Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C,I-Smithtown) today joined his Assembly Minority colleagues at a Capitol press conference to outline real solutions to close New York's $3.7 billion budget deficit.
"Today, we outlined a reasonable and responsible list of budget cuts that will close the budget shortfall and slow the unsustainable growth of government," said Fitzpatrick. "These are not new proposals, but ideas that we have advocated for over the past few months. The refusal by the Majorities in the Senate and Assembly to reach an agreement is a by-product of next year's elections. Powerful special interest groups continue to have a stranglehold on legislative decision-making and, until we break their grip, taxpayers will continue to be the ones that suffer."
The Assembly Minority Conference unveiled the package they have continued to push to close the deficit, which includes consolidating duplicative agencies (to save $924.6 million annually), eliminating member-item funding ($130 million), and reducing contract balances by five percent ($300 million).
*Editor Note: Linked below this news release are pdfs of the charts utilized during the press conference to outline the real solutions offered by the Assembly Minority Conference for closing the budget deficit.