Agreement reached on deficit cutting package
Democratic and Republican lawmakers said Wednesday that they have reached an agreement on a package that patches more than half of an estimated $550 million deficit in this year's state budget.
The agreement trims several state programs, including the state's health care program for the poor and aid for the disabled, as well as transfer funds from other programs. In total, the plan cuts the deficit by about $370 million, with $242 million in cuts and $125 million in transfers.
"Many of the decisions found in this budget agreement are extremely painful ones. They aren't necessarily the decisions we'd embrace if we had a wider set of options before us, but that's a luxury we don't have," said Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chairman of the Senate's Ways and Means committee. "Our obligation is to bring the current budget into balance, and we intend to meet our obligation."