Republicans defend proposed budget cuts

Republican legislators say cuts must be made, and their budget-balancing plan is the only answer. Representative Carmine Boal of Ankeny, a republican, says state employees could have made things easier by re-opening contract talks and accepting a pay freeze rather than insisting on the seven percent pay raise in their union contract. She says that decision forces a need for furloughs with the 291-million dollar deficit. State unions and democrat Governor Tom Vilsack are pressing republicans to take money out of the state road construction fund and use it for other state programs, but Boal says that’s not an option the G-O-P will accept. She says the road fund has already decreased as the taxes decreased. She says the D-O-T has made cuts and cutting the road fund would hurt a lot of private sector employees.Governor Tom Vilsack says if republicans insist on their budget-cutting plan, he will sign it into law to avoid a government shut down. Vilsack spokesman Joe Shannahan.Shannahan says the Governor’s made it clear shutting down state government is not a good option. But Shannahan says the Governor’s holding out hope republicans will re-consider and use 60-million dollars in road construction money for other priorities, so the cuts aren’t so deep.Republicans say they aren’t interested in delaying road projects.