March 6, 2018
Hagåtña — Weeks into the fiscal crisis, senators made no meaningful progress today in addressing the fiscal crisis.
In session this afternoon, Senators Frank Aguon and freshman Senator Regina Lee continued to demonstrate their lack of understanding of the magnitude of the fiscal crisis before the people of Guam.
Each senator passed amendments that would amount to savings of only $200,000 this fiscal year — the shortfall is $67 million. This amounts to only about .002% of the savings needed to keep the government whole.
“Today, senators hurt the incomes of over 70 working families on Guam, reducing their pay below the national average, without even grazing the fiscal crisis before us. The moves senators are making are personal and politically petty. They need to get over their personal feelings and do meaningful work that addresses the fiscal crisis,” Governor Calvo said.
Senator Morrison suggested they go back to the budget process instead of, “going through all these micro cuts. I don’t know where we’re going with all this. We just got put on credit watch and I’m concerned my colleagues are not grasping the magnitude of the situation.”
Senator Tom Ada, said “we’re going to nickel and dime the bill and not get anywhere.” He also added that while raising the BPT tax is probably the “simplest solution” — considering the votes during recent sessions it would make more sense to look at other bills that utilize other revenue enhancements.