House of Representatives overrides governor’s budget veto

RALEIGH—Rep. Jake Johnson (R), of Polk County, says he voted to override the governor’s veto of the state budget this week because he does not think it is fair to hold funding for things like education, disaster relief, infrastructure and teacher pay raises hostage because of one issue. 

Johnson sent a press release Thursday following a U.S. House of Representative session on Wednesday that has been contentious because many of the democrat members were absent. 

While democrat members say they were told there would not be a vote on the floor Wednesday morning, Johnson said that is far from the truth. 

“Some are saying that this vote was done in secret,” Johnson said. “That could not be further from the truth. This vote was properly placed on the house calendar, which I would encourage everyone to go take a look at on the North Carolina General Assembly website. It was confirmed by central nonpartisan staff that the Speaker never made any mention of votes being cancelled; meaning that members should have been present for session if they desired to cast a vote.”

Johnson said it is not the Speaker’s job to make sure members show up. He also said it was stated by one of the democrat members on the floor Wednesday that a portion of their delegation was absent because they were drawing redistricting maps. 

“It this is true then this is a blatant violation of the court’s orders for transparent and public redistricting,” Johnson said. “Of course, you won’t see this mentioned by the liberal media outlets.” 

Rep. Deb Butler (D), from New Hanover County, stood before the vote and said republicans used lies, bribes and illegal districts because their policies damage our state and can’t pass on their own merit. 

Butler did say during the session some members were not present on the floor because they were downstairs working on redistricting maps. 

Gov. Cooper said on the 18th anniversary of 9/11, while the state was honoring first responders, republicans called a deceptive surprise override of his budget veto. 

Some news outlets have stated there were two members attending 9/11 events at the time of the vote. Johnson says it has been proven there was only one democratic member attending a 9/11 event. 

Cooper said if you look at the number of people who were in that chamber and how many of them were republicans and how many of them were democrats, there is no confusion about what happened. 

“This was a lie and we know why they were not there because they were told that there were not going to be votes,” Cooper said. “And the republican caucus was laying in wait, ready for this.” 

The N.C. House voted 76-43 Wednesday morning to override the veto. 

The Senate still has to vote to override the veto, but republicans only need one democrat to vote with them for approval. 

Johnson said he has received a lot of scrutiny from partisan groups who he said would rather see our state at a standstill than moving forward because of party politics. 

He said he would make residents a promise, however. 

“I will never apologize for voting to give teachers much needed pay raises, and fighting for our schools to be properly funded,” Johnson said. “I will never apologize for providing relief to those who need it most after a natural disaster strikes. I will never apologize for standing up for our law enforcement, and making sure those who keep us safe are properly equipped. I will never apologize for funding the roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects that we need the most. These are just some of the great things that are in this budget that I believe the citizens of North Carolina and District 113 deserve.”

Johnson was appointed to the seat in August following the resignation of former Rep. Cody Henson. Johnson is from Saluda and resigned as a Polk County Commissioner to take the seat. He says he will run for the office in 2020, which filing for begins in December. 

Following is Johnson’s full statement following the vote: 

 

I was extremely proud to cast my vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the state budget. With this override, we are now one step closer to finally passing the state budget that North Carolinians and the citizens of District 113 deserve. Gov. Cooper vetoed this budget because it did not include Medicaid expansion, a priority of the far left that would have ultimately bankrupted the state. I voted for this override because I do not think it is fair to hold funding for things like education, disaster relief, infrastructure and teacher pay raises hostage because of a single issue. 

Some are saying that this vote was done in secret. That could not be further from the truth. This vote was properly placed on the house calendar, which I would encourage everyone to go take a look at on the North Carolina General Assembly website. It was confirmed by central nonpartisan staff that the Speaker never made any mention of votes being cancelled; meaning that members should have been present for session if they desired to cast a vote. It is not the Speaker’s job to make sure someone shows up; that is the job of each individual member. It was also stated (on public record) by one of the democrat members present on the floor that a portion of their delegation was absent because they were drawing maps. It this is true then this is a blatant violation of the court’s orders for transparent and public redistricting. Of course, you won’t see this mentioned by the liberal media outlets. 

I will conclude with this: I have received a lot of scrutiny from partisan groups who would rather see our state at a standstill than moving forward, all because of party politics. However, I will make you a promise today. I will never apologize for voting to give teachers much needed pay raises, and fighting for our schools to be properly funded. I will never apologize for providing relief to those who need it most after a natural disaster strikes. I will never apologize for standing up for our law enforcement, and making sure those who keep us safe are properly equipped. I will never apologize for funding the roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects that we need the most. These are just some of the great things that are in this budget that I believe the citizens of North Carolina and District 113 deserve. 

— Rep. Jake Johnson