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Jerry Brown says he wants Democrats to cut more from budget plan

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Gov. Jerry Brown demanded Tuesday that lawmakers cut deeper into state spending, and welfare in particular, before they move a budget plan to his desk.

As majority Democrats presented their spending plans in both the Assembly and Senate, the governor released a statement declaring “we’re not there yet, ” and said the budget being pushed through the Legislature is fiscally irresponsible.

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“The Legislature has agreed to some tough cuts, but the budget before the committees today is not structurally balanced and puts us into a hole in succeeding years,” Brown’s statement said. “We need additional structural reforms to cut spending on an ongoing basis, including welfare reform that’s built on President Clinton’s framework and focused on getting people back to work.”

The major difference between the two sides remains Brown’s proposal to cut welfare benefits by $880 million. Democrats in the Legislature have balked at Brown’s call to reinstitute and tighten work requirements for some welfare recipients with young children which were suspended two years ago in a cost-saving move.

They also bristle at Brown’s call to reduce some monthly welfare checks by as much as 27% for a single parent with two children.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg called Brown’s focus on welfare changes “a surprising and odd choice of an issue to stake your ground on,” and said the governor’s proposal would devastate some of the state’s neediest, while Republicans are siding with the governor.

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--Anthony York in Sacramento

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