Speaker O’Brien’s Remarks Given at NHGOP Annual Meeting
House Speaker Bill O’Brien gave the following remarks at the NHGOP Annual Meeting, Saturday April 14th in Meredith, NH:
Good Morning New Hampshire Republicans –
We come together on the cusp of one of the most important elections in New Hampshire and our country in our lifetimes.
We Republicans have a solemn duty this election.
Our State and our country need Republicans this election season to put speak loudly and effectively about our conservative vision of limited government, fiscal responsibility, support of families, and liberty.
They need this Republican vision to remove the shadow of economic decline, governmental dependency and loss of freedom that is, and has been for decades, the bankrupt philosophy of the Democrat Party.
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Video: Press Conference on HR29, Resolution Addressing ObamaCare Contraception Mandate
House leadership Monday held a press conference to release a resolution calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to rescind the rule mandating contraception coverage. The resolution will have a public hearing in the House on Thursday, February 16 at 8:15am.
Joining Speaker O’Brien and Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt were Bishop Peter Libasci & Congressman Charlie Bass. Congressman Frank Guinta could not attend but sent a staff member to deliver remarks on his behalf.
“I’m pleased to support this important resolution that is needed to push back against yet another misguided element of Obamacare.
As with so much of Obamacare, it is free citizens, churches and companies that are being coerced into a particular course of action when they were previously free to chose, and in this circumstance it is the Federal Government that is doing the imposing.
It is incredibly disappointing to see the Obama Administration is distracted from focusing on our fragile economy and is instead involving itself in social issues which the Federal Government has no business.
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Republican State of the State Response
We just had the chance to hear Governor Lynch’s final State of the State address. Our Governor has had an unprecedented four terms in office and I want to take the time to thank him for his service. His willingness to take eight years out of his life to devote to state government in what can be, at times, a thankless job is a both a remarkable accomplishment and an extraordinary sacrifice.
The Governor has obviously seen a lot that has happened toNew Hampshire. The natural disasters that he has handled for our state have been historic. Since 2005, we’ve seen floods, blizzards, hurricanes, more floods, ice storms and tornados. Through it all, he has been a reassuring presence who has reminded the state that we can, and will, persevere.
The Governor also deserves credit for being the most active and accessible public figure this side of Councilor Ray Burton. Not a day goes by that Governor Lynch is not out, meeting residents and traveling across the state. More people have his cell phone number than any of us can imagine, and he has set a high standard of availability and hosting school visits for the next person who fills his office.
With that said, we will be inaugurating a new governor in January of next year. Thankfully, the person who takes office will be lucky to inherit a state government that is running smoothly and delivering results for the citizens ofNew Hampshirethanks to the Republican legislature that voters overwhelmingly elected in 2010.
2011 was a year of extraordinary achievements for this legislature. We did an uncommon thing for elected officials: we kept campaign promises. We told the public what we would do, and that’s just what we did. And in doing it, we have pleased many and, it appears, outraged those whose policies have been abandoned.
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National Review: In New Hampshire, a Real Budget
Published on January 16th, 2012 on NationalReview.com
In New Hampshire, a Real Budget
The Granite State has a radically simple fiscal idea.
By Deroy Murdock
Manchester, N.H. — Newt Gingrich’s fourth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary showcased a first-rate idea.
While addressing a hotel ballroom full of his forlorn supporters in the Radisson’s Center of New Hampshire here, the former House speaker praised a new Granite State budget procedure that is so commonsensical, it is startling that it deserves applause.
The New Hampshire State House of Representatives, “actually had the Ways and Means Committee report first,” Gingrich explained in his election-night remarks. “It indicated how much money they would have, and they then actually adopted a budget to fit their income, which is the opposite of every other state I know of in the country which writes a budget and then tries to go find more of your money to fill in what they think they need. The result was a very courageous and a very serious effort in which they cut 11 percent out of spending, which is a remarkable achievement. If it were accomplished in Washington, it would begin to move us back on the right track.”
What a concept!
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Video: Press Conference on House Focus on Jobs & the Economy
Press conference held on January 3, 2012 outlining accomplishments in 2011 and focus of 2012 agenda.
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The state budget: Political achievement of the year
The following editorial was published in the January 1, 2012 edition of the Union Leader:
The state budget: Political achievement of the year
Americans frustrated by the series of impressive political failures that came to define Washington politics in 2011 could have drawn inspiration from this little state tucked up north and surrounded by activist, big-spending governments on all sides. Last year, New Hampshire legislators achieved something truly impressive: the 2011 state budget.
Taking advantage of a genuine mandate for change (Republicans won 19 of 24 Senate seats and three-fourths of the House), Republican leaders in the Legislature set out to do something unusual for politicians: keep their promises. They campaigned on a pledge to cut taxes, cut spending and balance the budget. They did all three, with no help from the governor.
Led by House Speaker Bill O’Brien, Republicans set to work on bringing the budget in line with the realities of state revenues. Over the protests of Democrats, labor unions and some recipients of state funding, House and Senate budget writers stuck to their plans. They wound up with a budget that cut state spending in real terms by more than 10 percent and also cut taxes.
The budget was by no means perfect, but it was realistic. Opponents say Republicans will pay a big price this fall for not spending more. Maybe. Or maybe voters who had to cut their own budgets just to get by will understand why such frugality was needed. Whatever the political costs, House and Senate Republicans can be proud that they brought fiscal discipline back to Concord.
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