AZ should refuse Obamacare Medicaid bribe
February 17, 2013
Calls to expand Medicaid to cover those earning up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level in Arizona attempt to drown out common sense at the Capitol.
Will their arguments for this “free” Federal match money wash with voters?
Ten reasons why it won’t… [Read more]
“Prolife All-Star”: Arizona Ranked 5th Most Prolife State in the Nation
January 21, 2013
Arizona jumps 9 spots from 2011 ranking in Americans United for Life’s “Life List”
E-health records – help or harm?
July 15, 2011
Like everything else, your medical records are going viral.
To hasten the move from paper to electronic systems, the Federal Stimulus bill earmarked $23 billion in incentive payments to health care providers.
Payments are flowing to qualified health care providers - hoping paperless systems will bring cost efficiencies to the health care system and help doctors improve patient outcomes.
But will it? The e-system did not help baby Genesis Burkett of Chicago. It led to her untimely death. [Read more]
Changing the Argument
October 2, 2010
Opponents of Prop. 106 truly believe government should be in charge of all of your health care decisions – but publicly, that’s not what they’re saying. Instead, they change the argument. Here’s what they claim about Prop. 106:
Opponents say it won’t fix health care.
They’re absolutely correct! Prop. 106 is not health care reform –It sets the ground rules for health care reforms that will lower costs. [Read more]
AZ Border In-security
May 18, 2010
The story that’s taking over the news these days is the immigration bill – SB 1070.
As most of you know, most Arizonans support Governor Brewer and the Legislature’s actions - enabling local police to enforce Federal immigration laws.
And the rest of the country? America knows there’s a problem. In fact, I receive calls and e-mails daily from people across the country in support of our actions and making plans to vacation in our state!
The boycotts, lawsuits and ignorant statements including those by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder – who admitted he hadn’t even read the bill – are drowned out by the truth: [Read more]
Is YOUR school “performing”?
April 16, 2010
A better question might be, “What is a PERFORMING school”? Parents likely don’t know that a “PERFORMING” school falls within the bottom third for academic performance – especially since some schools proudly emblazon the label on their school building or marquee for all to see! [Read more]
….What’s Happening This Week?
February 14, 2010
Bio-ethics legislation will be the focus this Wednesday when Sen. Linda Gray and I will hear two groundbreaking bills in our respective Senate and House Committees banning human cloning in Arizona (HB 2652) and ensuring informed consent for human egg donation (HB 2651) .
Protecting human life and arming women with adequate information is critical as bioscience industries march full steam ahead without clear ethical guidance.
Tort Reform. The agenda also includes an important Tort Reform requiring the courts to raise the standard for expert testimony (HB 2492). The change will lower the rate of frivolous lawsuits by strengthening the integrity of true experts who testify in malpractice cases and keep non-expert witnesses out of the mix. [Read more]
A Strong Economy takes more than TALK
January 18, 2010
Despite the gloomy budget outlook, Legislators are leading Arizona’s prospects for robust job recovery to a whole new level – upward. And since Arizona’s business climate presents more of a steady crosswind than the friendly tax environment businesses seek, it’s not a moment too soon.
Prosperity doesn’t just happen – states need to promote and intentionally plan for growth. Which is what HB 2250, the Arizona Job Recovery Act , is all about. It is largely based upon findings from a report commissioned by House Republicans by Elliott D. Pollack and Company, which states in part: [Read more]
The Santa State
December 20, 2009
….some at the Legislature have great faith – they believe the State is akin to Santa Claus. During this week’s fifth Special Session on the budget, analogies that State Government was acting like “Scrooge” and “the Grinch” because we were reducing state spending by $194 million, added some humor to the discussion, but not much reality.
After all, the characters in these fictions are private community members, not governments redistributing wealth through compulsory taxation.
Furthermore – how can government leaders continue spending taxpayer money at a rate revenues don’t support? With a $1.6 billion deficit remaining in this year’s budget (with only 6 months to go), spending is hovering around $10. billion and revenues are only $6.5! Seems a bit irresponsible, n’est ce pas? Not to mention unconstitutional. [Read more]
What do you DO when you’re not in Session?
October 26, 2009
It’s a question I imagine many people wonder of their elected representatives. Below is an update on a few of the issues/activities keeping me hopping – between Special Sessions, of course.
- A fourth Special Session, addressing this year’s budget, is expected to be called in early November. Now that the latest revenue numbers are in, revealing a $2 billion deficit in the current budget year many of us are pushing to begin tackling this deficit before we have to deal with next year’s budget cuts. But the agencies’ 15% budget cutting exercise will result in nowhere near the real budget cuts we will see next year, ie. prisoners will not be released to the streets!
- Arizona Healthcare Freedom Act. People are incensed at Congress’ imminent move to nationalize health care and are anxious to learn how they can preserve their fundamental health care freedoms. Requests for interviews, articles and to speak to groups about the AHCFA continue unabated. It’s a movement catching fire across the country. So far 20 other states, Kansas being the latest, plan to follow Arizona’s lead and introduce the legislation next year, if they haven’t already. [Read more]
