Ingram Condemns Passage of Senate Budget

Today, state Senator Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnatti) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass their version of House Bill 33, the state operating budget.

“When the Republican majority refers to considering all Ohioans and what they’ll get out of this budget, many of their true needs are ignored,” said Ingram. “This weekend is Father’s Day. A lot of what I see in this budget, including bills that have not been thoroughly discussed or debated, reminds me of the old sitcom, ‘Father Knows Best.’ I believe my colleagues on the other side of the aisle believe they are the fathers of Ohio. Shame on us for not listening to what our children are telling us.”

As passed by the Senate, House Bill 33 expands vouchers, slashes funding for social services, and cuts taxes in a way that disproportionately and unfairly benefits Ohio’s wealthiest residents. Additionally, it contains a number of controversial policy provisions, including:

• Senate Bill 1, which would transfer almost all the powers of the state Board of Education, comprised primarily of elected members, to a new executive agency;
• Senate Bills 83 and 117, which would dictate what may be taught in Ohio’s institutions of higher education and infringe on the collective bargaining rights of their faculty; and
• Senate Bill 21, which would allow the Senate President and House Speaker to hire outside legal counsel for whatever reason at any cost.

House Bill 33 now heads to the Ohio House. If the House does not concur with the Senate’s changes, the bill will go to the conference committee.