During his 2025 State of the State address, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) spoke about his budget proposal and statewide spending priorities.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In fact it is just the opposite. This year's budget protects those ambitious
00:07investments by embracing a spirit of responsibility and addressing some
00:12long-term budget challenges so that future leaders don't have to make
00:16impossible choices. So let me explain a little bit on this. Years ago, before many
00:21of us were here in St. Paul, members of both parties made a series of choices
00:26specifically around human services spending that has put us on a path of
00:31unsustainable cost growth. In just a few years, the biggest of these human services
00:36program will eat up one in every eight dollars. We could ignore the problem for
00:40now. We'd have a surplus after this year. The wave won't crash this year, but it
00:45will crash. But while the problem was not the fault of many in this room, the
00:50solution should be our responsibility. So I'm proposing that we come together, DFLers
00:55and Republicans, House and Senate, and address this issue that we all inherited.
00:59For the economists in the crowd, my budget will be balanced for years to come. And
01:04in just the next two years, it will cut the structural imbalance by half. For
01:09everyone else, it's really this simple. Right now, we are the most generous state
01:15in the nation when it comes to the programs and services providing people
01:19with disabilities. And we should be damn proud of that.
01:40And the good news is this. After my budget is passed, we will still be the most generous state in the nation
01:47when it comes to these programs and services. And because of the efficiencies that we've proposed,
01:52we will be able to continue being the most generous state in the nation for many years to come.
01:58Bottom line, if we don't govern responsibly, someone else will get a chance to govern irresponsibly. And I refuse to let that happen.
02:11Another way we're protecting investments is by doing more to prevent, investigate, and punish fraud in government.
02:41We all agree. I thought you'd like that. But look, it's easy to demagogue government spending.
02:51The truth is, as long as there have been programs aimed at helping people, there have been people looking to steal from those who need them the most.
02:59We've made strides in catching the backed actors, stopping their schemes. We've sent a lot of crooks to prison.
03:04But we can do more. Minnesota should have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to misuse of taxpayer dollars and theft.
03:12And earlier this year, we took action.