Party ally assails Bush plan (Jeb)

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Fri, Jan. 23, 2004

FLORIDA'S BUDGET
Party ally assails Bush plan
Gov. Jeb Bush's budget finds an unlikely critic: next year's president of the Florida Senate, a Republican who says the plan will leave the state billions in the hole.
BY MARC CAPUTO
[e-mail]

TALLAHASSEE - The future Republican leader of the Florida Senate publicly criticized Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed budget Thursday as a ''house of cards'' that's based on an election-year ''illusion'' that ``everything's going fine in Florida.''

Though he praised parts of the $55.4 billion budget, Sen. Tom Lee of Brandon struck a far gloomier note than Bush when he unveiled the spending plan three days ago and trumpeted how he proposed to cut taxes and increase spending on a variety of programs.

Lee said Bush's spending principles would leave the state $2 billion to $3 billion in the hole in 2005, when Lee is to be sworn in as Senate president.

''That's probably when this whole house of cards begins to fold,'' Lee said at a budget hearing. ``Is there a reason why we wouldn't make those tough decisions this year?''
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/7773957.htm