Rep. Crawley: Budget fails to invest in working people, families and the communities they live in

Rep. Erica C. Crawley (D-Columbus), the ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee, today issued a statement on the latest omnibus version of House Bill (HB) 110, the state’s two-year budget, which cleared the Finance Committee Tuesday.

“Democrats wanted to see a bold blueprint for Ohio’s future. That’s not what this budget is. It’s disappointing that Republicans didn’t want to work with us to invest in the working people and families who have faced unprecedented uncertainty over the past year amid the worst public health and economic crisis in our lifetimes,” said Rep. Crawley. “Instead of making the necessary investments to ensure our recovery benefits all Ohioans, Republicans prioritized another round of tax giveaways to the wealthy that we can’t afford right now—not while so many Ohioans are hurting.”

Democrats offered a number of amendments during Tuesday’s House Finance Committee hearing, including measures that would:

• Put more money back in the pockets of working people by making the earned income tax credit partially refundable;
• Invest in public health to modernize state and local health departments to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and ensure Ohio is prepared for the next crisis;
• Increase access to publicly funded childcare to allow more Ohioans to get back to work;
• Provide more rental assistance to Ohioans who’ve lost their jobs through no fault of their own during the coronavirus pandemic;
• Restore Republican cuts to local governments and libraries;
• Invest in programs to make college more affordable to lower-income Ohioans.
• Invest in maternal health and morbidity data reporting to improve health outcomes.

Republicans rejected each amendment.

After passing committee, the budget moves to the House floor for a vote Wednesday.