INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Gail Riecken (D-Evansville) issued the statement below after voting against the biennial state budget proposal contained in House Bill 1001:
“Of course, the inclusion of some funding for the regional medical campus in downtown Evansville is a positive, but to simply leave it at that without exploring the full implications of the Republican state budget would be a mistake.
“By failing to include state funding for Ivy Tech Community College in the proposal, the budget effectively excludes close to 70 percent of the students that would be able to benefit from the scope of instruction that would be offered through the campus. Ivy Tech students would have been the prime beneficiaries of this project, yet they are being left out.
“That is wrong, and I have to wonder what Ivy Tech has done to incur the wrath of the Republicans who wrote this budget. I am pleased that the project can get under way, but to deny so many the opportunities they deserve to pursue a career in the field of health care does not sit well with me, and I cannot vote for a budget that makes that distinction.â€
It’s a letter. Can’t deny that.
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