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RICHMOND, VA – House Republican Caucus Chairman Timothy Hugo (R-Fairfax) issued the following statement today after Senate Democrats killed the bipartisan House budget in an ongoing effort to leverage the 2012-14 biennial budget for improved committee assignments:

“Today’s defeat of the House budget by Senate Democrats is an outrage.  My colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee – both Democrats and Republicans – have worked earnestly and diligently to craft a budget that will fund key economic development, education and public safety initiatives.  Over the last several weeks, Senate Democrats refused to engage their colleagues in developing a Senate budget.  Last week on the floor of the Senate, they offered no amendments and no substantive policy arguments against the Senate budget before killing it for political reasons.  Today, the House budget was killed without any debate whatsoever.”

“Killing the Senate budget last week was bad enough.  Now, the Senate Democrat Caucus has thrown out a House budget that made substantial investments in public education, restored Virginia’s health care safety net and included 970 new ID waiver slots and 100 DD waiver slots over the biennium.”

“The Senate Democrat Caucus ought not use the budget – the most important legislation before us this year – to accomplish what they could not at the polls in November.  In so doing, Senate Democrats have put their personal interests ahead of the interests of the citizens they are elected to represent.  My colleagues and I do not appreciate our painstakingly-crafted budget being thrown in the legislative garbage can without any consideration whatsoever. 

“With the failure of the Senate budget six days ago, I encouraged the Senate Democrat Caucus to stop playing partisan games and earnestly work toward a budget agreement.  After killing the House budget today, I once again urge Senate Democrats to end the siege on the budget.”