GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres said he doubts that lawmakers will pass a balanced budget for government operations before October 1, the first day of the new fiscal year.
Without a new balanced budget by this deadline, there will be a partial government shutdown until a budget bill is passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and signed into law by the governor.
“I don’t know if they’re able to act on it by the deadline because…seeing what the House majority [has] done, really, is very negligent,” said the governor, referring to the House version of the budget bill which remains pending in the Senate.
The Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs is anticipated to present its version of the bill to the full Senate body this Friday during a 10:30 a.m. Senate session at the Tinian courthouse.
Governor Torres said he is confident that the Senate panel and Senate majority will look into and address issues that his administration has raised regarding the House bill.
He submitted his proposed FY 2023 budget to lawmakers on April 1, 2022.
The House version, he added, would “cut critical government resources from essential governmental agencies and departments in favor of giving themselves an additional $1.2 million for House allocations.”
However, the House Committee on Ways and Means disputed Torres’ claims on Friday. Committee members said their budget bill offers more allocations for certain departments and agencies, compared to the administration’s budget proposal.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Donald Manglona said the panel stands ready to work with its Senate counterparts to pass a balanced budget before the Oct. 1 deadline.
In Oct. 2010, the Senate and the House’s failure to agree on a compromise version of the budget bill resulted in a 10-day partial government shutdown affecting 1,400 government employees.
