MEDIA ADVISORY: Press Conference on July 22nd to Fight for a Better Budget

WHAT: Press conference to urge lawmakers to sustain Gov. Cooper’s budget veto
WHERE: NC General Assembly Press Room, 16 W. Jones Street, Raleigh
WHEN: Monday, July 22, 3:00 p.m.

RALEIGH (July 19, 2019) – A broad coalition of organizations will stand united on Monday, July 22, to urge legislators to sustain Governor Cooper’s veto of a deeply flawed budget proposal that threatens to leave North Carolinians grappling with poorly funded schools, underpaid and overworked educators, and a coverage gap with hundreds of thousands unable to access health care.

“Our children deserve the best opportunities we can offer for their future and we need to fight for them,” said Mark Jewell, President of the NC Association of Education. “Governor Cooper was left with no option but to veto a budget that failed our children, their families, and their schools. We implore the Democrats to sustain his veto.”

The press conference will feature speakers from Advance Carolina, Down Home NC, NAACP, NC Black Alliance, NC Association of Educators, and the NC Justice Center to urge the Senate and House leadership to come to the negotiating table and work with Governor Cooper to produce a compromise budget that will invest in the future of all 100 counties.

“There are many counties that haven’t fully recovered from the Great Recession and some counties have lost jobs in the past year,” said Will Munn, Senior Policy Analyst at NC Justice Center’s Budget & Tax Center. “Cutting taxes for big, high net worth businesses won’t fix the challenges we face. We need smart public investments that connect more North Carolinians and all our communities to opportunity.”

“As legislators, we have a responsibility to work on the issues that matter most to North Carolinians: health care, education, and jobs. Sustaining this veto is a commitment, not only to our constituents, but our communities throughout the state,” said NC Senator Valerie Foushee, Chair of the NC Black Alliance. “I am asking my colleagues to unite and fight for a stronger state budget that invests in our future and creates opportunities for all of our communities.”

The press conference will be held in the press room of the General Assembly at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22nd. The undersigned organizations support this press conference to call on our legislators to fight for a budget that reflects our priorities and values to ensure a thriving future for our state.

Action NC
Advance Carolina
AFL-CIO
America Votes
Cape Fear Indivisible
Coalition for Health Care of NC
Down Home NC
Equality NC
Flip NC
Indivisible Asheville
Indivisible Guilford County
NAACP
NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina
NC Aids Action Network
NC Association of Educators
NC Black Alliance
NC Council of Churches
NC Justice Center
NC A. Phillip Randolph Education Fund
Next Gen NC
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
Pisgah Legal Services