Rep. Ed Orcutt's statement on today's revenue forecast

Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, member of the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee, released the following statement after today's updated Washington state revenue forecast:

"I sincerely hope this new revenue forecast is an indication that our economy is beginning to stabilize. We may see some small downward trends in upcoming forecasts, but I'm hoping the sharp drop in revenue collections is coming to an end.

"The most important thing to remember about our economy and our revenue collections is this: We are in the midst of a consumer-led recession -- consumers will be the ones to lead us out, not more government spending. We need to put all talk of tax increases to rest. We can -- and we must -- balance the budget without raising taxes on hard-working families.

"We're almost two-thirds of the way through this session yet don't have a true supplemental budget nor an official, published plan of closing our state's multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. Now that we've seen the official March revenue forecast, I hope we can get to work putting our state budget on the path of sustainability, accountability and transparency."