FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Celeste Levy; celestel@povertyaction.org
Seattle, WA – This week, the Washington state House of Representatives and Senate each released their proposed budgets, aimed at setting a financial pathway out of the budget deficit over the coming years. Excitingly, each budget comes with an associated package of progressive revenue proposals which address Washington’s regressive tax structure – the second most regressive in the country- and ask the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share.
We are encouraged to see the legislature in both chambers responding to the needs of their constituents by taking a revenue-forward approach that avoids major cuts to social services. Our state has tested the cuts-only approach during the last financial crisis, and working families are still recovering from the harm of disastrous, widespread cuts to our state’s safety net. The legislature’s wise decision to pursue new sources of revenue mirrors the strategy of those working families during hard times – an approach that includes both tightening their belts and finding new sources of income.
We commend the Senate for their proposal, which pushes for bold action towards new revenue and avoids delays in the implementation of hard-fought legislation. The Senate’s five revenue bills would close obsolete tax loopholes, lighten the burden of regressive sales tax, and ask for common sense taxes on large businesses and stock market wealth. The billions of dollars generated from these proposals would fund K-12 education, healthcare, and social services that contribute to a healthy and strong Washington.
While the House of Representatives’ proposals include three exciting revenue bills, they also include disappointing delays to the implementation of previously passed legislation that ends harmful policies such as the claw-back of Social Security income from Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) recipients (HB 1260) and Child Support garnishment from families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (HB 1652). Balancing the budget on the backs of Washingtonians who use ABD Benefits and TANF to meet their most basic needs is not the path towards economic wellbeing for our state. One of our community members, a single mother of two, shared that she struggles to make ends meet while the state takes hundreds of dollars in child support that was meant for her children. Until these bills are implemented, Washington is actively withholding financial assets from children and adults with disabilities who are living in deep poverty, and using that money as a revenue source. This is unacceptable, especially with so many progressive options on the table.
We are encouraged to see both chambers of the legislature champion progressive revenue. Washingtonians are counting on their representatives to write a budget that supports the most vulnerable residents of the state and creates a strong foundation for weathering an uncertain federal landscape. By implementing the TANF Child Support Pass-Through and the ABD Clawback as planned while passing progressive revenue, Washington lawmakers can balance our budget and our state’s tax code, carving a new path towards financial prosperity for our state and for the people they represent.
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