Heard on Beacon Hill
“It is my desire to do something. It is doubtful we could restore everything in full, but at the very least I’d like to see us at least make partial restoration.” – House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) on the question of whether the Legislature will move to restore some $98 million in budget cuts made by Gov. Baker in December.
“Just weeks after overriding Governor Baker’s veto and boosting their own pay by $18 million, hypocritical Beacon Hill Democrats have conceded there is no money to fund services they called ‘very, very critical.’ After their breathless criticism of Governor Baker’s fiscally responsible efforts to balance the budget, Beacon Hill Democrats have exposed their true priorities.” – Kirsten Hughes, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party.
“It is outrageous that hard-working Massachusetts residents are expected to pay their fair share of taxes while some major corporations are able to skirt their obligations through the use of murky offshore tax loopholes that a phalanx of lobbyists, year in and year out, protect for special interests.” – Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) on filing a bill to close a loophole which allows corporations to hide profits earned in Massachusetts in offshore accounts.
“You can’t prevent children from being born by telling them that if a child is born, it will be hungry and sick. The family cap doesn’t prevent children; it prevents their chances of growing up healthy.” – Dr. Deborah Frank, Director of the Grow for Children Clinic at Boston Medical Center, on Cambridge Rep. Marjorie Decker’s bill that would remove a welfare benefit cap for children conceived while a family is receiving assistance.