Become an underwriter of WBOI today.
News

House Democrats push to spend state surplus on helping Hoosiers

89.1 WBOI | By Brandon Smith
Published January 5, 2022 at 2:14 PM EST
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
Rep. Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) calls the state's $4 billion surplus "unconscionable" amid the "suffering" of Hoosiers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lauren Chapman

Indiana House Democrats want the legislature to spend some of the state’s $4 billion surplus this year to help support struggling Hoosiers.

Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) delivered a speech to the House on the opening day of the 2022 session Tuesday.

Republican leaders are resistant to spending any new money this year, noting that 2022 is a non-budget session.

But GiaQuinta said Hoosiers deserve to have the state invest in them – whether by helping them with medical debt, child care costs or student loans.

“Just scraping by when you’re working two or three jobs is a kind of economic imprisonment," GiaQuinta said. "It tramples the spirit of hardworking Hoosiers.”

Newslocal news2022 Legislative Session
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.
See stories by Brandon Smith