ALBANY, N.Y. -- With a March 31 deadline looming, legislative
leaders met with Governor Andrew Cuomo Monday to hammer out a deal on the state's
budget -- their second meeting in five days.
When legislative leaders emerged NEWS10 asked them about
what, if any, progress had been made.
"There's a lot of discussions about a lot of things.
It's not our intention to be specific as to..." said Assemblyman Sheldon
Silver (D) before Senator Dean Skelos (R) spoke up, "I think what's about us all
being together right now is that there's going to be differences that we're
going to try to iron out."
The governor took questions after, reiterating that
point, but he chose to do it was a dose of humor.
"If you're good at wiggling, there's always wiggle
room. And I have learned to wiggle over the last two years," said Gov. Cuomo.
Legislative leaders say it's still too early to tell if
raising the minimum wage would be part of a final deal. But they did tell NEWS10
it wasn't discussed in this latest meeting.
Despite that, Silver is moving forward, scheduling a vote
Tuesday that would increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour. It is currently at $7.25.
"It's important to put out a minimum wage bill and
to have something that is out there that is our position," said Silver.
The governor had called for raising the minimum wage to
$8.75 in his executive budget. Monday he said it could be done outside of the
budget, later in the session, saying that it was still too early to tell.
"Minimum wage, casinos, they're tricky. The numbers
are tricky. All of these issues are difficult, it's a tough economy," said Gov.
Cuomo.
NEWS10 ABC
