Issue Position: Budget

Issue Position

Currently, 36% of our state budget is funded with federal dollars. We have no time to lose. Another federal funding crisis could be just around the corner. We are too reliant on a federal funding source that is both broke and broken. What's more, we learned during this last legislative session that vital programs, such as our broadband education systems, are at risk when the federal government fails, for whatever reason, to honor its funding commitments. We shouldn't continue to operate with our head in the sand about the federal government and our state's dependence on Washington, D.C. We have become a subsidiary of the federal government and that has allowed an intrusion into our lives in many ways. Idaho deserves new leadership who will stand up to the federal government, not acquiesce.
As your governor, I will take steps to identify which programs are supported through federal dollars, identify what strings are attached to the acceptance of those funds, identify unnecessary programs in which the state participates just because Idaho has been offered a federal grant and make that information available to lawmakers with the intent of enacting reforms immediately.

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