KYRILLOS ON MOODYS’ WARNINGS ABOUT STATE BUDGET AND ECONOMY

Joins Colleagues’ Call For Immediate Action To Address $8 Billion Deficit And Economic Growth

Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr. (R-Monmouth), the senior member of the Senate Economic Growth Committee, joined his colleagues in calling for the Senate Budget Committee to end its summer break and immediately convene in light of a pending $8 billion structural deficit and a new rating agency threat to downgrade the State’s credit rating. A lower credit rating will make everything from road construction to open space acquisitions more expensive and hasten the pending insolvency of the Transportation Trust Fund.

Moody’s Investors Service criticized the State’s increasing use of irresponsible budget gimmicks and a growing structural deficit under Governor Corzine in its threat to lower the credit ratings. Additionally, Moodys noted, “Moody's Economy.com projects that economic recovery in the state will be slower than the national pace as employment growth is forecasted to be among the lowest in the nation through 2013.”

“The $8 billion structural deficit Governor Corzine created in his budget doesn’t just mean hardship for real families in the future, it means an immediate credit rating impact that reduces our ability to do almost everything, from getting people working on road improvements to improving our environment,” said Kyrillos.

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee today repeated calls for Governor Corzine and the Senate Budget Committee leadership to acknowledge the scope of New Jersey’s fiscal problems, end an undeserved summer break, and get back to work considering ways to bring the State’s budget back into balance to avoid a damaging drop in the State’s credit rating.

“Republicans, newspapers throughout the State, and ordinary citizens have been identifying specific budget savings for years to bring balance to the State’s budget as well as identifying policies to make New Jersey more attractive to the private sector,” said Kyrillos. “My colleagues are right to pressure the Governor and Democrat leaders to finally admit the extent of the problem and to begin to address it.”