(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, and Speaker of the House Matt Ritter today released the following joint statement:
“Following last year’s election, we anticipated the new administration would make cuts to federal funding, something our state – like many – relies on for the healthcare of our most vulnerable, for infrastructure improvements, for public safety, and for our children’s education. What no one could anticipate was how severe these cuts would be and how quickly they would occur to vital programs, sometimes without warning.
“Drastic reductions were always going to impact our own state budget and now we’re beginning to see the unfortunate effects. Since the beginning of this new administration, we have been modeling out potential outcomes and monitoring funding for critical programs. We will review these on a case-by-case basis to understand the impact and protect our most essential programs.
“No state can restore every cut that comes from Washington or ignore the effects, especially on public health. However, sound fiscal practices have positioned us better than most states in the nation. If this pattern of devastating cuts continues, we will be prepared to exercise emergency powers. Although we hope that Washington reverses course, we must plan for the inevitable or unpredictable. Over the coming weeks, we will be meeting to collaboratively plan how to best protect our state’s values during this chaotic period in Washington.”