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Governor's
Remarks Delivered:
January 22, 2002 Lieutenant Governor
Donohue, Majority Leader Bruno, Speaker Silver, Leader Faso, Leader
Connor, Comptroller McCall, Attorney General Spitzer, respected
members of the Legislature, fellow New Yorkers. I said two weeks ago, and I say today, that the decisions we face are difficult, but ultimately our choices are limited to two: Either we control the crisis, or the crisis will control us. The spending plan I present today will not only control the crisis, it will turn crisis into another historic comeback. It is crucial that we join together, in common purpose, to achieve this... ...Because, although there will always be principles on which people can disagree, the September 11th attacks were meant to destroy the principles that unite us all, and which we all revere. The attacks were an assault, not just on two cities, but on all of the values which the mantle of freedom rests upon: Tolerance. Respect for human rights. Diversity. Free enterprise. Ours is an open society that welcomes and embraces people of all nationalities, races and religions from around the world. Our national identity as a united, freedom loving people was attacked that day. More than 3,000 men, women and children died in that attack. We must honor their memory by supporting their families however we can. We will never waver in that commitment. Nor will we waver in our commitment to strengthen the very principles the terrorists failed to destroy. We've met great challenges in the past, and although no challenge has ever been so great as the one before us now, we will emerge from this crisis more free, more prosperous and more secure than ever before. We will rebuild our city, renew our economy and reclaim our destiny. We will meet the challenges with new ideas and bold new solutions. And we'll do it together, putting people before politics. As we move forward to confront these challenges, we will never act out of fear – we will always act in full confidence. We made the right decisions before and we will make the right decisions again. In 1995, we faced difficult challenges. We met them together with new ideas, new solutions and sweeping fundamental reforms. And it worked. Making the right decisions now will lead us back to even greater prosperity and security. The soundly-balanced budget plan I send you today recognizes the needs of all New Yorkers. It will Protect our fiscal integrity and the security of our citizens. It will Prepare us, as a people, for the future. And it will Promote an economic renewal from Lower Manhattan to Buffalo, and back to Babylon. Upstate, downstate -- one State -- all sharing in our revitalization, our renewal, our common destiny. And we'll do it through means that the state and its taxpayers can afford, through responsible actions. Government will be leaner, but it will also be smarter, stronger and better for all New Yorkers. It may take a little longer to achieve all of our goals, as we work within our fiscal limitations, but we will get it done. We can and we will keep New York firmly grounded on the road to recovery. It will mean working together in a non-partisan way, sticking together in the tough times, united in our confidence in the people of this great state and inspired by their spirit, generosity and humanity. Already this session, we have demonstrated the spirit of non-partisan cooperation that the people of New York expect, demand and deserve from each of us. September 11th placed new demands on our health care industry, and last week we acted decisively. We passed a historic health care bill that retains and attracts the best nurses, hospital workers and nursing home aides. It makes it easier for children and low income adults to get the quality health care they deserve. It expands health care for the working disabled. And it provides life-saving breast and cervical cancer treatments for low-income women. Within one week of this session's opening, we made the right decisions for New Yorkers and for our health care system. We can be proud of that. Senator Bruno, Speaker Silver... all of my colleagues... On behalf of the millions of New Yorkers who will have a healthier future because of this historic legislation, thank you for your non-partisan resolve to get this done. Now we must move forward in that same spirit as we deal with the other pressing challenges that lie ahead. And let me say again what I said two weeks ago, I will do my part to ensure we continue to work together – all of us - to get the job done for New Yorkers as long as I am Governor. Over the past seven years, we have worked hard to restore New York's fiscal integrity, which had taken a beating from years of failed government policies and mismanagement. High taxes, a bloated government, and job-choking red tape chased hundreds of thousands of jobs out of our State, leaving our great State in financial shambles. But because we made the right decisions, because we trusted the power of people over the power of government, because we acted together for the common goal of reforming our State, we delivered real results for all New Yorkers. We turned a $5 billion deficit into six consecutive budget surpluses, while making smart and historic investments in our economy, our schools, our health care and our environment. We built our reserves from a paltry $158 million to more than $2.6 billion to help us weather tough times. And the reason we've been able to build up our reserves is because we've been fiscally conservative in the good times and held General Fund spending increases to less than one third of the national average We reformed our debt practices, helping us turn one of the worst credit ratings in America into our best credit rating in more than 23 years. We ended year after year of broken tax-cut promises, and led the nation in cutting taxes year after year, so that we will return more than $100 billion back to the people of New York. In short, we put New York on its best fiscal footing in decades and helped bring hundreds of thousands of jobs back to New York. That's a record we can all be proud of. Now we must do it again. But the current challenge is by no means the same as the one we faced in 1995. The crisis we inherited then was self-inflicted -- the result of bad fiscal policies, high taxation and irresponsible government spending. The crisis we face today was thrust upon us by an evil act of war that came after seven years of wise fiscal management and growing prosperity. In a single day -- a horrific day -- much of the economic progress we made was wiped out. In New York, some 25 million square feet of prime commercial real estate in Lower Manhattan was destroyed or damaged in the attack with over 1,300 businesses directly harmed. 14,000 more businesses were indirectly affected, and more than 150,000 jobs could be lost. The scope of this disaster, the sheer magnitude of the damage, cannot be underestimated. The fallout in business investment and profits, capital gains, and consumer spending has spread throughout the State and indeed across the Nation. The national economy was already slowing before September 11th. In the weeks since, it rapidly deteriorated and we are now in a national recession. Tax revenues have been decimated. When we did our first fiscal analysis shortly after September 11th, we estimated that revenue losses could be as large as $9 billion. More recent data shows that, although our economy is stabilizing, the crisis is still severe. We are facing a budget shortfall in this and our upcoming fiscal year totaling $6.8 billion. That figure represents more than 25 percent of the total amount we collect each year in personal income taxes. And while we continue to address the human tragedy with an outpouring of compassion and support, we must act quickly to do even more to address the fiscal fallout. And we must continue to do so in a non-partisan way, guided by a cooperative spirit. PROTECT We must protect the fiscal strength of this State by once again making the right decisions. Just as the problems we face today are different than those we faced in 1995, so too are the solutions. But our resolve to meet these challenges has not changed, and our willingness to work together must never change. The budget I submit to you today will protect our fiscal integrity. This plan calls for decisive action to close the large budget shortfall and reinvigorate our economy. And it's carefully structured in a way that allows us to continue funding vital programs and services, while making innovative investments in the economy. Already, the smart steps you and I have taken in a non-partisan way have had a profound impact on our budget and in closing the gap. Through the prudent use of fiscal reserves we've set aside ... the administrative cost saving actions I put in place ... the very important Budget legislation you and I passed in October ... and savings from the health care bill we enacted last week... we've already closed that gap by $2.5 billion. Today, I will outline how we can close the remaining $4.3 billion shortfall. We will save $3.2 billion by program restructuring, reducing agency spending, debt refinancing, taking advantage of low interest rates, reducing the State workforce through attrition and early retirement, and maximizing Federal aid and other special revenue funds. As a result, this budget reduces General Fund spending by $1.3 billion, or 3 percent. And we will utilize $1.1 billion of our prudently created reserves to achieve a soundly balanced budget. Even after these measures, we will still have almost three-quarters of a billion dollars in reserves, four and a half times what we had in reserves in 1995, to sustain the progress we've made. We built up our reserves in the past to prepare for tough times. But no one could predicted the crisis we face today. And yet, because of those smart decisions there are no deep cuts in this budget to vital programs. We can be proud that we prepared ourselves for the future. Let's make the right decisions again. To build on our debt management progress, which has reduced the rate of growth in debt by two-thirds, this budget includes additional reforms to further reduce debt service costs and make the caps and provisions of the historic Debt Reform Act of 2000 a permanent part of our State Constitution. While the decisions we face are difficult and challenging they are not as grave as they could have been. Because we set aside billions in fiscal reserves, because we controlled spending and cut taxes for seven years, because we changed the business climate, New York's economy and fiscal health were strong. Still, we face tough decisions and we can and must tighten our belts. September 11th changed the way in which we will move forward with this budget and future budgets. But it should not -- and it must not -- change our governing philosophy. As I said, this budget calls for tough decisions, but it maintains the fundamental principles that led to the economic recovery of the past seven years. The tax cuts we've passed in those past seven years -- $100 billion when fully phased in -- have helped to create more than 672,000 new private sector jobs. Creating even more jobs is more important now than ever. And we know that cutting taxes is the best way to create jobs -- which is why delaying tax cuts already on the books is not an option. Keeping our promise to taxpayers is part of protecting our fiscal integrity. We will tackle the problems we face head on, together, acknowledging reality yet advancing innovative, sensible and aggressive policies that will lead to our comeback. As we protect the fiscal integrity of the State, we must also protect the people of New York against the potential threats to their security. We live in a new world today, so we must have new solutions. A top priority must and will be public security. During the past seven years, the laws we've passed have helped to dramatically reduce crime, making the streets of New York safer than they've been in a generation. But since September 11th we've learned that the threat of terror extends far beyond our borders and far beyond traditional means. Now more than ever, we must prepare ourselves against, and protect ourselves from, the evil people in this world whose chief objective is to harm innocent civilians. This budget calls for an additional $200 million to fund the new Office of Public Security and related agency actions so that we will do all that we can to protect New York's water supplies, bridges, tunnels, communications and transportation centers and other sensitive locations that could be targets of terror. This allocation will help to fund new safety equipment for first responders to emergencies, communication and data systems enhancements for law enforcement agencies, and laboratory costs for the testing of possible biological agents such as anthrax. It will also fund the additional security details and investigations required for public safety. And it will allow us to keep our National Guard troops activated at our airports and other sensitive locations. The federal government has passed legislation to improve homeland security, but we have to do more. And we must do more because New York State remains the world's financial center, trade center, media capital, and the world's beacon of liberty. PREPARE As we take the right steps to protect the people of New York, we must continue to build on the progress we've made to prepare for their future. That means honoring the historic commitments we've made during the past seven years. Since 1995, we have increased our investment in education by record amounts... $4.4 billion, or 45%. This Budget will sustain that record level of education funding with a commitment of $14.2 billion to help ensure that all New York's children will meet our higher learning standards. New York's commitment to education now represents 37 percent of taxpayer-supported spending, compared to 27 percent in 1995. We will expand our Advantage Schools, After-School programs and preserve the Teachers of Tomorrow program. And we will preserve our investment in public higher education, by continuing our historic $3 billion multi-year capital plan, and by maintaining tuition at SUNY and CUNY at the same levels for the 7th straight year. We face tough decisions. Reducing our commitment to education is not among them. It's not an option. We won't do it. But we do need reform, real reform that will lead to better schools and a brighter future for our children. That starts with throwing out a school aid formula that simply doesn't work. It also means providing accountability for the quality of our schools. Big city mayors want that accountability. Let's give it to them this year by giving them control over their school districts. In seven years, we've made New York's health care system a model for the nation. The legislation we passed last week builds on that progress. We will also continue our commitment to New Yorkers with special needs by sustaining our strong support for Kendra's Law, NYS-CARES, and programs that support New Yorkers with AIDS. No state is doing more to preserve open space and protect the environment. That, too, will continue. We've already committed billions to preserve 325,000 acres of open space, clean up our lakes and rivers, reduce air pollution and clean up toxic sites. This budget once again fully funds the Environmental Protection Fund at $125 million, and it also restores the $125 million that was left out of the EPF in the current fiscal year. I will also advance legislation to refinance and improve the State Superfund program to ensure the most stringent environmental health standards in the nation and continue the "polluter pays" principle. This legislation will also enhance the Brownfields Restoration component of the Clean Water/Clean air Bond Act. These are the commitments we've made to the people of New York, to our children and to their's, so they can fulfill their dreams in New York. Much of that dream depends upon a healthy, robust and vibrant economy. We must continue our aggressive efforts to create jobs and stimulate our economy with bold innovations, smart investments and sweeping reforms. Along with the human tragedy, we lost tens of thousands of jobs on September 11 and in the months since. But we can get every one of those jobs back, and create more, by making smart investments to help our private sector -- the real engine of economic growth. We did it once. We can, and we will, do it again. This budget includes a wide range of new and innovative economic development initiatives designed to attract and retain businesses, while encouraging business expansions and job growth throughout the State. We created the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to oversee the planning and implementation of redevelopment efforts, as well as the construction of a fitting memorial to honor those who gave their lives. It has already been allocated $2.7 billion in federal funds to help attract jobs and investments to Lower Manhattan. And to continue New York's high-tech economic growth and to help position our world-class research institutions, this budget provides $250 million in funding to support our high-tech and bio-tech economic development and job growth efforts throughout the State. These high-tech efforts include our Centers of Excellence of Bioinformatics in Buffalo, Photonics in Rochester, Nanoelectronics in Albany, and Information Technology on Long Island. This investment will also allow us to pursue promising new bio-tech opportunities around the State -- in Cold Spring Harbor, in a new bio-tech corridor in New York City and in Rochester. And today we take the first steps to create the Empire Opportunity Fund. Nothing like this has ever been done before in New York State. This fund will provide new tools and assistance immediately for upstate, the Hudson Valley and Long Island economic development projects. Projects like inner harbor development in Syracuse and Buffalo...the medical corridor in Buffalo...the gateway project in Utica. Downtown commercial revitalization in Albany, Binghamton, Mt. Vernon, Rome and Jamestown... Crucial infrastructure improvements to our Build Now and Semi NY sites in Franklin, Suffolk and Montgomery counties... Improving fiber-optic networks in Watertown and the North Country... Fast ferry projects in Rochester and Niagara Falls... Waterfront redevelopment projects in Haverstraw, Plattsburgh, Glen Cove, Kingston, Troy, and other waterfront communities across New York. And we can provide incubator space on Long Island, in Albany, Syracuse and Alfred in the Southern Tier... Each of these projects will be eligible for funding if they show they can leverage private funds to create jobs, just as our successful Centers of Excellence are doing. This program will begin this year at $750 million and grow to more than $2 billion. At the same time, we will expand the highly successful Excelsior Linked Deposit Program from $200 million to $300 million. This will help provide small businesses access to capital by providing low-interest loans. By cutting taxes, reforming our regulatory system and making government smaller and smarter, we helped to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. These new initiatives are specifically designed to build on that foundation by capitalizing on New York's key strengths. We have the finest workforce in the world. We have global corporate giants and the brightest entrepreneurs. We have world-class research and academic institutions. And we have the best quality of life in America. The result will be, as it was before, more jobs. And if we make the right decisions, as we did before, there are no limits to how many new jobs we can create in every corner of New York. This Budget is a responsible, honest and balanced blueprint for New York's economic and fiscal recovery. I look forward to working with each of you to pass it. And let's not just pass a good budget... let's pass a good budget on time. When I first became Governor, I often told you that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. But today, we can confidently look back upon our seven years of working together and proclaim that the philosophy behind the decisions we've made can and must be repeated. They led New York from crisis to prosperity once, and they can do it again. New York has never before faced such a formidable challenge. But then, never before have the people of this state been so united in our strength, our compassion, and our determination. And because we have made the right decisions to restore our fiscal integrity over the last seven years, we have never been more ready to control and conquer this crisis. It is times like these that reveal and shape our character. It is in our hour of adversity that we learn who we really are. Over the past four months, thousands of New York's firefighters, police officers, rescue workers and ordinary citizens have reminded us of who we are. They've shown the world what New Yorkers are made of. They've inspired us with their sacrifice, their tenacity and their sense of shared purpose. We must do the same. Some have questioned whether we can set aside our differences and produce the kind of budget that today's economic conditions demand. With so many of our people struggling, and so much of our future riding on the decisions we make in the weeks to come, we not only can, we have no choice. There is no way we can go forward except together, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Days after the attack, I told you and promised the people of New York that we would not just survive this disaster. Nor will we simply overcome it. We, the people of New York will join together, united in strength and common purpose, and lift New York to its greatest days. This budget, this recovery plan, marks the next crucial step. For the good of all New Yorkers, let's take that step together. Thank you and God bless you. |
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