| Senator Rob Kane (R-32) will work
without pay one day per month for the rest of this calendar
year, and has formally asked the General Assembly’s
Office Of Legislative Management to reduce his legislative
pay accordingly. Senator Kane’s voluntary pay cut
will begin April 1st.
“I was extremely disappointed when the General
Assembly rejected the Republicans’ call to cut
legislative pay as part of the state budget deficit
mitigation plan we adopted earlier this year. If we
are going to ask Connecticut citizens to sacrifice to
get the state through this fiscal crisis, then we have
to be willing to lead by example,” said Senator
Kane, a member of the General Assembly’s Appropriations
Committee.
Senator Kane said he realizes that the current economic
crisis is forcing far too many businesses, families
and individuals to make even greater sacrifices.
“We are seeing businesses close their doors
and employees being required to take pay cuts and unpaid
furloughs in the hopes of keeping their jobs. A lot
of people are already out of work, and pretty much everyone
I talk to who is still employed is worried about what
is going to happen next. As the owner of a small business
and a father helping to support my family, I know how
they feel. But doing my job as a legislator without
pay one day a month is something I can do to contribute
to our efforts to get through this,” said Senator
Kane.
Senator Kane noted that the unemployment rate in Connecticut
is 7.4 percent, according to the February report issued
by the state Department of Labor. According to the state
Department of Labor, the state lost 14,300 jobs in February,
bringing the loss of Connecticut jobs over the past
six months to nearly 45,000.
“As noted in the state Department of Labor’s
most recent jobs report, unemployment has been increasing
at a slower rate in Connecticut than it is nationally.
Hopefully, our economy will turn around sooner rather
than later. Meanwhile, we all have to tighten our belts,”
said Senator Kane.
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