NJ. Sen. Steve Sweeney: I'll shut down government if Chris Christie reneges on pension payment
Senate President Stephen Sweeney today said he is willing to shut down state government if Gov. Chris Christie doesn't support a budget that contains the payment into the public employee pension fund they both promised to make when they approved a major overhaul of the program three years ago.
“If we have to shut the government down, we would," Sweeney told The Star-Ledger editorial board today. "I stand by that, and I mean it. I made a commitment, and I've got to keep it."
Sweeney (D-Gloucester) made the threat in response to Christie's remarks in his State of the State address earlier this month, in which the governor said he and the Legislature "need to have the conversation now about further changes to our pension system and about adding further to our state’s already-burdened debt load."
The current pension contribution is $1.7 billion, and is set to rise to $2.4 billion in next fiscal year. The Republican governor suggested in his speech that money would be better spent on other things, such as more police and better schools.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/steve_sweeney_says_hell_force_a_government_shutdown_if_chris_christie_renegs_on_pension_payment.html#incart_river
= new reply since forum marked as read
