John Milton wrote that “They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Gov. Gregoire
Today was day 11 of the special session of the Washington State Legislature, and it’s been more than a month now since both the Washington State House and the State Senate first rolled out their supplemental budget proposals. The Senate passed its budget Feb. 27. The House passed its budget March 5. They couldn’t agree on how to pay for their budgets, though, and couldn’t finish by the end of the regular session March 11. The special session began the following Monday, and the Senate passed its budget again.
That’s where it stands, and we wait.
While there are some major differences between the two budgets, they don’t seem insurmountable. The budgets for financial aid, in particular, are pretty close, as you can see by the comparisons on our SaveStudentAid.org site. After making some significant cuts, we also know that both the House and Senate are looking to raise about the same amount in additional revenue: $800 million.
The sticking point seems to be a temporary increase in the state sales tax. The Senate passed an increase of 0.3 percent during the regular session, and passed a new revenue package with a temporary 0.2% increase in the sales tax last Friday. Leaders in the House, however, have maintained that they cannot drum up the support for a sales tax hike.
The governor weighed in yesterday, warning that she might have to make across-the-board cuts of 20 percent if the impasse isn’t broken soon.
Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point. A 20 percent cut in financial aid programs would likely make college impossible for thousands of students who rely on that assistance. Take it from the students in our video below.
