House Leaders Statement on Resolution Protecting Against ObamaCare Attacks on Religious Liberties
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today offered the following statement on the passage of House Resolution 29, which would instruct Congress to protect churches from being forced to purchase services, such as health insurance policies, that offend religious faith. The resolution passed 227 to 121.
House Speaker William O’Brien:
“House Resolution 29 is not about the merits of contraception. It is not about whether insurers choose to offer coverage for these services in their policies. It also is not about the Catholic Church’s policies on contraception, sterilization or any other of its teachings or beliefs. Rather, HR 29 stands up for our religious institutions that have long-held principles and teachings under assault by a president and his ideology that seeks not merely to reject, but to tear down our liberties.
“Whether these groups would be forced to buy this coverage directly, as ordered by the original ObamaCare regulation, or indirectly, as suggested by the Obama Administration’s replacement accounting gimmick, the idea that a religious group would be compelled to buy a service that it finds morally repugnant and an express renunciation of its beliefs is both contrary to our values and unconstitutional.”
House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt
“House leadership introduced House Resolution 29 to defend New Hampshire’s long and proud history of religious tolerance, while pushing back against the deeply flawed law known as ObamaCare. The new mandate from the Obama administration requiring religious organizations to offer insurance coverage for practices that go against the teachings and tenets of their faith is an unnecessary, cynical and unconstitutional attack on religious institutions. To those who say HR29 detracts from this legislature’s focus on New Hampshire’s economy, let us remind them this issue highlights a critical issue facing our economy, the effect of mandates on the cost of health insurance.
“Health insurance costs in New Hampshire are increasing at dramatic rates. New Hampshire businesses are seeing 60% premium increases. A considerable portion of those increases can be chalked up to state health insurance mandates implemented during the prior four years’ Democrat legislatures and those need to be repealed. We don’t need new federal mandates to drive the costs even higher. Earlier this legislative session, we passed legislation that repealed seven insurance mandates and this has helped small businesses to escape some cost increases. The extra savings from premiums may even mean there is more money in the pockets of our small businesses to create more jobs. This is the right way to reform the health care industry. Imposing anti-religious regulations on churches, under the guise of ‘women’s rights,’ achieves no reduction of costs or availability of services and serves only to please leftist ideologues.”
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House Leaders Congratulates Rep. on Majority Leadership Role Promotion
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today congratulated Rep. Beverly Ferrante (R-Derry) on her promotion from Chairman of the Municipal and County Government Committee to a policy leadership role in the Majority Office as Assistant Majority Policy Adviser. She joins Majority Policy Adviser Paul Mirski and Assistant Andy Renzullo in guiding policy strategy.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“With my support, albeit regret, Representative Beverly Ferrante has agreed to take on a policy leadership role in the Majority Office. This is a well-deserved promotion for her I extend my sincere congratulation to Bev for this recognition.
“I am appointing Representative Lynne Ober to the position of Chairman of the Municipal and County Government Committee where she will be joining Representative Frank Sterling, as the Vice Chairman, and Representative Philip Munck, as the Clerk, in providing leadership for the committee.
“Lynne has many years of experience as a legislator and currently serves as Vice Chairman of Finance and Chairman of the Special Committee on Education Funding Reform. She will continue to hold her current committee leadership positions and her experience will be invaluable in ensuring a smooth transition for the Municipal and County Government Committee. We very much appreciate this further example of the great dedication and value that Lynne has brought to the New Hampshire House.”
House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt
“We appreciate Bev’s willingness to leave her Chairmanship to assist on my leadership team. She will bring an expertise in municipal issues and policy strategy to the Majority Office and we are very lucky to have her.”
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House Commerce Committee Votes to Prohibit ObamaCare Exchanges in NH
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien, House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, and Rep. Andrew Manuse offered the following statement on their cosponsored House Bill 1297, which would prohibit the implementation of healthcare exchanges in New Hampshire. The House Commerce and Consumers Affairs Committee voted 10-6 to recommend passage of the bill when it comes to the full House.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“House Bill 1297 will slow the progress of Obamacare in New Hampshire by prohibiting state officials from implementing or aiding the federal government in implementing a state exchange. Creating an exchange would only entrench ObamaCare in New Hampshire and serve as a contract with the federal government that the state agrees to pick up the tab for the healthcare mandate. Several times the House has asked our Attorney General to join the 26-state lawsuit against Obamacare. If we truly want to do this, we should not adopt a strategy that will make us complicit in the law we’re trying to overturn. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear this case in March and it makes no sense to waste taxpayer money, federal or otherwise, on a law that might not stand.”
House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt
“President Obama is cheering on the creation of state exchanges, because each state that creates one makes his dream of implementing Obamacare closer to reality. It is easier to repeal a theoretical bureaucracy than a real one. Obamacare says that the states must meet certain federal standards or give way to further federal takeover. The bottom line is this: as far as these exchanges go, there is no such thing as local control. Let’s keep up our promises to voters by passing this law and prohibiting the State of New Hampshire from creating a state exchange that would be the nail in the coffin of the New Hampshire Advantage.”
Rep. Andrew Manuse, House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee
“Exchanges were installed as a ruse to trick State Legislatures into voluntarily accepting the terms of Obamacare, which are otherwise unconstitutional, and to also get state Legislatures to pay for the cost of the health insurance exchange program starting in 2015.
“President Obama used ‘local control’ rhetoric to encourage states to do all the dirty work of implementing Obamacare for him. His analysis assumed that states would want to adopt their own exchanges to try and maintain control of health care, but in reality, all they would be doing by adopting a state exchange is agreeing to pay for the cost of administering the exchange after a certain year. Thus, the federal cost would be minimal because the major costs would be downshifted to the states. The federal government would maintain control, either way.
“Most importantly, rejecting these state exchanges will add New Hampshire to the list of states opposing this unconstitutional law. By doing this, it doesn’t matter how the Supreme Court rules on this law. Because of flaws in the way federal exchanges would be implemented by the law, Congress would have to reopen the law to make changes, and this will give policymakers an opportunity for a better and affordable market-based health reform effort to be advanced.”
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Speaker Comments on Passage of Bill to Put State Contracts Online
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following statement on the passage of House Bill 1686, which requires that all state contracts awarded by RFP’s to be posted on the state website after the bid is awarded. The bill passed on a voice vote.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“This legislation will bring transparency to the state contracting process by making it easier for citizens to access what contracts are awarded to whom and for how much. New Hampshire citizens have a right to know who the State is conducting business with and unsuccessful bidders should have the opportunity to see the details of the winning bid as compared to their own. We estimate saving over a million pieces of paper and saving taxpayer money by transitioning to this electronic bidding process. House Bill 1686 will bring more transparency and efficiency to state government—both goals that we remain committed to this session.”
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Speaker Comments on Passage of HB 1666
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following statement on the passage of House Bill 1666, which would require legislative approval of any collective bargaining contract entered into by the state. HB 1666 passed 232 to 119.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“Oversight by elected officials in the collective bargaining process for the public sector means that taxpayers will finally be at the negotiating table and not just agency heads, which promotes accountability within state government. This gives the legislature a role in determining the fairness of contracts that the State negotiates and as stewards of taxpayers’ hard earned money we must support policies that bring government accountability and integrity.”
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House Speaker Comments on Passage of Legislative Oversight Committee of Department of Environmental Services
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following comments on the passage of House Bill 1435, which establishes a committee to oversee the Department of Environmental Services (DES).
House Speaker William O’Brien
“This bill provides an avenue for legislative oversight and will ensure that the agency carefully considers the impact the Department of Environmental Services has on New Hampshire communities and convinces the legislature that the impact will be positive. It also creates a mechanism to provide feedback for the Department. We will continue to focus on legislation this session that brings more efficiency and accountability to state government and House Bill 1435 is such a reform.”
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