline we set to fulfill that commitment to our children's education.

The $1.46 billion increase in school aid that he is proposing over and above last year's historic investment is the largest increase in education aid ever proposed by a governor of this state.

To honor our commitment and his commitment to our children who are living in this state's least prosperous communities, Governor Spitzer directs the bulk of this school-aid increase to high-needs school districts.

As the champions of universal pre-K, we are pleased that the Governor is honoring this promise to our four-year-olds by investing an additional $89 million in this program.

That investment will make "pre-K" available to nearly one-hundred-thousand four-year-olds.

As I mentioned earlier, we also have concerns.

Additional modifications to the foundation formula may be necessary in order to maintain our commitment to providing a sound, basic education to all of the children in all of our high-needs school districts.

In addition, we are troubled by the $60 million cut in BOCES as well as the proposed reduction (from three percent to two percent) in the minimum school-aid increase that is guaranteed to all school districts.

Moving on to health care, the Assembly Majority is proud of its longstanding commitment to ensuring health care coverage for each and every child who needs it.

As the champions of "S-CHIP," we once again commend the Governor for his commitment to expanding the program and extending health insurance coverage to an additional seventy thousand children.

I'll say it again, refusing to abandon the smallest and the least influential during hard times is the truest sign of leadership.

We will not follow the Bush Administration in abandoning the health of our less fortunate children.

In addition to S-CHIP, we support the Governor's decision to increase the state's investments in primary and ambulatory care.

We support the "Doctor's Across New York" program as well as his comprehensive chronic disease management plan.

Having led the way on the stem-cell issue, we again salute the Governor's decision to add $50 million to the Stem Cell Research Fund.

As you will see, there are serious cost containment measures in the health-care portion of the Executive Budget.

While I am encouraged that Governor Spitzer's plan is more careful in maintaining our health care commitments, there are serious measures being proposed that will require a broader discussion.

As the last line of defense against illness and disease, our health care providers and facilities must be on board with us in order to achieve the economies and efficiencies proposed in this budget.

Notwithstanding the measures Governor Spitzer has proposed for home care, we must ensure that elder New Yorkers can continue to live in their homes and in their communities for as long as possible.

Efforts to produce health-care savings must not ignore the contributions and the wishes of our senior citizens.

Ultimately, our health care professionals want to provide the best possible care for their patients. Working together with the Governor and with the Senate, I believe that we can empower them to do so.

As for higher education, the gateway to security and prosperity for working men and women in this new millennium, we are pleased that the Governor has not proposed a tuition increase and that he is maintaining our commitment to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

We support his $9.3 billion, five-year capital plan for SUNY and CUNY and we applaud the tuition waiver that Governor Spitzer has put forth for returning combat veterans. They've earned it.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Gov. Spitzer’s budget proposal would help to provide heath coverage to low-income children, encourage doctors to work in New York and stimulate the Upstate Economy

We are somewhat disappointed that the Governor did not pick up the community college base aid increase that was agreed to in this year's budget.

The Assembly Majority long ago recognized that our public colleges, universities and community colleges are the engines of innovation and workforce training.

We have invested wisely to make them as strong and as accessible as we can possibly make them.

I have said this before. I am always concerned by the social ills that an expansion of gambling brings, subsequently we are concerned by talk of "monetizing" the Lottery and the proposal to expand video lottery terminals (VLTs) to Belmont Race Track.

Working men and women have a hard enough time making ends meet. Their government should not be tempting them to play with their limited resources.

Government should be fostering job growth across our state: neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city, and region by region.

Between 1996 and 2006, the number of manufacturing jobs in our state fell twenty-nine percent and private-sector job growth during that period was slow at just nine percent. That is why I am pleased to see the Governor embracing the wisdom of our call for regional economic development.

I attended the Governor's State of the Upstate Address in Buffalo, and I applaud his commitment to revitalizing the Main Street economy.

• The Governor's $350 million "regional fund;"
• The $115 million he sets aside for City by City projects;
• The $80 million he targets to improve our state parks;
• The $50 million he invests in agribusiness;
• His $7 million broadband initiative;

All are in keeping with the Assembly Majority's "jobs" plan and all are essential for rebuilding and bettering the Upstate economy.

Of course, there are many other "positives" in the Executive Budget and other concerns as well.

For example, we have always supported investment in affordable housing and we are gratified that Governor Spitzer has accepted our "sub-prime" legislation which places greater obligations on lenders while better protecting borrowers.

Clearly, both are positives.

On the issue of tax relief, clearly we need to examine the Governor's STAR proposal to ensure that "relief" is provided to the people who need it the most, and we must determine whether his proposal to tax Internet sales is equitable to New York State retailers and what impact it will have on the consumers of this state.

Although more analysis is needed, my Assembly Majority colleagues and I look forward to working with Governor Spitzer and with the Senate to deliver not only the fourth consecutive on-time budget, but one that delivers security, relief, hope and opportunity for the working men and women of this state during these difficult economic times.

Next year, when a New Yorker takes her place in the White House, we will begin to receive the federal support that we deserve, because New Yorkers have been shortchanged by Washington for far too long.

Until then, we have a good starting point from which to begin our journey, and we in the Assembly Majority are ready to work.