We have confirmation this morning that this is, indeed, the Speaker of the House, Andy Dillon.
I would like to extend an official welcome to the Speaker, say "thanks" for taking the time to post, but more importantly, I would like to highlight what he had to say about the coming budget battle.
With the activity that is scheduled for this week, it was great to hear things like "The House will not own a shutdown".
That's the kind of spirit I like!
Here is Andy Dillon, in his own words-
Happy to at least have you somewhat conflicted on me Wizardkitten. While I don't visit the blogging world very often, I appreciated reading your posts and the comments of the community today.
As a general rule, I think the residents are sick of the bickering so I tend to err on the side of staying positive and focused on the issues before us. I see firsthand how the public spats affect our ability to get an agreement on anything. For this reason, when the "Deal - No Deal" spat erupted, I was careful not to let it derail our ability to get back to the table. The day may come when we need to engage in a public fight and you can rest assured that I will engage at that time as I did when the Republicans voted to repeal the SBT without a replacement.
As I read in one string, the House has moved a lot of legislation. We have delivered on our campaign promises, have moved reforms and over half of the state budget has been passed by the House to the Senate. We will move the remaining House bills this Wednesday and, if the Senate fails to move theirs, we will move them the following week. We have advertised this to the MSM but they appear to be fixated on only two issues: taxes and reforms to teacher benefits.
We are also prepared to send over the revenue bills if we cannot reach an agreement with the Senate. The House will not own a shutdown.
I speak with the Governor and her team on a frequent basis. The media likes to play up the notion that there is a divide between us but its not true. For the most part, we have been on the same page. Timing and tactics are debated but we share a common goal of investing in our state and its people.
I concede reasonable people can disagree as to what would of happened had we sent the solution over to the Senate several months ago. However, I would have had to do that before there was consensus on the actual size of the deficit and would have had to move it on a party line vote. That would have put several of my colleagues at risk and possibly the majority as well. I still may have to move the solution on a party line vote but at least it will happen after we gave ourselves every chance to reach a compromise and the public a chance to learn of the severity of the financial crisis. The drum beat over the past several months has heightened awareness as to why we have to raise new revenues in these tough economic times.
I believe the day to day back and forth over the past few months will be long forgotten when the '08 budget is finished. After that, the people will compare the rhetoric with the solution and judge who was straight with them.
Thanks for keeping an eye on us and for fighting to move Michigan forward.
Best Regards,
Andy Dillon
Follow this link to read the whole exchange- you have to see where I was coming from at the time, and the diary he was responding to.
I have been critical of the Speaker this year, and it was great to have some dialogue with him. I hope that he continues to read our blog and answer our concerns- it shows a great deal of courage to speak up on a blog that said "bad things" about you.
With this action, you have shown the difference between you and your counterpart from the Senate. Thanks again Speaker Dillon, we look forward to hearing from you in the future!
Best of luck this week!