Politics on the Hudson

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, offered different takes on the Governor Paterson’s budget cuts today.

Skelos argued that Paterson should give lawmakers an 18-month proposal on the state budget, not a $2 billion plan to close the budget gap for the remainder of the fiscal year, which runs until March 31.

“Before the Legislature acts, we need to see what the Governor is proposing for next year. These important decisions about New York’s future cannot be made in a vacuum. We must avoid any job-killing taxes and fee increases, which the governor is proposing. We must not simply pass costs down to school districts and local governments, and force them to raise taxes.

He continued, “The bottom line is we need a commitment from all of the parties to cut spending and to not raise taxes, and we stand ready to join our colleagues in government to address the state’s fiscal challenges.”

Silver, meanwhile, stood with Paterson on the cuts.

“His plan recognizes the painful reality that this crisis is unlike any we have faced in our adult lives and will require deep cuts. I recognize that reality as well, and I am prepared to act. Tomorrow, the Assembly Ways & Means Committee will begin two days of hearings on the governor’s proposals in preparation for next week’s special session.

“I disagree with my colleagues in the current Senate Majority who suggest that the crisis is exaggerated. If anything, the crisis is even greater than the Governor projects and it will get worse before it gets better.”