GiaQuinta responds to Governor’s 2020 agenda

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) today issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s 2020 agenda:

“There is much here that deserves full consideration by the General Assembly in the 2020 session. Improving mental health services at our schools and providing health care transparency are issues that House Democrats have supported in the past and will continue to support into the future.

“However, as teachers across Indiana made clear on Organization Day, we cannot afford to wait on issues that seriously impact the quality of education provided to young people across Indiana. Yes, we should pursue ‘hold harmless’ legislation, but we also must explore the obsession with testing pursued by this Governor and the Republicans that has led us into this mess. Yes, we should scale back excessive training that hinders a teacher’s ability to do his or her job, but we must also scale back on the Republican obsession with putting unnecessary roadblocks in front of those teachers.

“While the governor and the Republicans may want to wait yet another year on raising teacher pay, the teachers who came here on Organization Day and House Democrats believe we cannot wait one more day to do what’s right. House Democrats believe paying teachers a fair and decent wage is more important than building a hog barn, and we intend to take every chance to debate and vote on this issue in 2020.

“Indiana House Democrats intend to pursue a Hoosiers First agenda that includes making health care more accessible and affordable, providing children with quality care that their parents can afford, investing in public education, giving teachers the pay raise they deserve, and ensuring that our children can go to school to learn in a safe environment. We will pursue this agenda throughout the 2020 session.”