Here’s House GOP Leader Don Turner of Milton talking about the new legislative session with Rob Roper!

{ 0 comments }

{ 0 comments }

Here’s VT GOP Chair Pat McDonald talking about our new “$20 for 12″ initiative . . . it’s a great way to help out the VT GOP, a little bit each month!

Click here to learn how to sign up!

{ 0 comments }

2012 = $20 for 12!

Looking for a way to help out the VT GOP a little bit each month, so we can restore balance and common sense in Montpelier?

The VT GOP’s “$20 for 12″ program is a great way to help out your state party!

You can pay $20 each month for 12 months – either via monthly check or credit card.  We’ll remind you when your payments are coming due.  And if you would prefer to pay all $240 for the entire year all at once, you can do that too!

The elections of 2012 will have profound and lasting impacts for Vermont.  NOW more than ever, it is imperative that we stand up, speak out, and DEMAND that our government work on behalf of ALL Vermonters.

As a bonus, all “$20 for 12″ members will also be our guest at the 2012 VT GOP Fall Dinner and will receive special recognition.

If you would like to participate in the “$20 for 12″ program, please fill out the form below and mail it back to us.  If you would prefer to just send us an email indicating you would like to parcipate, that’s okay too!

{ 0 comments }

Senator Randy Brock – who recently announced his campaign for Governor – was on “You Can Quote Me” on WCAX this past Sunday, talking about his campaign and the challenges facing Vermont.  Check it out at the link below!

{ 0 comments }

The Shumlin Administration doesn’t know how they are going to pay for their single payer dreams . . . or if they know, they aren’t letting Vermonters in on the secret!

As part of the Administration’s “Listening Tour” to gather input on how they could possibly raise the hundreds of millions – or even billions – of dollars they will need to collect from Vermonters to fund single payer, a number of potential funding sources were identified.  Surprisingly, one exercise even suggested the property tax as a way to fund single payer health care . . . nevermind the fact that Vermont’s property taxes are already sky high!

Republicans in the Vermont House know that their constituents can’t possibly be asked to pay more in property taxes to fund government-managed health care.  So, several of them demanded that Governor Shumlin take property taxes off the single payer funding menu.

You can read the release from the House Republicans below.  You can also read about the dust-up in this article from the Brattleboro Reformer.

****

New Property Tax to Fund Healthcare?

Republicans Want Property Tax Off the Table as Funding Source

Rep. Patti Komline of Dorset, a long-time advocate for property tax reform, commented, “Governor Shumlin was a leading advocate for higher property taxes under Act 60, so we need to know that he won’t go back to the property tax again to fund his latest initiative.”

###

{ 0 comments }

ICEBERGS AHEAD

Exchange Impacts Loom Large for VT Employers

Decisions being made about Vermont’s federally mandated health care exchange could have profound implications for Vermont businesses and residents.  As reported by VT Digger, employers are increasingly concerned by the impact these new health care exchanges will have on their employee’s health care coverage – as well as their bottom line:

“The federally mandated health benefit exchange will likely limit the number of insurers and plans employers can choose from, and it’s this squeeze on the variety of available options and associated costs that Vermont companies are worried about.”

(Read the full article at www.vtdigger.org:  New federal, state rules for health care insurance rattle businesses).

The stakes are higher in Vermont than in other states, as the Shumlin Administration has been open about their intent to use the exchange framework as their pathway to a taxpayer-funded, government-managed single-payer system.

“The spirit of the exchanges was that Americans would have the ability to choose between insurers and pick the health care coverage that best meets their needs,” says Pat McDonald, VT GOP Chair.  ”But here in Vermont, Governor Shumlin seems determined to use the exchange framework to limit choice and to limit competition.”

“When the Affordable Care Act was being debated in Washington, President Obama promised Americans that if they liked their current health care coverage, they could keep it,” McDonald continued.  ”It remains to be seen whether that promise applies to the citizens of Vermont.”

McDonald also poked fun at the “play money” that is being distributed during the Administration’s “listening tour” in an effort to help participants discuss health care spending*:

“I have to shake my head and laugh at the fact that the Administration is fiddling around with play money.  That says to me that they still have absolutely no idea how to pay for their centrally-planned system,” said McDonald.  ”This is no time for Monopoly money.  This is a time to have a real discussion about what taxes the Administration plans to raise to pay for single-payer, and how those costs will be distributed in our small state.”

“The simple truth is that there are many icebergs ahead for the Administration on their quest for single payer:  how to pay for it, the countless waivers they need, the opposition they will get from Vermonters that like their current health care coverage and want to keep it,” she continued.  ”In light of all those hurdles, the Administration should resist the temptation to use the exchanges to push their single payer dreams, and instead come up with an exchange plan that is in keeping with the spirit of the federal law.”

###

* Background on the “play money”:  The instructions for “Exercise 2: Health Care Reform Financing Sources” distributed at the November 29th public forum in Brattleboro are as follows:  “EXPRESS YOUR PREFERENCE.  All meeting attendees are provided an envelope with $1,000 of money (in $100 denominations -10 X $100).  There are boxes representing the non-federal and provider funding sources described during the presentation. After discussion around the circle, participants should put what they believe to be the proper allocation of their money into the boxes to fund Vermont’s future health care program.”

{ 1 comment }

Happy Thanksgiving! 

{ 0 comments }