House Republicans Open To New Debt Bill With 17 BILLION Dollar Surplus
Another year, another monstrous surplus that politicians are ready to spend.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget revealed a projected $17.6 BILLION budget surplus. This means that the state government overtaxed the people by billions more than it needed. Even while being in the minority, House Republicans appear ready to join the DFL in new debt bill legislation.
On Tuesday, Republican Minority Leader Lisa DeMuth held a press conference, in which she called to tax cuts and even returning portions of the $17.6 billion surplus. Then, she immediately talks about all the projects that her party wants to stuff into a “bonding bill”.
In the Minnesota legislature, even years are called bonding years. This is where the Minnesota Government creates debt through a plethora of infrastructure projects. These projects are funded without fail nearly every even numbered year. With a large surplus, taking this debt out should not be encouraged.
In 2020, Governor Walz and legislative leaders argued that passing large bonding bills were critical as interest rates were so low. Now that the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates, their logic from 2020 should be invoked. With high interest rates, now is NOT the time to borrow.
If more “debt bills” are passed, YOUR budget surplus will go towards paying them off. That money belongs back in your pocket, not in the pockets of bureaucrats.
The Minnesota Constitution requires that bonding bills pass with 60% of the votes in the legislature. With the current 70 DFL to 64 GOP makeup in the house, and 34 DFL to 33 GOP makeup in the senate, these bills can only pass with GOP votes.
Now is the time to contact your state legislative leadership and demand that they vote against new debt. Use the link below to contact your current State Senator and State Representative, and demand they fight against these debt bills.