WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) issued the following statement today after the Louisiana Legislature’s special session collapsed in an early sine die: “I commend House Republicans for saving Louisiana families from Gov. Edwards’ tax increases. This special session was a missed opportunity for meaningful budget reforms, and the fault lies with Gov. Edwards and Democrats for refusing to fully embrace those basic budget reforms,” said Sen. Kennedy. “House Republicans worked diligently and sincerely toward a compromise but in the end had to stand on principles of fiscal responsibility. I commend them for doing so.” State Treasurer John M. Schroder released the following statement about the special session: “This special session was prematurely called and was a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.
This is very disappointing that the Governor and the Legislature couldn’t reach an agreement during the session on how to achieve financial stability. If we ever want to right-size government, we have to get serious about implementing true spending reforms and stop relying on temporary revenue measures to plug the budget.” Following the close of the Special Session, Commissioner Joseph C. Rallo issued the following statement: While we appreciate the incredible amount of work during the legislative special session, we are deeply disappointed in the inability to resolve the ‘fiscal cliff’ for the state’s budget. Dramatic cuts to TOPS and Go Grants impact nearly 70,000 current students as well as all new high school graduates as they seek to plan for their next step in pursuing higher education.
A trained and educated workforce is the economic engine for the state of Louisiana and the inability to resolve these budget matters jeopardizes not only students but also our communities and their quality of life. House Democratic Vice Chair Sam Jenkins (D-Shreveport) issued the following statement after the Legislature adjourned Sine Die, ending the special legislative session without a solution for the coming fiscal year’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall: “Today, we led an effort to say ‘no’ to partisan politics that hurt Louisiana families. Our colleagues in the House were unwilling to hear a full package of bills needed to address our budget deficit in a bipartisan manner.
There were many distractions during this special session. The truth is, the solutions that came to the House Floor would have asked most Louisiana families to pay about $40 a year in order to cover cuts to life-saving healthcare services for our most vulnerable citizens, save TOPS and preserve services to disabled and abused children. We will continue to stand up for what is right, led by the courage of our convictions, while unapologetically championing the cause of Louisiana’s small businesses and our resilient people. The people’s House has upcoming opportunities to come back and do the right thing. I know we can.”