What about the other 96 percent? We are almost to the four week mark of the House Democrats leaving the Statehouse and stationing themselves in Illinois. The House has been shut down and the people of Indiana are not being heard due to their actions. Their actions are in support of special interest groups, specifically unions, in the state and they are not allowing the vast majority of Hoosiers to be represented in the General Assembly. In fact, of the total Hoosier population, more than six million people, only 4 percent are members of a union. That means the other 96 percent including children, senior citizens, veterans, farmers, the disabled and many other Hoosiers are not being represented by the House Democrats strike. In a press conference late this week Speaker of the House Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) and Senate President Pro Tempore David Long (R-Fort Wayne) announced that the House Republicans, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats will start to work next week to combine House and Senate bills that will benefit Hoosiers. Included in that will be a budget bill that we are constitutionally required to pass into law by July 1. Normally we pass a budget by the end of the legislative session on April 29. But if the House Democrats do not return and we do not pass a budget before the deadline, then the governor would have to call a special session of the General Assembly. This would cost Hoosiers additional tax dollars. In the worst case scenario if a budget is not passed by July 1 then the governor would have to temporarily shut down government agencies including state parks, casinos, the Bureau of motor Vehicles and any other non-emergency operations; furloughing more than 30,000 state employees. Without funds allocated for state agencies to spend, they would not be able to run and the strike would hurt Hoosier families even further. On the House floor this week I stood in front of my colleagues and supported the motion to compel the House Democrats to return to their seats in the Statehouse. The video has been posted on my website at www.in.gov/H78 if you would like to hear my reasoning. 10 percent of Hoosiers in the workforce are represented by a union. But of the total Hoosier population, more than six million people, only 4 percent are members of a union. It is our duty as legislators to not just represent a segment of our district, or a special interest group of our district, but to represent our entire district and our entire state. People can speak emotionally to make their case, but you can't argue with the facts. The vast majority of Hoosiers' voices are being stifled and it is wrong. -30- State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville)
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