“In November, the voters will have a clear choice”

Tuesday, Democratic House and Senate leaders held a press conference to review the recent legislative session. Here’s a little of what they had to say.

House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli:

“This Republican majority has had the wrong priorities for New Hampshire’s middle-class families and the wrong priorities for our economy. Instead of working to strengthen the economy, they pushed an extreme agenda that was more focused on taking away birth control than on helping our families succeed, an agenda that was more focused on hurting the workers in our state than on building for the future of our state. For the last two years, Bill O’Brien and his Tea Party allies have advanced a laundry list of out-of-touch legislation that shows just how wrong their priorities are for New Hampshire.”

Senator Lou D’Alessandro:

“In the context of New Hampshire’s budget, the Speaker’s proposed reductions and the current cuts already in place by the Tea Party legislature are enormous and devastating.”

Senator Molly Kelly:

This legislature has, at every occasion, chosen to side with radical special interests instead siding with New Hampshire’s middle class families. Nowhere is that more true than in their misplaced education priorities. Simply put, Bill O’Brien’s Tea Party legislature has made it easier to break the law and buy cigarettes, but harder to afford an education.

House Assistant Deputy Democratic Leader Steve Shurtleff:

For a group of people who came in to office at the start of 2011 promising to focus on the economy like a laser, we have to ask: Do they really understand how a laser is supposed to work? The only laser-like focus I’ve seen this legislative session has been in advancing a radical and far-right social agenda.

House Democratic Floor Leader Gary Richardson:

The only protection against people like Bill O’Brien is the ballot box. In November the voters will have a clear choice: Do they want a continuation of this legislature’s radical and out of the mainstream ideological agenda, or do they want leaders who will return us to sanity?

Speaker O’Brien Vows to Cut $400M in Next Budget

After slashing state spending for higher education and cutting services for seniors, the disabled and at-risk children, state House Speaker Bill O’Brien says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

O’Brien told Kevin Landrigan he anticipates cutting another $400,000 from the 2014-2015 budget. State Senator Lou D’Allesandro, who serves on the Senate Finance and Ways and Means committees, wants to know where the cuts will be made. 

“Will they eliminate all funding for higher education, pushing through another double-digit tuition increase? Will they cut additional aid to cities and towns, raising local property taxes? Will they cut health care for seniors, people with disabilities and children? The people of New Hampshire deserve to know.” 

Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen and Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, a member of the House Finance Committee, called on the GOP gubernatorial candidates to level with New Hampshire voters about their plans for the budget.

“Ovide Lamontagne — and Kevin Smith — should tell us now if they support Bill O’Brien’s radical new plan,” said Larsen, “and if so, they should tell New Hampshire what they would cut.” 

“The people of New Hampshire deserve to know what Republican leaders plan to cut in order to pay for their next round of tax giveaways,” echoed Rosenwald.