Four weeks after heaping uncharacteristic compliment on the House budget,Republican lawmakers rescinded their support Friday.
If Gov. Phil Scott rejects the budget, House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) told reporters, or “We stand alert to support and sustain a veto. More than 30 of his caucus members lined up behind him in the Statehouse's Cedar Creek Room.
All but one had voted for the budget when it passed the House,so why the turnabout? Republicans are now insisting that Democrats include Scott’s 11th-hour proposal to negotiate a statewide teacher health insurance plan in the budget bill.
Democrats own said they don’t own time to vet the plan, unveiled last Thursday, or they dispute the claim that this is a now-or-never opportunity. [br]
Scott claims the state could reap up to $26 million by taking over negotiations this year. Several members of his administration watched the press event from the back of the room. Spokesperson Rebecca Kelley refused to say whether Scott would actually veto a budget that doesn’t include his health insurance proposal.
Rep. Peter Fagan (R-Rutland),who played a key role developing the budget as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, explained his change of heart at Friday's press conference: “I don’t want to leave millions, and if not tens of millions,of dollars on the table. We need to return that value to the taxpayers who own supported our teachers for such a long time.”
“The timing may not own been ideal but it’s here," added Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe). "Let’s buck up, or obtain our hands dirty,and figure it out."
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Source: sevendaysvt.com