Issue Position: Creating Respoinsible Budgets Reducing Reckless Government Spending

Issue Position

We owe it to our children and grandchildren to create balanced budgets and reduce our debt. As your Senator, I helped pass into law our state's first balanced budget requirement in 2012.

For the past two years as Vice Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, I've helped write balanced, sustainable budgets that have prioritized education without relying on massive tax increases. Even better, we've helped find a way to get Republicans and Democrats to work together - I am honored to have helped write the last two budgets that each had record bi-partisan support.

I've fought hard to reduce wasteful spending on non-essential areas. Three years ago, then Governor Gregoire called my bill to consolidate 5 government agencies into 2 and eliminate the Office of the State Printer the "most significant transformation of Government in 20 years." To date, my efforts have helped save taxpayers over $50 million dollars in wasteful state technology spending.

I've also helped pass measures to reduce waste, fraud and abuse of the state's welfare system by prohibiting the use of welfare cards at taverns, casinos and strip clubs.

As your Senator, I voluntarily took a 3% pay deduction in-line with other state employees in 2011-12 and voluntarily rejected a 25% increase in my per diem allowance this year.

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