Gov. Phil Scott on Friday followed through on his threat to veto lawmakers’ mid-year budget tweak, calling the additional spending it contains "irresponsible" in the face of looming federal cuts. He also disagreed with lawmakers' decision to include money in the bill to extend a program t hat has housed homeless people in hotels and motels around the state since the pandemic. The expensive program continues to be a flashpoint between the governor, who wants to kill it, and a legislature that is hesitant to evict vulnerable people onto the streets. “After nearly five years of experience, we know this approach is far too expensive and fails our constituents, communities and taxpayers,” Scott wrote. It's the first time Scott has used his veto powers since the November election, when Democrats lost their supermajority. That's erased the party's ability to push legislation into law over Scott's objection.  Every year, the legislature passes a bill called the budget adjustment act to move money around in response to unexpected events, from major disasters to modest changes in tax revenues. In recent years, however, debate over the bill has become heated as Democratic lawmakers and Scott use it to re-litigate ongoing budget and policy battles. The current bill, H.141, was sent to the governor this week after a six-member panel hashed out differences between the House and the Senate. But Scott said he could not accept the final changes for two reasons. Given growing uncertainly with federal funding, there is the potential for “significant funding cuts to critical programs” looming, he wrote. In addition, he cited the proposed motel program extension. Under current rules, come April 1, as many as 600 adults and 160 children risk losing their shelter in the program, according to the Department for Children and Families. Lawmakers want less restrictive winter program guidelines to remain in effect through June 30. The price tag for the extension is $1.8 million. Scott has long argued that the state can’t afford the broader program, which once used mostly federal funds and cost more than $50 million per year to house around 3,000 people. The program is much smaller now, housing around 2,200 people and costing $18.3 million under the proposed changes. The governor has also argued that the program is “warehousing” people because it lacks the kinds of services that could help them improve their situations. Instead of extending the program for another $1.8 million, Scott,… ...read more read less