State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver just released a statement, responding to Governor Paterson's plan, announced earlier today, to cut $3 billion from this fiscal year's budget. It said, in part:
…In this challenging
economic climate I commend (the Governor)… for
addressing the state’s serious budget shortfall… Although
the current deficit presents serious challenges to us, the Assembly
worked successfully with the Governor and Senate in August 2008, in
February 2009 and again in April when we closed an historic $17 billion
budget gap. The
Assembly Majority is committed to making the necessary decisions to put
the state on secure financial footing. We look forward to working with
the Governor and with the Senate to address this very serious issue.
Here's a bit of context, from an article the Times posted this afternoon, after Paterson's announcement:
Now the plan will go before lawmakers, who have done little to suggest
a sense of urgency. The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, said in a
radio interview on Thursday morning, that he would hold a public
hearing on the plan, suggesting it could take time to be taken up. A
greater hurdle, however, will be in the State Senate; leaders of the
fractious chamber are touring China on what they described as a trade
mission, and it is unclear when they will take up the governor’s plan.
