The Oklahoma State Capital

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Republican leader Fred Morgan on Tuesday took issue with a partisan attack launched by Democrats using state-funded resources and praised GOP efforts to form its own budget committee as "acting responsibly in the wake of years of Democrat control, which have finally culminated in bankrupting our state." Morgan's comments were in response to a press release issued by House Speaker Larry Adair through the House of Representatives Media Division, which is funded by state tax dollars. The headline read, "House Democrats Attack GOP 'Shadow' Committee Scheme."

"At a time when the House leadership should be saving money for things like teacher insurance and tax relief, they have chosen to spend taxpayer's hard-earned money on below-the-belt partisan attacks," Morgan said. "This is just one more example of why we need our own budget committee."

"Hard-working Oklahomans deserve the most thorough review of the state budget possible," said First Assistant Minority Leader Todd Hiett. "That's why we will not just attend our regular budget meetings, but we will also go the extra mile to hold additional meetings in an effort to find real solutions to our current budget challenges."

"To suggest that taking a more intensive look at how state agencies spend taxpayer money is a partisan stunt reveals why the leadership is so disconnected from the average Oklahoman," Morgan said. "When Republican House members volunteer time to learn more about budgets, the Democrat leadership should applaud such initiatives, not condemn the work ethic that Oklahomans expect from their State Legislature."

Morgan said Oklahomans are tired of budget decisions being made behind closed doors.

"Since we welcome innovative, out-of-the-box ideas, we will hold our budget meetings open to the public and the media," Morgan said.

"We invite any member of the Legislature whose ideas have been stifled by the current leadership to attend our meetings."

Morgan said that latest news release is only the most recent example of Democrats using state resources for blatant political gain. He pointed to a news release on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22.

"This is the third time this month Legislative leaders have wasted state resources on partisan media attacks," Morgan said. "It's unfortunate they aren't spending the same time and energy on finding solutions to the budget problems."