It still appears that Carney and Acting Governor Schwarzkopf gave too much to quickly to Republicans, leaving themselves with no arrows in the quill at crunch time.
This statement from Governor Carney was released early Saturday:
I’m deeply disappointed that the General Assembly has failed to reach an agreement to pass a balanced budget, and a responsible long-term financial plan. The people of Delaware expect us to responsibly do their business, and that includes working together to enact a responsible financial plan for the state. As I’ve been saying for months, we need a balanced, long-term plan that relies on spending reductions and new revenue to solve our financial challenges in a sustainable way. The fact is we met Republican leaders more than halfway. We have pledged to support real spending reductions, and fiscal reforms that would place controls on future spending. Unfortunately, Republicans have been unwilling to compromise on their ideological demands, and have not agreed to support a sustainable plan to raise new revenue. But our work will continue, and it’s time for members of the General Assembly to get serious about passing a long-term budget.”
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Senate President pro tem David McBride released the following statement:
While I believe we have a constitutional responsibility to pass a balanced budget, I also believe we have a moral responsibility to ensure that the budget we pass is fair and just for the people of our state. It became clear to me and other members of leadership that despite the progress made today, we were not yet in a position to deliver on our promise of a fair budget at this late hour. The budget, in its current form, is not something we can pass in this General Assembly. And nor should we, particularly when the state’s fiscal calendar gives us a handful of days to continue working to get a better deal for Delawareans without inflicting immediate pain on our residents, non-profit community, or our state employees. We know time is of the essence, and that’s why we are coming back here tomorrow to keep pushing forward.
Via WDEL