Colo. will face devastating cuts without fed’s help

Last week was the most difficult week we have ever faced as elected officials or members of the Joint Budget Committee. We had tearful discussions prior to gut-wrenching decisions as we addressed devastating health and economic issues in our state budget.

Before the virus hit, Colorado was looking at millions of dollars in budgetary surplus. It meant we had additional funds to invest in our schools, reduce the cost of health care, improve environmental protections, expand economic opportunity and more.

The year held great promise. Then, with more than half of our legislative session remaining, COVID-19 tore through Colorado.

We decided to postpone our legislative work until the public could safely participate in their democracy. We hoped to be back within two weeks and that didn’t happen.

Now, after two months of shutdown, more than 1,000 Coloradans have lost their lives,

420,000 people have filed for unemployment, and at least $3.3 billion in revenue has vanished from our state budget.

For these reasons, we call upon the U.S. Senate to pass the lifesaving HEROES Act that recently came out of the House.

Our painful situation in Colorado is compounded by restraints connected to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which has artificially constrained our budget since 1992. Even when the economy boomed in the last few years, some of the revenue could not be invested back in Colorado, resulting in cash-strapped schools and crumbling roads.

While Coloradans are experiencing hardship, we are looking at cutting critical programs and initiatives. No one becomes a public servant with the goal of dismantling years of hard-fought progress and growth. So it goes without saying, this process has been excruciating. But what makes everything more painful is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

During times of national crisis, it is the federal government’s responsibility to step in and help. Yet some members of Congress have made it clear that states are on their own. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went so far as to say he would let state governments declare bankruptcy rather than send them more federal funding.

This kind of sentiment is unacceptable and ignorant. Many Coloradans are suffering, with more to come in the weeks, months, and years ahead if we do not receive adequate assistance.

Local governments are crumbling and millions of people are out of work. We need the federal government to prioritize working people and help states recover from this crisis. And the relief funds should be flexible enough to fill in the revenue shortfalls that COVID-19 has caused.

Our tax dollars in Colorado don’t go toward making the rich richer. They serve the everyday people of our great state — helping students attend college, supporting those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, serving veterans, helping single parents, paying teachers and so much more. If we don’t have the funds to support these critical programs, our communities could suffer for years and maybe decades.

While we wait for Washington to act, we have been back at work looking for places to make cuts and looking to direct funds toward programs that best help Coloradans. Cuts are painful, make no mistake. But in our decades of service we know one certain truth: Coloradans are resilient people, and we know that with the right help, we can get through this together.

Dominick Moreno is a Colorado state senator representing Senate District 21 in Adams County and Rachel Zenzinger is a state senator representing Senate District 19 in Jefferson County. Both are members of the Joint Budget Committee.