The Lowe-Down

As tough as times are, we in Tennessee have reason to be hopeful. With Senate Democrats leading the way to passage of Governor Bredesen's budget, we are optimistic about the opportunities opening up for our fellow Tennesseans.

Make no mistake: there are many families in Tennessee who are hurting - both parents out of work, pinching pennies to buy food, hoping to make a house payment. Just getting by. But now is not the time to abandon these families.

This year's $29 billion, no-growth budget no doubt presented an array of challenges and difficult choices. Like any family sitting at the kitchen table at the beginning of each month, acknowledging our income and expenses left us with few priorities to pursue. A responsible, pro-jobs budget plan is needed, and we are confident that this year's budget will play a significant role in turning around the economic landscape for our families and state.

We balanced the books and will protect things that are the foundation for a stable future by providing a dedicated source of recurring funding for our award-winning, nationally recognized pre-Kindergarten program after this year. Just as we expect our students to progress and continue their studies, we will show progress by completing capital projects at state universities and campuses. These projects will help provide the optimum learning environments for students and create jobs in the immediate future.

Recognizing that Tennessee is one of the top three states in the country in the number - more than 15,000 - of "clean energy" jobs, we will use one-time federal stimulus dollars to establish The Volunteer State Solar Initiative, including the solar farm at the West Tennessee Megasite and a research and development program at the University of Tennessee. These projects will help lead to a healthier, more efficient state, and they will position Tennessee to continue leading the nation in job growth, research, and green energy investment.

Finally, we restored $25,000,000 in proposed cuts throughout various departments and programs that were determined to be critical to the most needy of our population, such as for the Department of Children Services, Mental Health Family Support Services, and Coordinated School Health grants. Federal stimulus dollars will help us transition to a smaller budget over the next two years by lessening the impact of potentially massive and painful cuts. Almost $750,000,000 in reductions will be realized with only $240,000,000 taken in the first year. And we will practice smart saving by keeping over $500,000,000 in reserves through the end of the next fiscal year. Savings, wise investments, and prudent reductions in costs will help Tennessee remain one of the most fiscally sound states in the nation.

My grandfather had a saying: Good enough rarely is. A state budget that merely keeps the lights on in the Capitol may be good enough to balance the books, but it doesn't accomplish anything if we as citizen legislators fail to help working families and children when they need it most. This year's budget is more than simply good enough. This year's budget puts us on the path to recovery. We in Tennessee have reason to be hopeful.