A message from Rep. Lee Filer

Dear Wyoming,

In every legislative body, there are disagreements about priorities, philosophy, and fiscal restraint. That is healthy. What is not healthy is when a small faction begins to act as though it alone holds the wisdom for an entire state.

In the Wyoming House of Representatives, roughly six members of the Appropriations Committee have signaled through both rhetoric and action that they believe they should exercise near-total control over the state budget. Their posture suggests that consultation, collaboration, and compromise are inconveniences rather than responsibilities. And in doing so, they risk more than bruised egos in Cheyenne they risk Wyoming’s future.

Budgeting is not a private exercise. It is not a think tank experiment. It is the blueprint for the lives of 580,000 citizens spread across vast rural communities, small towns, and growing regional hubs. When a handful of lawmakers cut funding across the board from county services to the state’s only four-year university, they are not trimming excess. They are pulling at the threads that hold our communities together.

Wyoming is not a bloated bureaucracy in need of dramatic austerity. It is a state already operating lean, where local governments stretch every dollar to maintain roads, emergency services, water systems, and public safety. Deep, indiscriminate cuts do not “streamline.” They hollow out.

Consider the impact on University of Wyoming, our only four-year public university. It is more than a campus in Laramie. It is the primary pipeline for trained nurses, engineers, teachers, accountants, ranch managers, and entrepreneurs. When you cut its funding without a coherent explanation, you are not merely reducing line items you are constricting the workforce of tomorrow. Businesses considering relocation or expansion in Wyoming look first at workforce readiness. If we choke off that pipeline, we send a clear message: growth is not welcome here.

And what about our small towns and counties? In communities where a hospital, a school district, or a county road department may be one of the largest employers, state dollars are not abstract numbers. They translate into paychecks, services, and stability. When funding is slashed without transparent justification, it creates uncertainty that discourages investment and undermines local planning.

What is most troubling is not simply the severity of the cuts, but the apparent inability or unwillingness of this small bloc to clearly explain them when the budget reaches the House floor. If you claim superior fiscal insight over the rest of the legislature and, by extension, the citizens of Wyoming, you carry a burden of proof. You must articulate why each cut is necessary, what problem it solves, and how long-term costs will be avoided. Shrugs and slogans are not sufficient.

Fiscal conservatism is not synonymous with indiscriminate cutting. Responsible budgeting requires prioritization, transparency, and accountability. It requires listening to school boards, county commissioners, business leaders, and families. It demands recognizing that Wyoming’s challenges volatile mineral revenues, workforce shortages, rural healthcare access cannot be solved by contraction alone.

The irony is that the budget presented by this faction does not strengthen Wyoming’s independence. It weakens it. By slowing growth, constricting higher education, and straining local governments, it makes the state less competitive and less resilient. It risks driving young people elsewhere in search of opportunity, hollowing out the very communities these lawmakers claim to protect.

No small group of legislators no matter how confident, they should presume to know better than an entire state without demonstrating their reasoning clearly and convincingly. The citizens of Wyoming deserve more than opaque cuts and ideological rigidity. They deserve a budget that invests in opportunity, sustains essential services, and prepares the next generation to live, work, and build businesses right here at home.

Wyoming’s future should not be decided by six voices acting in isolation. It should be shaped by open debate, shared responsibility, and a commitment to thriving communities from our smallest towns to our university classrooms.

Thank you,

Lee Filer

Wyoming State Representative

House District 44

307-421-9554