Liston Condemns Senate Republican Budget

Today, state Senator Beth Liston (D-Dublin) voted against House Bill 96, the Senate Republicans' version of the state operating budget.

“This bill fails Ohioans," said Liston. "We spent more time trying to figure out how to fund a sports stadium than we did trying to ensure healthcare access for all Ohioans. Our tax dollars should be used to invest in and support people.  Instead, we have a $600 million billionaire giveaway and over $1.5 billion in tax cuts going only to those who earn the most.”

As passed by the Senate, House Bill 96 fails to address the needs of hardworking, everyday Ohioans. The Republican supermajorities in the legislature decimated many of the bipartisan provisions proposed by the governor that would have invested in our children and working families, and have decided to instead:

• Threaten health care coverage for 770,000 Ohioans and underfund crucial public health programs;
• Give away $600 million of Ohioans’ money to the billionaire owners of the Cleveland Browns;
• Cut taxes for only the wealthiest Ohioans by more than $1.5 billion while stripping out a child tax credit for working families;
• Harm our public schools by using outdated inputs and creating ‘hoops’ to jump through to qualify for needed funds, while continuing to give historic amounts of money in vouchers to unaccountable private, primarily religious schools; and
• Fail to invest in families, as Ohio continues to rank last in publicly funded child care.

House Bill 96 now heads back to the Ohio House of Representatives for concurrence. If the House does not concur with the Senate’s changes, the bill will go to conference committee.

Read Senator Liston's floor speech here.