Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) issued a statement after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a $60 billion budget with $1 billion of new debt for Fiscal Year 2026.

“Voters sent lawmakers to the Tennessee Capitol to cut costs for their families, improve our quality of life, and rebuild our crumbling middle class. But the legislature failed to meet the moment and this year’s budget is defined by the challenges it ignores. It does nothing to ease the burden on working families struggling with rising grocery prices, housing costs, and the loss of health coverage. In fact, Republican lawmakers blocked Democratic efforts to crackdown on gun violence, repeal the grocery tax, raise wages, and guarantee health coverage for all working families. They even slashed the governor’s own proposal to invest in affordable housing.

“After passing the largest corporate tax break in Tennessee history just last year, working families were right to expect more from their state government. Instead, the biggest new initiative in the budget is a taxpayer-funded voucher scheme that hands $7,300 to 20,000 families already enrolled in private schools.

“Our families deserved better.”