Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said Wednesday that Gov. Wes Moore’s announced hiring freeze does allow state agencies to exercise some discretion.
“Smart governance means you make smart decisions with the data that you have,” said Ferguson, a Democrat.
“The default should be freeze, but if there are circumstances that arise that make sense,” he continued, “then there should be exceptions and I trust the administration to follow through on that appropriately.”
For example, said Ferguson: “If there is a case that a secretary or a deputy secretary can make as to the importance of a particular hire, I’m sure that the administration can navigate those particular facts along the way.”
Ferguson spoke to reporters after a briefing with state officials on the potential impact of the federal budget plan being considered by Congress.
Asked about the potential cuts to Medicaid, Ferguson said while there may be short term savings, he argued there could be ongoing costs as a result of cuts.
“What we know happens with people who don’t have health insurance is that they wait on care and they come to the emergency room for it. That is the most expensive place to go, and it means those costs are not born by a health insurance company, they are borne instead by you and I and everyone else that has commercial health care, through uncompensated care,” he said.
Republicans’ reaction
In a statement from the Maryland House Republican Caucus, Del. Jason Buckel, the House Minority Leader, wrote that “it’s no surprise that there will be a significant impact on our state when federal spending is cut.”
Buckel continued that the state’s Democrats bear a “large responsibility” for the impact of cuts due to what he called the “heedless expansion of spending over the years.”
Ferguson said state lawmakers will continue to monitor the potential impact of federal cuts as the spending bill moves through Congress.
House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy added that “just because federal actions are not good for Maryland Democrats does not mean they are not good for our country.”
“Federal spending has been out of control for decades, and President Trump is delivering the spending relief the American people have been demanding,” Pippy said.
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