Basically, these guys presented themselves as true conservative heroes who saved Louisiana from spending cuts, tax increases, and sorts of nasty things. They also really reformed government you guys, seriously. You in the back, quit your laughing.

Presented without further comment:

Baton Rouge, La. – Since April 13, 2015, the legislature has tackled many tough issues while addressing a $1.6 billion budget deficit. Now that session has ended, several pieces of legislation are awaiting Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature.

House Republican Delegation Chairman Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, released the following statement regarding the budget:

“The House Republican Delegation led the way on many challenging issues this session, and we have a lot to show for it. We worked together to ensure higher education and health care are funded for the future. We fought to protect Louisiana’s middle-class families and small business community from costly tax increases. And even though we started with a $1.6 billion debt on April 13, we were able to pull together and leave session with a Louisiana that’s stronger than when we began.

I am proud of our delegation’s Common Core compromise. It ensures a high quality education for our state’s children and attracted support from all sides of the issue. The compromise requires BESE to listen to our parents’ and teachers’ comments, questions and concerns about Louisiana’s academic standards. Thanks to our delegation, Louisiana children’s education is back in the hands of those who care about them most and know what works in the classroom.

Our delegation also instituted measures to reform how our state government functions. We put a bill on Gov. Jindal’s desk that will prevent Louisiana from wasting taxpayer money on expensive and unnecessary consulting contracts. Our delegation is committed to common sense approaches like these that will make Louisiana operate more efficiently and more effectively for the foreseeable future.

The $714 million in strategic budget cuts we’ve made will ensure our state operates more effectively. We have refused to put the burden of these cuts on the backs of Louisiana families, small businesses and students. Instead, we’re making sure the state is going to spend the taxpayers’ money responsibly and wisely.

Lastly, I am proud our delegation led the charge against corporate welfare. We voted to place a sunset on Louisiana’s too-generous corporate tax credits and limit the support we’ve given certain industries in the past. You deserve to know your tax dollars are spent wisely, and frivolously handing out money to corporations doesn’t fit that description. When facing a $1.6 billion deficit, our state can’t afford handouts.

On behalf of the delegation, I want to thank the residents of our state for giving us the chance to serve them this year. We made many tough votes, but we’re confident fighting for the middle-class, respecting small businesses and working to fully fund higher education and health care puts Louisiana in a better place than it was when we began almost two months ago.”

House Republican Delegation Policy Committee Chairman Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, commended the members of the delegation for their work this session:

“I have never seen a legislature work together this well during my time as a state representative. The Republican Delegation managed to strike a perfect balance and file quality bills to fund our state’s priorities while filling a $1.6 billion deficit. As the Chairman of the House Republican Delegation Policy Committee, I’ve had the privilege of working with many of our members on several bills. I’m proud of how our members handled the tough issues we faced this year.

We passed legislation, made cuts, reformed how the government operates, funded higher education, protected health care and worked to prevent tax hikes on our students, families and small businesses. The votes we made this session have truly made Louisiana’s financial state stronger than it was before.”