Press Releases

Jackson, MS- Governor Ronnie Musgrove today set the record straight on jobs and the budget and announced his support for a bipartisan compromise bill in the senate that will help lead to energy independence.

Musgrove spoke at Mississippi State University's John C. Stennis Institute of Government's Capitol press corps Luncheon.

On the budget: "Here are the facts: I balanced the budget every year and reduced spending by $200 million, or 5.8 %, without raising taxes. Not only did we balance the budget but we left a surplus in the bank."

The ending balance of the state budget at the end of each fiscal year under Governor Musgorve:

2001 = $49,426
2002 = $424,851
2003 = $2,517,786
2004 = $10,665

On jobs: "The truth is that the number of people working on my first day in office was about the same as the number of people working on my last day in office. And unemployment was more than a full point lower on the day I left office than it is now. My administration's efforts lead to the creation of more than 52,000 jobs and more than $14 billion in economic investments, including the Nissan Plant - the largest economic development project in state history."

On Energy: "On Friday, a group of ten senators announced a bipartisan compromise bill that includes many of the sets I've called for -such as drilling and investment in alternative energy... I urge the Senate to pass this bill... President Bush should release 500 thousand barrels of oil a day for the next 100 days [from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve]. Releasing oil from the reserves in the past has lowered prices up to 33%. And it has lowed prices quickly."

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