Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
Governor’s address highlights busy
first week of legislative session
The start of the Geor
gia General Assembly’s
154th legislative session
was unusually busy.
Our House Appropri
ations Commit
tee really hit the
ground running.
We welcomed
nine additional
members to our
newly-formed
Transportation
Subcommittee.
The addition
of this eighth
subcommittee
means that near
ly half of the
House of Rep
resentatives is directly
involved in the details of
how state resources are
spent.
Also, to free up a cou
ple of days at the end
of this week for folks
attending the inaugural
activities in Washington
D.C., our committee went
ahead and held several
budget-related meetings
and hearings last week.
Joint House and Senate
hearings for the FY2017
Amended Budget and the
FY2018 Budget will be
this week.
The hearings will wrap
up Wednesday.
In addition. Gov.
Nathan Deal last week
released both of his pro
posed budgets and also
presented his annual
State of the State address.
In his speech, the gov
ernor talked about the
state’s remarkable fis
cal progress since 2011,
when he took office and
guided the government
through and past the
Great Recession.
At that time, the state’s
unemployment rate was
10.4 percent, and the
Rainy Day Fund was
barely enough to operate
the government for two
days — just $116 mil
lion. he said.
Today, the unemploy
ment rate is 5.3 percent,
and the Rainy
Day Fund has
topped $2 bil
lion. Georgia
also has set
new records
in trade, film
production and
tourism, and
has added more
than 575,000
jobs in the pri
vate sector, the
Governor said.
While Geor
gia’s fiscal health should
continue to improve, the
global economy remains
uncertain. So Gov. Deal
has asked state agencies
to hold spending at cur
rent levels for FY2018.
He has recommend
ed a record $25 billion
budget for FY2018, with
about 17 percent of that
discretionary spending.
He is recommending
20-percent pay raises for
state-level law enforce
ment officers; an average
of 19-percent raises for
Department of Family
and Children’s Services
caseworkers; 2-percent
raises for the rest of the
state workforce, and a
2-percent salary increase
built into the pay scales
of all authorized state
teacher positions.
He also has recom
mended, among other
things, additional support
services and an increase
in the per-diem rate for
foster care parents, and
additional state training
for mental health workers
who assist military veter
ans. He is recommending
the creation of a Women
Veterans Coordinator to
work with women who
have suffered sexual trau
ma while in the service.
Now that the Appro
priations Committee
has the governor’s rec
ommended budgets, the
subcommittees will focus
on their respective areas,
including Economic
Development, Education,
General Government,
Health. Higher Educa
tion, Human Resources,
Public Safety and Trans
portation.
Together we will put
together the two appro
priations bills, and it will
be my responsibility to
shepherd the legislation
through the House, to the
Senate, and finally to the
governor for his signa
tures.
Thank you for allow
ing me the opportunity to
represent District 116.
If you have any ques
tions or concerns, feel
free to contact me at
terry @ terryenglandfor-
georgia.com or at 404-
463-2245.
May God bless you and
your family, this wonder
ful county, and our great
state.
Rep. Terry England
has served in the Geor
gia House since 2005.
District 116 includes
most of Barrow County.
In addition to chairing
the House Appropri
ations Committee, he
is an ex-officio mem
ber of the Ways and
Means Committee and
a member of the Agri
culture and Consumer
Affairs Committee, the
Education Committee,
the Industry and Labor
Committee, and the
Natural Resources and
Environment Commit
tee.
Buffington continued from 4A
especially Mexico and
China, are a danger to
our economy.
That white national
ism and economic isola
tionism played well with
many white voters who
had already been primed
by eight years of similar
messages about Obama.
Trump simply exploit
ed that environment by
taking his demagoguery
to the next level.
That got him elected,
but demagoguery isn’t a
plan for governing.
To govern successful
ly, Trump will have to
rise above his own worst
instincts.
Trump will have to
prove that he can unite
Americans rather than
divide as he did in his
campaign.
Trump will have to
prove that he is willing
to exercise the power of
the presidency within the
limits of the U.S. Consti
tution — he is not a king.
Trump will have to
prove that his own intel
lectually shallowness will
be filled by intelligent
men and women around
him and that he will actu
ally listen to them.
Trump will have to
prove that he can rein in
his emotional outbursts
and Twitter storms and
grow a thick hide to crit
icism.
Trump will have to
prove that he won’t start
a devastating trade war
with his rhetoric about
tariffs on imports.
Trump will have to
prove that he isn’t a pup
pet of Russia and that
our European allies can
trust the U.S. to support
its security in the face of
Russian threats.
In short, Trump will
have to prove to the
American people he is
worthy of holding the
office of president.
He craves respect, but
that is something earned,
not given. He has not yet
earned respect.
We will soon see if
Donald Trump will live
up to the high position
in which the American
people have elected him.
Let’s pray he does —
the alternative is too ter
rible to think about.
Mike Buffington is
co-publisher of Main-
street Newspapers, Inc.
He can be reached at
mike@mainstreetnews.
com.
Low Cost Vaccination Clinic
Saturday, February 25th
lpm to 3pm
Barrow County Animal Control
616 Barrow Park Drive, Winder, GA 30680
ALL SERVICES ARE CASH ONLY
All animals MUST be on leash or in carrier
Rabies (1 year) $10
DHPPV (dogs) $10
FVRCP (cat) $10
Microchipping $20
Dewormer (two doses) $5
Nail trim $5
Information on deeply discounted spay and neuter services
and pet food assistance available
AtnalAl
All proceeds to benefit Animal Alliance of Georgia's community
outreach programs. For more information, visit
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www.animalallianceof2eoreia.ore or call 678-542-9572
Letter to the Editor
Hice should listen to constituents
on Affordable Care Act
Dear Editor:
Last Thursday, around 25 or more
constituents of Congressman Jody Hice
presented his service representative with
a barrage of questions regarding Hice’s
position on items currently covered by the
Affordable Care Act.
The representative’s response to each
question was “I don’t know” or “We don’t
know, yet.’
A Barrow County mother whose child
has rheumatoid arthritis which will require
long term medical care to prevent com
plications such as blindness asked about
benefit limits and what will happen to
them should her husband loose his job
and current insurance. The ACA outlawed
annual and lifetime benefit limits. When
repealed that goes away.
You can buy insurance with limits that
sounds like you’d never even get close to
capping out. But with what drug compa
nies and other medical institutions charge,
do the math. If you have a disabled child,
you are going to reach the limit when you
can least afford it.
I asked, “Is Rep. Hice for insurance
companies charging women more for
healthcare, often 80 percent more than
what men pay?”
The ACA includes language that pre
vents gender discrimination. Prior to ACA,
insurers could deny coverage or cancel a
woman’s insurance if she had a pre-exist
ing condition including pregnancy. If you
were insured with a large employer, you
were mostly OK. If you were out there
on your own or working for an employer
that didn’t offer health coverage, you were
very likely to pay more and get less.
How do I know? In my previous life,
I was responsible for negotiating health
insurance coverage for a small company
that employed mostly women. I asked our
insurance provider why my company was
being charged more and more each year
even though our claims were small and
few. The reason; because our workforce
was predominately female and they could
have babies!
Does Congressman Hice support privat
izing medicare? House Speaker Paul Ryan
and HHS Secretary nominee Tom Price
plan to implement a voucher system that
provides a fixed dollar amount to users of
Medicare, who would then purchase cov
erage from private health insurers.
Envision your 70-, 80-, 90-year-old par
ent dealing with insurers using “insurance
speak language” that as one lady pointed
out “you think you have something cov
ered until you need it and find out you
don’t.’
Another participant at this meeting stat
ed, “Clarification of Trump’s ties to busi
ness is important. One of the reasons we
voted for him was our frustration with
Washington’s play-for-pay practices. So,
is Jody Hice planning to demand that
Trump disclose all his business dealings,
tax records, etc. and then place his busi
ness interests in a true blind trust?”
Response: I don’t know.
Given Hice was one of the GOP mem
bers of the House of Representatives
that voted secretly to do away with the
Committee on Congressional Ethics. I’m
guessing the answer will be “no.”
Everyone was frustrated with the “we
don’t know, yet” response. Republicans
have vowed to repeal Obamacare for seven
years, are in the process of doing so, and
they have nothing to offer in its place that
Hice says will work for all Americans.
According to Hice, his constituents have
been suffering for too long under a bur
densome system. Really, who has he been
talking to?
Hopefully, Mr. Hice will come to under
stand that there is a lot in the ACA that his
constituents want included in whatever the
GOP finally comes up with after 580,000
Georgians lose coverage with the repeal.
To make health care work for all Ameri
cans — his words — perhaps he should
propose that it is time to look at a single
payer system.
Our questions were submitted and we
are waiting for a response.
Mr. Hice, your constituents are paying
attention.
He, or a representative, can be reached at
202-225-4101, 770-207-1766, 1516 Long-
worth HOB, Washington. D.C. 20515 or
https://hice.house.gov.
Tell him what you want coverage to
include!
Sincerely,
Peggy Perkins
Winder
SPEAKING OUT
A service representative for Georgia Congressman Jody Hice hosted a
question-and-answer session for local constituents Thursday at the Golden
Corral in Winder. Several people attended and many brought signs calling
for Hice not to support a repeal of Obamacare or privatization of Medicare.
Hice has joined other congressional Republicans in support of repealing and
replacing outgoing President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
Piedmont CASA
C JCeart for &hiUren - C^Ccart for Chocolate
Presents
Full Dinner Buffet, Silent / Live Auctions, Chocolates from local
bakers, Open Bar (tips appreciated), Live Band: Fly Betty Band
Tickets can be purchased online for $75 through our website:
www.PiedmontCasa.org.
For more information call Michelle Black @ 678-777-5630.
All proceeds benefiting Piedmont CASA serving advocates to local foster children to ensure they have a safe, and stable permanent home.