Forsee reacts to Nixon's budget cuts

Posted to Politics Watch by Will Guldin at 4:18 p.m., June 25, 2009

Exercising his line item veto power, Governor Jay Nixon announced this morning that he would cut or withhold more than $400 million dollars from the state budget for Fiscal Year 2010.

According to a budget summary obtained by The Maneater from the Governor's office, $100 million of these cuts are permanent and include $12 million for ethanol funding in FY2012 and FY2013 and $10 million for a highway interchange in Jefferson City.

The release stated nixon also withheld $300 million in other funds that could be be added back into the budget if state revenue figures exceed current expectations. These withheld funds include money for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and cuts an additional 200 state employees from the budget. Overall, more than $100 million of funding for MOHELA projects were either cut or put on hold by the governor.

Reacting to the news, UM System President Gary Forsee said in a news release that the University of Missouri System was disappointed by Nixon's decision.

"These construction and renovation projects enjoy wide public support and address long-standing problems with aging facilities that no longer serve the purposes for which they are intended," Forsee said. "We fully understand the state is facing challenging financial times, but eliminating or delaying funding for shovel-ready projects represents a missed opportunity to stimulate the economy by providing jobs and better education and health care services for Missourians.”

Nixon said the current economic situation required sacrifices.

"All across our state, families are having to make tough financial decisions – putting off things they want, just so they can afford the things they truly need," Nixon said in news release. "In short, more than ever, Missourians are having to tighten their belts and prioritize. Just as Missouri families are required to tighten their belts, so too must state government. Missourians are fiscally conservative people, and especially in these tough economic times, we must not turn our backs on that value."