VIDEO: Senate Democrats Double-Down on Funding for Controversial $90 Million Senate Office Building

Initial payments were approved today to fund the controversial $90 million Senate office building after a heated debate in which every Democrat doubled down to fund the building and not a single Republican voted for it.
Much of the debate centered on the motivations of Senate Democrats when they decided to fund the building in a way that avoided public hearings and did not require the usual three-fifths majority vote. Both would have been required if the building was passed in a bonding bill, the usual way similar projects are financed.
“If we funded every project the way Senate Democrats funded the controversial $90 million office building, we’d never have to have another debate about the merits of a project. We’d simply fund whatever wasteful spending the majority caucus dreams up every year,” said Senator Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes). “Democrats purposely tried to hide this project from taxpayers to get something shiny and new for themselves, and that’s exactly why people are skeptical of politicians.”
Senator John Pederson (R-St. Cloud) added, “It’s obvious Democrats knew there would be huge public backlash against building brand new offices for part-time politicians, so they found a way to evade the rules and avoid public scrutiny. That’s just not how Republicans would run state government.”
So far, only $3 million has been appropriated by the legislature for planning and design work. Today’s vote includes debt service on the mortgage for the new building and funds for ongoing maintenance and operations. Since the building was not passed in a bonding bill, the legislature will have to revisit this issue every two years.
Another amendment to defund the building and put the money toward veterans’ healthcare also failed.

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