Tell the Truth Campaign

State Senator Kevin Witkos launched the “Tell the Truth” campaign at the Legislative Office Building on Monday, July 15th.

Earlier this week, I launched an important new initiative designed to combat misleading and distorted claims currently circulating in news coverage. This “Tell the Truth” campaign is specifically intended to push back on a series of statements and claims from the Governor’s office, the legislative majority party and other agencies and associations that do not tell the whole story. It will also provide members of the public with a more complete understanding of the complex issues facing the State of Connecticut.

After reading many news articles, television reports and other sources of information that simply do not tell the whole truth, I decided to launch this campaign to provide my constituents and other Connecticut residents with a fuller understanding of current news coverage. Over the next few weeks and months, I will be updating this resource on my website and speaking with members of the public to help set the record straight.

During my press conference, I specifically brought attention to three recent examples of misinformation, including the changes to the state’s contribution for the Retired Teachers’ Healthcare Fund, the claim of inheriting budget deficits from previous Republican administrations and the gas tax increase.

The first item I discussed was the changes to the state’s contribution to the Retired Teachers’ Healthcare Fund. Shortly after the end of the 2013 legislative session, the Connecticut Education Association circulated an email calling on its members to thank legislators who voted for the budget even though it included a reduction in the state’s contribution to the healthcare fund from 33 percent to 25 percent.

However, Republican senators introduced an amendment that would have fully restored the state’s contribution. Unfortunately, it was not supported by the majority party. Instead of thanking those who voted for the budget, teachers should be aware that Republicans made an effort to keep the state’s promise to our retired teachers.

Second, Governor Malloy has long criticized his Republican predecessors for inheriting large budget deficits. Now, more than two years into his administration, it is past time that he takes full responsibility for the budget situation. While the state is currently enjoying a budget surplus, the budget is projected to have a $1.3 billion deficit during the next two year state budget. In addition, while previous administrations were in power, the Democratic-led legislature proposed and passed a series of irresponsible budgets that led to the large budget deficits.

Third, both the governor and legislative majority have blamed Republicans for the gas tax increase. While many legislators supported the increase in 2005 to fund a major transportation initiative, this year’s increase could have been postponed or eliminated. In fact, Republican legislators again introduced an amendment that was unfortunately defeated along party lines.

In 1980, the gas tax was first instituted by Democratic Governor Ella Grasso in an effort to reduce the high profit margin of oil companies. Since then, the tax has simply been passed through to Connecticut motorists, who have seen the gas tax increase from 2 percent to now 8.1 percent. In 2008, the legislature eliminated a 0.5 percent scheduled increase in the gas tax, which serves as an example that the governor and majority party could have avoided the latest gas tax increase.

As part of my initiative, I will be available to travel around the state to speak with community groups, chambers of commerce and other organizations that are interested in hearing the full story behind current policy debates. When new examples of misinformation become necessary for a response, I will continue to address these claims by updating my website. If you would like to learn more about my “Tell the Truth” campaign, please visit my website at www.SenatorWitkos.com.