Legislative

Legislative Update By Representative Seth Morgan

I hope your holidays were relaxing and full of joy and family. Christmas and the New Year always bring with them hope, thoughts of renewal, and reflections on priorities. While these sentiments are always helpful, they are especially needful for our Country and State as was most evidenced by recent actions in both Columbus and Washington D.C.

Columbus and Washington had a special gift in mind for the people this Christmas season. The stockings Columbus and Washington hung from our family room mantles contained gifts wrapped in very shiny foil but when unwrapped, were merely lumps of coal.

Washington’s gift of coal came in the Christmas Eve Senate passage of “health care reform”. This measure, clearing yet another hurdle, represents a Washington dedicated to policies that will destroy the free fabric that made our society great.

From the Statehouse, the lump of coal left for Ohioans wasn’t much better. After vowing not to raise taxes, Governor Strickland went back on his word and proposed a tax increase to balance his troubled budget. His double talk should not have surprised us given he first tried to fix his budget this summer with a gambling scheme after also promising not to expand gambling. This budget “fix” was nothing more than the Ohio “leader”ship kicking the can further down the road, setting up a daunting $7-9 billion dollar projected budget hole for the next biennium. So much for protecting the people’s money; so much for efficiency; so much for leadership.

No instead of leading, the legislators and Governor who supported this plan abdicated their responsibilities – choosing instead to hide behind threats of what might happen all while they took the easy route of taking more of your money. They proved their unwillingness to right-size government, give bipartisan attention to the billions of dollars of ideas we had placed on the table, or cooperate with us as we explored real ways to repair and resurface the road we are on… not just patch the pothole.

If I sound frustrated – you bet I am and so should you be. While, we all know the amazing political turnaround that appears to be coming thanks to Washington and Columbus’ failed policies and the incredible good group of candidates we have statewide, it doesn’t change the opportunity we have to take note of what is happening right now. As the father of three very young children, regardless of what happens in 2010 and 2012, I am greatly concerned with your and my futures, let alone my children’s.

If we are to win this war of ideas, we must return to the ideas our founders were largely committed to. Raising taxes in an otherwise already high tax State like Ohio is not bad just because it is bad for the economy; although it is. It’s not bad just because it is short-sighted, although it is. Raising taxes is bad for Ohioans because it allows government to expand its power and size – we are Republicans, and like our founders, we believe in a small government – not just because it keeps more money in our pockets – but more importantly because it keeps the power and influence of the government limited, and leaves the financial success of this Nation in the informed decision making of the American people – not through government picking winners and losers.

Likewise, government run healthcare is not just bad for the quality of healthcare or an economic model that will collapse under itself, although both of these attributes are true. Rather government run healthcare, cheaper or not, is an attack on the individual liberties we hold dear and an expansion of government that is unconstitutional. We’ve not had a true free market health care system since I can remember – any solutions we explore should be focused on providing a fair play ground, with economic parity and free market pressures.

These are just two recent examples, but we must frame the debates we have with our neighbors and friends around the truths our founders understood – not the circumstantial issues of the day – we are about liberty, limited government, checks and balances, and the mutual dependence between self rule and freedom. We must insist that these concepts are how we measure our leaders, what we teach our children about America, and the context in which we debate the issues of our day.

During this time of renewal, we must renew our understanding of the foundational principles upon which our liberty, prosperity, and futures were built. Regardless of our excellent opportunities in 2010 as a Party, nothing is more important to our future as a State and Country as to have political leaders, buoyed by informed people that require commitment to the root principles our founders understood so well.

Your team will continue to fight for these American principles in the State House – I only pray for more to labor with us. I encourage you to contact me if we can be of assistance in any way.

In the service of liberty,

Legislative Update by Senator Jon Husted

For the past several weeks I have been reviewing the finer details of Governor Strickland’s proposed two-year budget blueprint. Among the hotly contested aspects of the proposal are: fee increases totaling more than $1.5 billion on almost all Ohioans; a new K-12 education plan; and the use of $7 billion of borrowed and one-time money (creating a revenue hole equal to 15 percent of the overall budget).

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, I listened to the many Ohioans who testified in opposition to the Strickland education spending plan. The Governor’s “evidence based plan” is unfunded, unsustainable and serves as a false promise to Ohio schools. Further, it would effectively close all charter schools within two years – 88,000 students’ school choice options would be eliminated. Even Democrats in the legislature acknowledge that the Governor’s education plan does not provide the required funding for its ten year rollout.

The Republican controlled Senate recently countered with a balanced budget that removes all 139 earmarks and cuts more than $650 million in spending on state government. A balanced budget that does not raise taxes – this is the Republican way.

On another note, as I prepare to become Ohio’s next Secretary of State, I have also introduced legislation to change Ohio’s redistricting process – the way Ohio draws its legislative district boundaries. Currently, the party that controls two of three statewide elected offices – Governor, Secretary of State or Auditor – draws district boundaries that are in place for the next decade. I am seeking to replace the winner take all system with a bi-partisan commission to draw legislative and congressional district lines. We must discontinue the system that allows politicians to pick the voters rather than allowing the voters to pick their public officials.

These issues and the mounting job losses Ohioans are experiencing have me working overtime to find solutions. Please contact me at 614-466-4538 or via e-mail at SD06@senate.state.oh.us if I can be of assistance. For more information on my campaign, please visit www.hustedforohio.com.

Sincerely,

Jon Husted
Senator
6th District