WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Frame: State government shutdown disastrous for region

OLYMPIA — Despite two special sessions, Democrats and Republicans are no closer to a budget deal to avert a government shutdown. Negotiations have failed to result in a compromise with time running out, as the fiscal year ends on June 30. Failure to pass a budget by then would result in nearly every state service closing or being impacted on July 1.

Democrats have spent the special session asking Senate Republicans to begin negotiations and proposing offers that move toward middle ground on spending and education funding. Senate Republicans very publicly refused to negotiate the budget for two months, leaving the Legislature very little time to find a compromise.

A government shutdown doesn’t just mean 33,000 state workers won’t get paychecks. All state parks will be closed for the 4th of July, disrupting the holiday weekend for nearly 11,000 families. Hatcheries will close, resulting in millions of fish dying within a matter of days – a devastating impact to our state’s rivers and lakes, from which it will take an estimated six years to recover. State food and housing assistance programs will go unfunded, ensuring affected families will get eviction notices. Safety inspections for railroads and pipelines will stop. Paroled ex-inmates will no longer receive supervision. Construction projects and other state contracts will stop.

“Republicans have to step back from their ‘my way or the highway’ approach and compromise,” said Rep. Noel Frame (D-Seattle). “This kind of obstruction is DC-style politics that has no place in our Washington,” Frame continued. “Millions of families across our state will suffer if the government shuts down. It’s time for Senate Republicans to sit down at the table, negotiate in good faith, and compromise on both spending and revenue so we can avert a government shutdown.”

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