On the recordJuly 19, 2011
I thank Senator Johanns very much. I am honored to be here with the other former Governors. There are a handful of us on each side who have had the honor and privilege of serving their States as the chief executive, so it is a real honor to be here, and I bring that experience with me. I think every one of us brings that experience with us. I not only bring that experience, but I did almost three decades in the Idaho State Senate, balancing the budget and, indeed, I was in the leadership, having to do what the leadership does here, as far as bringing the two ends together, because we have a balanced budget requirement in the State of Idaho, as virtually every other State does. Does that create some angst when one is the chief executive or when one is in the legislative process trying to balance the budget? Of course it does. I am sure the Presiding Officer wound up with the same thing in her great State as she tried to balance the budget because no matter how much money one has, it is never enough. As Senator Johanns pointed out, it is a matter of priority. This is not rocket science. What the States do and, indeed, what businesses do and, indeed, what families do around the kitchen table, either formally or informally, is anticipate how much money is going to come in over the year, sometimes over the month, sometimes over the week. They anticipate how much money is going to come in and then they say: We have priorities. What is our first priority?…
