As Republicans opposing Obamacare, we can’t simply propose a repeal agenda. I’m hoping that the coming failure of Obamacare gives new life to the possibility that we might return to free market principles in health insurance—principles that have been missing for about 100 years now.
I’d like the state to let insurance companies offer true insurance plans without all the mandates, so people have an option to pay for most basic medical services out of pocket, and the insurance would cover serious illnesses and accidents. A la carte add-on coverage should also be allowed. Medical savings accounts, tort reform and out-of-state competition are certainly part of the equation, but also important is restoring a real sense of cost to the medical care and health insurance markets. When people have to pay for an elective MRI, for instance, just like they do corrective eye surgery, we might start to see expensive procedures performed only when they’re necessary.
Concord, NH — Today, the New Hampshire House of Representatives took another step toward the Republican’s goal of stopping ObamaCare and its tax hikes, government expansion and prohibitive price tag. GOP leaders in the House of Representatives today passed a plan which would prohibit a state health insurance exchange and force Washington to repeal and replace the Democrats’ government-run health plan.
“When it comes to ObamaCare, the list of problems never ends,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne MacDonald. “It spends borrowed money, it raises taxes, in many ways it puts the government in charge and through these exchanges it eliminates choices for patients.”
ObamaCare requires states to establish bureaucratic exchanges that are regulated by the state and result in fewer options and less competition. States are required to implement these government-run health programs by January 1, 2014, or the federal government will do it for them. Speaker Bill O’Brien, Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and Rep. Andrew Manuse have been leading efforts in the House of Representatives to stop these exchanges in the Granite State.
If the press is planning to blow out of proportion dissent from the Democratic Party, which was handily defeated for its irresponsible ideas, then of course it will appear like there is a lot of dissatisfaction out there from people who want to spend more money that isn’t theirs. But from those whose money Republicans have protected this term, we have heard a lot of gratitude–not that doing our jobs the right way deserves any, because we are public servants after all. Government should always be responsible to the people and should make sure it is protecting the basic rights of all citizens, who are its masters. At the same time, it should never pick winners and losers in a fixed marketplace and subsidize dependency. That’s what we’re up against. Regardless, the good people of New Hampshire have got nothing other than responsible government from Republicans this year, despite the loud cacophony from those Democratic and progressive Republican policy makers whose policy was already rejected by voters and will be again.
In my humble opinion, Ron Paul is the only candidate running for president who will truly restore this nation to its former glory, inspiring other nations to follow our example. For the reasons I state in this endorsement and others, I am giving Ron Paul my full and unequivocal endorsement for President of the United States.
Jobs are created in the private sector, and the only thing government can do to help stimulate job growth is to get out of the way. Republicans are in the process of reducing the size of government, reducing the number of onerous regulations, lowering spending and lowering taxes, and if the good people will simply follow through on their commitment to these ideals through the 2012 elections, they will see jobs created through private industry and new private development. That is where jobs come from. That is what Republicans will bring.
I came to New Hampshire because I had no voice in my home state of New York, nor in the state I had moved to afterward. You can’t imagine how frustrating it is to vote and work for Republicans one election after another, just to see all your hard work evaporate with another crushing defeat. When I saw the Free State Project–living in Massachusetts at the time–I saw it as an opportunity to move to a state where I could have a voice. I saw it as an opportunity to do business and raise my family without the overreach of government. But, when I saw New Hampshire moving in the wrong direction under the control of the Democrats, I decided to run for office and help bring the state back to its roots. I am not an atypical example of a Free Stater. There are only a few who make headlines doing irresponsible things. Most of us are just good old fashioned Republicans who want to make a difference.
DERRY, N.H. & STRAFFORD, N.H.—Rep. Andrew J. Manuse of Derry and Sen. Jim Forsythe of Strafford are pleased to announce that their combined initiatives to guarantee property rights in New Hampshire have become law and will take effect this July.
The bill, HB 316, sponsored by Rep. Manuse, guarantees a property owner’s right to appeal a property assessment, even when the owner does not allow an assessment official in his or her home. Previously, property owners who had exercised their Fourth Amendment protection from searches without a warrant were subsequently denied their constitutional right to appeal an unfair assessment. This new law restores the constitutional right to appeal an assessment while continuing to protect the constitutional right to be secure in the home from unreasonable searches.
“This is a significant victory for the citizens of New Hampshire, because their constitutional right to due process has been reinstated under the law,” said Rep. Andrew J. Manuse, R-Derry. “Because of this change, property owners won’t have to choose between one of two guaranteed constitutional rights, and New Hampshire government agents won’t be able to use the threat of taxation to impose themselves in the private lives of citizens. I’m grateful to all the folks who helped with this effort to protect the rights of New Hampshire citizens.”
It should be quite clear to everyone here that voters in November rejected the way Congress passed the so-called Obamacare bill against the will of the people. They sent us here to do something about this. They still want us to do something about this. A recent UNH poll showed 55-35 percent opposed to the law.
If we do nothing, this Obamacare system will have the consequence of engulfing private health insurance markets and creating a single-payer system with the federal government in charge. With the federal government’s record of running Social Security and Medicare into the ground, we don’t want to take the risk of giving the same government management of one sixth of our economy.
By law, Obamacare will force individuals to buy health insurance against their will on January 1, 2014. It will also create anti-competitive price controls, which ALWAYS drives up the cost of the product being controlled every time it’s tried. This is outrageous!
When I ran for office last year, I asked voters to trust me when I said I would “lower the overall tax and regulatory burden on families and businesses by creating an efficient, accountable government and reining-in wasteful spending.” I told voters I would “always foster free enterprise, limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility.” I noted that this effort would in time “create jobs and stimulate economic growth.” I passed this message around on about 3,000 campaign cards. I spoke frankly with people at their doors or around town, and I publicized my Web site, www.andrewmanuse.com, where I spelled out my intentions at great length. I am grateful that Derry voters agreed with my message and sent me to Concord to do their work. I am happy to report to my employers that I have so far done exactly what I said I would do.
Rep. George Lambert, R-Litchfield, and I decided to sponsor this bill because we have been watching (and experiencing) the post-911 anti-terrorism apparatus get out of hand. We have seen horror stories and personally listened to stories from people we know that tell of TSA agents putting their hands underneath people’s underwear–or worse; we have heard about body cavity searches conducted without any cause. We have heard about the potential risks of cancer from the backscatter technology and also how some agents have used the backscatter images as pornography. We have read about how the TSA is expanding its airport security into our train stations, bus stations and onto our highways. In the name of fighting terrorism, we have forgotten about our liberties and basic human decency.
