Assemblymember Cahill’s Statement on the Health Care Emergency Expenditure Bill

June 9, 2010

Albany – Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster, Dutchess) issued the following statement on the recently passed budget extender:

“The Assembly passed a budget extender that makes the necessary spending cuts to keep New York fiscally solvent, while ensuring access to the crucial services that so many New Yorkers rely on. Health care is the largest part of the state budget and this legislation will reduce spending by $775 million, bringing us a large step closer to closing the $9.2 billion deficit.

“In these difficult economic times, tough choices need to be made. It is my belief that when it comes to areas as necessary and important as health care, we simply cannot make broad cuts. Instead, we should look at precise areas where we can eliminate unnecessary spending. This measure closely reflects the budget resolution put forth by the Assembly in March and addresses the severity of our fiscal condition while minimizing, to the extent possible, the impact on health care.

“By taking on the issues of health care and environmental funding, we have already passed over half of the budget for the fiscal year. Continuing to rely on budget extenders, however, is unacceptable. The time is long passed for us to finally bring the budget negotiations to a close and enact a complete budget plan.”

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