Communications & Public Affairs
May 17, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Wes Carter, Press Secretary
House Democratic Caucus
Phone: (405) 962-7674

Minority Leader Clarifies ‘Mistruth’ from Budget Debates

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, released the following statement in response to accusations made by House Republicans regarding the $200 million being saved in the Republican budget instead of being invested back into Oklahoma communities.

“The accusations made during debates that House Democrats want to spend every dollar of the state’s money and not save any is a ‘mistruth’ at best and at worst an outright lie. We absolutely support saving money, and, fortunately, Oklahoma has a Rainy Day Fund for that specific purpose.

The problem is that over the last several years, Republicans have used the Rainy Day money to fund income tax cuts and corporate tax credits that mostly benefit wealthy Oklahomans, while also cutting agency funding.

Last year, we passed one of the largest revenue packages in the history of Oklahoma, and we did so specifically to invest in core services. Thanks to that revenue, we now have more than $450 Million in the Rainy Day Fund with an expectation of another $400 million to be added next year.

Taking $200 million from taxpayers and  putting it into a bank account isn’t fiscal responsibility, it is legislative malpractice. Our position is that this money should be invested back into our students, our healthcare, and our infrastructure, while we also save the $450 million in the Rainy Day Fund.”