Door debate reflects administration’s misplaced priorities

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis), ranking Democrat on the Indiana House Ways & Means Committee, today issued the following statement on the recent debate over security at the Indiana Statehouse:

“Today in Indiana, we have a bridge on Interstate 65 that is falling apart, which means that people cannot travel normally on one of our state’s major thoroughfares.

“We have a state agency that is devoted to protecting children from abuse and neglect that cannot perform its function because it cannot keep its staff.

“And we are in engaged in a debate over whether we need to install turnstiles at some entrances of the Indiana Statehouse, as though we were talking about getting into an amusement park.

“The people of this state are entirely within their rights to wonder what the heck is going on here.

“I’m not even sure what’s going on here is crisis management. We have two instances where matters have deteriorated so seriously that it’s gone beyond being a crisis, yet we are spending time on how we need new doors for reasons that even proponents of the idea cannot adequately explain.

“I would suggest that our governor needs to stop taking trips to Yankee Stadium and counting the money in a stuffed state surplus of $2.1 billion, and start worrying about what is going on in our Indiana.

“Because right now things are falling apart, and he’s only reacting to what is happening, rather than showing leadership.

“The problems with our state’s infrastructure did not magically appear. Our roads and bridges have been going to pot for quite a while now. That’s why Indiana House Democrats have consistently proposed additional funding in this area, such as the $450 million loan program we sought this past session that was rejected by the House Republican supermajority.

“Our state’s Department of Child Services (DCS) has been in constant turmoil for any number of years, and the pattern for addressing it has fallen into a familiar pattern. Things get bad, the governor promises to do something, then we repeat that function about a year later.

“And even if you concede that Statehouse security must be of concern, it took constant media prodding to get the administration to explain what they are doing with your tax dollars by seeking $870,000 for its turnstile project. Even now, I’m still not sure what they want to do.

“It doesn’t take much to figure out what should be done here.

“Stop worrying about whether our Statehouse should be King’s Island, stop sitting on a surplus, and start using the resources we have to take care of these problems. Now.”