PSARA activists hear McDermott, Hasegawa

First-hand reports on the 30-day special session from Senator Joe McDermott and Rep. Bob Hasegawa highlighted the lively March 25 Legislative Debriefing sponsored by the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.

McDermott came from Olympia to report in person and Hasegawa reported by telephone. Both fielded probing questions from the PSAA activists assembled at UFCW Local 21 in Seattle. A third invited speaker, John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, outlined revenue-raising alternatives, including a proposed new tax on high incomes.

The two legislators focused on the standoff between the two chambers on how to raise an agreed-upon $800 million in new revenue to offset in part an anticipated $2.7 billion budget shortfall. At the Retiree Advocate deadline, the stalemate had not been resolved, with the Senate proposing a sales tax increase that the House majority strongly opposed. Negotiations were continuing.