Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr.

ROBERTS: CORZINE BUDGET BRUTALLY HONEST

(TRENTON) -- Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D-Camden) today issued the following statement on Governor Corzine's proposed budget for fiscal year 2007:

FOR RELEASE: March 21, 2006
CONTACT: Press office
(609) 292-7065

ROBERTS: CORZINE BUDGET BRUTALLY HONEST

(TRENTON)-- Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D-Camden) today issued the following statement on Governor Corzine's proposed budget for fiscal year 2007:

"The Governor was brutally honest in outlining the state's fiscal realities and the painful choices associated with presenting a balanced budget without gimmicks.
"The proposed budget underscores why the Assembly took the unprecedented step of initiating the legislative budget review process a full six weeks before the release of the Governor's fiscal plan.
"It's clear the Assembly set a tone for fiscal restraint that the Governor's budget builds upon with $2 billion in spending reductions and cost containments.
"Nobody worked harder than Governor Corzine on this proposed budget. He took pains to explain the situation to New Jersey residents through a series of well-attended meetings around the state. He pored over every line, working late into the night in meetings with department heads. He gave personal briefings to legislators.
"As hard as the Governor worked, today's speech only marks the beginning of a more intensified budget review process as the Legislature begins its work of weighing the impact of spending cuts and the Governor's tax proposals.
"As the House that is constitutionally required to initiate any tax increase, the Assembly fully intends to make all possible spending cuts before considering any of the Governor's tax proposals."
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