House Republicans' - Republican Leader Responds to Governor's Statement on House Budget

CONCORD – House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today offered the following statement in response to the statement by Governor John Lynch  following  the House vote to pass the House budget yesterday.

“Governor Lynch’s willingness to stick to his guns on his overinflated revenue estimates, even though they have been resoundingly discredited by House Republicans and Democrats alike, is fiscally irresponsible.  I marvel at the Governor’s commitment to      bringing back the $30 car tax,  adding  new fees and downshifting $150 million onto the local property taxpayers despite the fact that these  clearly  are non-starters for House members across party lines.  It takes a lot of courage to keep advocating for ideas that are opposed in a bipartisan fashion and proven to be failures, and he deserves credit for that.  He continues to ignore the fact that the people of this state are sick and tired of the tax and spend mentality of the last four years.”

“The House Republican budget delivers on the promises that we made to the voters.  Unlike the Governor’s budget, it includes no tax or fee increases, no downshifting and realistic revenue estimates.  It also does not have any bonding or accounting gimmicks like the ones that were a hallmark of Governor Lynch’s prior budgets.  We are very proud to have live up to our commitments and we know that the taxpayers of New Hampshire support this effort to move our economy forward again,” concluded Bettencourt.