DeLaney calls on Republicans to use growing surplus to benefit Hoosiers

Today, the Braun administration released its fiscal year-end report. The report revealed that Indiana is closing out the 2026 fiscal year $586.5 million above forecast, bringing the two-year revenue total to $1.14 billion above forecast. 

In addition to the increased revenue, the Braun administration reported savings resulting from not spending $187 million of what the legislature had budgeted, which feeds back into the surplus. 

Those unspent funds included over $60 million from Indiana’s public universities and almost $100 million from the K-12 education budget. The legislature and its research arm returned $3.5 million. Separately, Gov. Braun’s Medicaid office decided to “save” $300 million by declining $1 billion in federal funds (Indiana receives a very high return on investment for its state Medicaid spending from the federal government).

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement: 

“Hoosiers don’t pay the state their hard-earned money to watch politicians sit atop a pile of cash and brag about how high it goes. They contribute their tax dollars with the expectation that the state will use it to invest in making their lives better.

“Instead, we over-budget, just to announce we’re refunding money to the budget so that the governor can do a yearly victory lap about his ability to run the government like a business.

‍"I’m not opposed to a healthy surplus, but we’ve had surpluses in the billions for years, and we still fail to invest in people. 

‍“We rank 45th in public school support. The public is not proud of that, but the governor won’t redirect unspent education funds to our schools. The public doesn’t feel the benefits of an extra $1.1 billion in our coffers when over 18,000 Hoosiers sit on Medicaid waitlists, or see their Affordable Care Act premiums rise, or learn hundreds of childcare centers have closed because of cuts. The Braun administration is determined to weaken state institutions at every turn. He simply will not invest in our people. 

‍“We should be using our surplus to address the problems that Hoosiers elected us to solve. Why not fully fund preschool, shore up health insurance, or return to our previous robust support of public education?  Washington is cutting support for healthcare and education. Are we going to fill those voids? I urge Gov. Braun and my Republican colleagues to use uncommitted funds to help Indiana reach its full potential. Hoosiers earned the cash that funds our state budget. It’s time to start spending it on them, especially at a time when they’re already hurting.

‍“With Gov. Braun, budgeting is a game. He uses it to brag about refunding our own money that he doesn’t know how to spend.” ‍