By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Gov. David Paterson threw down the gauntlet on Sunday night, vowing to “veto everything” if state legislators don’t do things his way, reported the New York Daily News.
On Monday, lawmakers will have to choose between Paterson’s emergency spending bill and a budget that was drawn up by Senate Democratic leader John L. Sampson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
If neither bill passes on Monday, the State government will be forced to shut down at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
The governor angrily criticized the Sampson-Silver bill for containing “irrational spending that is not paid for,” and warned that their budget doesn’t plan for the potential loss of $1 billion in federal Medicaid money, the News reported.
Paterson wants to rid the budget of more than $500 million in spending that the Legislature wants to add to the governor’s original January proposal.
The governor is also threatening to slice almost $200 million in pork projects intended for lawmakers’ districts during an election year, according the News.
In addition, the governor talked about the need for a 4 percent property tax cap, the power for SUNY and CUNY to set their own tuitions, and allowing grocery stores to sell wine.
Lawmakers claim that Paterson is overstating the differences between the two bills.
“The difference between us and him is $200 million,” said Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, according to the New York Times.
“$200 million over what will be a $135- or $136-billion budget, which I suggest to you is less than a tenth of 1 percent.”
Moreover, lawmakers argue that if they pass their own appropriations bills, there is no real threat of a government shutdown, the Times reported.
“The bills we introduced allow us to continue negotiations, move forward with gap-closing action and keep government working,” Sampson told the Times.
Paterson, however, disagrees with the Legislature’s tactics.
“The Legislature is not listening to the signals from Washington,” Paterson said to the Times. “It’s as if they just stick their heads in the sand and ignore it.”
