A recent Press Herald editorial (“Our View: House Republicans snared in trap of their own making,” June 4) wildly misrepresented the position of the House Republican caucus in the budget negotiations, specifically related to the new 3 percent surcharge and education funding in Maine.

House Republicans have not made “a tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent of Mainers their top priority.” On the contrary, the 3 percent surcharge applies to roughly 16,000 tax filers in Maine; around 11,000 of those are small businesses. We have always opposed making life more difficult for our small businesses, and we vehemently oppose policies that make it difficult to recruit more businesses and jobs to Maine.

Furthermore, according to a letter to the editor that appeared in this paper, Maine Medical Center is having a difficult time recruiting doctors to our state specifically because of the 3 percent surcharge.

House Republicans want a lower tax burden for all Mainers and more accountability in where our education dollars are being spent. We are not necessarily opposed to more funding for K-12 education if we simultaneously adopt reforms that ensure more of that money is targeted into the classroom.

The powerful teachers unions spent $2.4 million to ensure the passage of Question 2 last November. Now, Democrats want hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for repealing the onerous surcharge. That’s quite a return on investment using your tax dollars. House Republicans have a well-earned reputation for being responsible stewards of Maine taxpayers’ money, and that is not changing any time soon.