Budget Battle: Benge Criticizes House Democrats

A month after the passage and veto of a bipartisan state budget, House Republican leaders expressed concern after House Democrats failed to provide specifics on state budget matters during a meeting of the General Conference Committee on Appropriations (GCCA) held Wednesday.

"I am disappointed the Democratic members of the GCCA did not offer a proposal, a wish list, or a specific idea, much less voice any clear disagreement with the current proposal," said Rep. Chris Benge (R-Tulsa), chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee and chair of the GCCA. "This was an opportunity to find out the areas of the bipartisan budget they disagree with and try to resolve those in order to move forward with the budget process.

"It's absurd for House Democrats to claim they haven't had enough time to come up with substantive recommendations after they've postured for weeks about the budget," Benge continued. "There have been multiple open meetings, bipartisan work in the House and Senate, and multiple opportunities for input. Today we offered Democrats yet another chance to offer substantive changes to the bipartisan budget, and the bottom line is they did not."

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