Democrats’ budget proposals don’t justify massive tax hikes, say Republican budget leaders

Senators Gildon and Torres push back on tax-heavy Democrat budget plans

The Senate majority’s plan would spend $78.5 billion in the 2025-27 budget cycle – $3 billion more than the Senate Republican “$ave Washington” proposal – while the corresponding House Democrats’ plan comes in at nearly $77.8 billion

Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, offered this reaction to the operating budgets proposed Monday by the Legislature’s majority Democrats. The Senate majority’s plan would spend $78.5 billion in the 2025-27 budget cycle – $3 billion more than the Senate Republican “$ave Washington” proposal – while the corresponding House Democrats’ plan comes in at nearly $77.8 billion.

From Sen. Gildon, who is Senate Republican budget leader:

“The Senate Democrats claim their budget makes ‘tough choices,’ but the reality is, the tough choices are going to fall on the parents and college kids and families who will lose out because of the majority’s misguided priorities. Our Democrat colleagues want to raise your taxes by $21 billion, yet they would cut support for childcare programs and subsidies, cut financial aid while increasing tuition, and make the Discover Pass and hunting and fishing licenses significantly more expensive. It’s easy to see what the majority values most – just look at all the new spending, and how more than half of the 10 largest line items are about increasing pay and benefits for public servants.

“The $ave Washington approach from Senate Republicans doesn’t need to raise property taxes or put state workers on furlough to balance. There isn’t a single tax increase or a single service cut. It proves we can support our shared priorities, including full funding for K-12 and services for our most vulnerable neighbors, without asking working families to pay more.”

From Sen. Torres, who is assistant budget leader:

“I’m not seeing anything in the Democrats’ budgets that justifies the largest tax increase in state history. And look at who goes backward: parents and childcare providers, college kids and their families, and people who want to hunt or fish or just visit a state park for the day. The Senate majority’s budget also would significantly harm our Office of Public Defense at a time when we need more support in our criminal-justice system, not less.

“They claim these choices were the result of ‘thoughtful conversations,’ but the truly thoughtful approach is in the $ave Washington budget we unveiled March 11. It funds the priorities we share, including $100 million in grants to hire law-enforcement officers, without all the Democrat downside. There are no new taxes or service cuts in our budget, and it looks even better now that we can all see what the majority wants.”