Legislative leaders to focus on jobs, budget in upcoming session

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and Speaker Shap Smith today announced that the upcoming legislative session will be focused on job creation and balancing the budget. The legislative leaders emphasized job creation as being critical to the state’s economic recovery. The leaders will hold a jobs forum during the first few weeks of the session to allow all legislators to hear from employers about the challenges and opportunities that they face as they do business in Vermont. The forum will help legislators craft an economic development bill that partners state government with our employers and workforce trainers in order to create better job opportunities for Vermonters.
“Unemployed Vermonters are struggling to find employment while those who are lucky enough to have a job are worried about their stagnant incomes and paying their bills,” said Senator Shumlin. “It is imperative that we find new ways to partner and support our employers and those training our workforce in order to create jobs and get our economy moving again.”
Like Vermonters struggling to balance their family finances, legislators are grappling with a $150 million budget shortfall. The leaders outlined the severity of the state’s fiscal crisis and the tough decisions that will need to be made in order to balance thebudget.
“We are pleased that last session we laid the groundwork to help us solve the budget crisis. We are working to find better ways for the state to deliver its services and how to do more with less,” said Speaker Shap Smith. “Yet finding efficiencies will not alone solve our budget crisis. Legislators are going to have to make very difficult decisions in the months ahead as additional reductions to the budget will be necessary.”
Speaker Smith and Senator Shumlin specifically addressed the pressure that the rising cost of education places on the state budget and asked school board members to seek ways to reduce their spending as they craft their budgets over the upcoming weeks.
“We want to thank school board members across the state for their hard work. The cost of education spending must be reduced and we strongly believe that this is best done at the local level,” said Senator Shumlin. “Ninety school districts did just this last year and we want to encourage the remaining districts to do so as well.”
Source: Shumlin's office. 12.17.2009
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