Exclusive — Arizona Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Carter Cheers Passage of Balanced Budget

Arizona Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Carter (R) on Breitbart News Saturday cheered the passage of a balanced budget through the state House.

Arizona House Republicans late Friday night passed a $17.3 billion budget.

Carter told Breitbart News Saturday host Matthew Boyle that the budget aims to provide essential services for Arizonians while cutting wasteful spending.

“We’re working really hard in Arizona to keep the budget conservative. For me that means a couple things, number one slashing spending, and reducing the government, it means tax relief, it also means understanding that there are parts of government that are supposed to be funded and there’s what’s not supposed to be funded,” Carter told Breitbart News Saturday.

“Proud to say we delivered on all of those fronts,” he added.

He noted that the state House-passed budget would scrap property taxes for 100 percent disabled veterans.

Carter that these disabled veterans, through their service to their country, “already paid” their taxes.

He said that the budget would also double the adoption tax credit as a furtherance of their pro-life credentials. Carter added that the budget would increase spending for its department of public safety, which would boost funding for police and highway patrols.

Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) has signaled that the budget is “dead on arrival.” Hobbs said on Friday:

From day one of the budget process, I have worked with leaders of both parties in both chambers to craft a bipartisan, balanced, and responsible budget. This reckless and partisan budget is not that. House Republicans are yet again playing political games, attempting to jam through a budget that would decimate the middle class families I fight for.

However, Carter has argued that the state legislature is responsible for crafting a budget that reflects the mandate given to them by the people of Arizona.

He explained, “The governor doesn’t get to write the budget, it’s the people who get to write their budget through their elected representatives in the House and the Senate, and she has the opportunity to agree or disagree to it.”

Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.