Governor Morrisey's Veto Rationale Highlights His Hypocrisy on Taxpayer Dollars

May

2025

PRESS RELEASE

Governor Morrisey's Veto Rationale Highlights His Hypocrisy on Taxpayer Dollars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2025

Charleston, WV – The West Virginia Democratic Party today called out Governor Patrick Morrisey for glaring hypocrisy following his recent comments regarding his criteria for vetoing legislation. Governor Morrisey, in a statement issued Monday, declared, "For the future, folks should know that if your bill costs taxpayers money and you haven't provided an offset for your proposed program, the odds of your initiative getting approved will be slim... Taxpayers must be respected!!!"

Yet, the Governor’s bold talk about fiscal responsibility rings hollow given his own HOPE Voucher program—a costly scheme funneling millions of taxpayer dollars away from West Virginia public schools to fund out-of-state private schools, extracurricular activities, and leisure pursuits like jiujitsu, sports competitions, and dance classes.

"If Governor Morrisey is serious about respecting West Virginia taxpayers, then he should commit to fully funding West Virginia's public schools instead of diverting their funding to out-of-state institutions that lack transparency, accountability, and oversight," said West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin. "It's the height of hypocrisy to demand fiscal offsets for desperately needed programs while simultaneously wasting taxpayer dollars on private schools and extracurricular activities for a select few. West Virginians deserve better than double-talk from their Governor."

West Virginia Democrats urge Governor Morrisey to match his words with actions by investing in West Virginia’s public education system, prioritizing taxpayer dollars responsibly, and ending wasteful and unaccountable spending on private interests.

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