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OFFICE:
406 John L. O'Brien Building
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7914
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Toll-Free Legislative Hotline:
1-800-562-6000
Web site:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Bailey |
COMMITTEES:
Financial
Institutions and Insurance
(Ranking Minority Member)
Ways and Means
(Assistant Ranking Minority Member)
Health Care and Wellness
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Dear friend,
I hope you had a great Fourth of July and are
enjoying your summer. The beginning of
this season is always an exciting time as we look
forward to the good weather and family opportunities
ahead -- including visiting our state parks.
This
is also an unsettling time for many
people in these tough economic conditions. While our economy
is showing signs of improvement in some areas, we must
do more at the state level to
preserve and create
jobs, and ensure that no more money is taken out of the
pockets of hard-working people. I wrote opinion pieces
earlier this year on what we can do to
improve our economy and why we
should not raise taxes. I hope you have a chance to
read them.
In an effort to save tax dollars in
difficult state budget times, I will not be sending out
any newsletters this year. I will, however, continue to
communicate with you through endeavors such as
this e-newsletter. If you know of anyone who
would like to be added to my e-newsletter distribution
list, they can sign up
here.
While the legislative session ended April 26, I'm your
full-time legislator. If I can ever be of assistance,
please contact me. I always look forward to talking
to those I have been entrusted to represent.
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Sincerely,
Barbara Bailey |
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In the community
I have had the opportunity to participate in many
activities in our communities recently. A few
of them include: speaking to the Camano
Island Chamber of Commerce; helping with the ribbon
cutting for a new neighborhood on NAS Whidbey; attending
the
dedication of the new covered play area at
Coupeville Elementary; and participating in a flag pole
dedication and legislative forum. I love spending time
with and hearing from the people I am so fortunate to
represent.
Would you like a speaker?
If you or your organization need a
guest speaker -- regardless of your political
affiliation --
please let me know. I enjoy speaking to
all groups and always learn something new in the
process.
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Grading the 2009 legislative session
As we salute high school and college graduates across
the state, I started thinking about what grade I would
give the 2009 legislative session. You can read an
opinion piece I wrote on this topic by visiting
here.
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Revenue forecast puts
2009-11 operating budget in the red
Our state recently received
revenue and caseload forecasts. These tax-collection
and state government reports
unveiled more
bad news when it comes to our state's finances. The
2009-11
operating budget that went into
effect July 1 is already projected to be
$435 million short.
The governor indicated
she will make reductions in her
cabinet agencies to close part of this gap, but this does not
mean the state is out of the woods. It is likely the September
revenue forecast will reveal a wider gap, which may
necessitate
legislative action prior to the next legislative
session scheduled in January.
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An important thing
to remember is the
2009-11 operating budget relies on more
than $3 billion in federal stimulus dollars and $1.8
billion in one-time state dollars. Most
of this money will not be available in the next budget
cycle.
It is time for the state to live within its
means. This begins with restructuring state government
and focusing on the core priorities of education, public
safety and protection of our most vulnerable citizens.
I wrote an opinion piece on April 1 outlining
what I believe we can do to pass a
responsible operating budget and
improve the budget process.
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710 KIRO radio interview
As I explained in a 710 KIRO radio interview June 18, our
state must gets its finances order.
This first
clip was set
up with the lead: "One of our state's ranking
Republican House members believes this latest revenue
forecast demonstrates the state has yet to reign in its
spending, and shows the current budget process is
seriously flawed."
This second
clip was set
up with the lead: "A ranking Republican House member
believes that the state's budget process needs serious
reform, and spending should be prioritized."
Our state economy
Dr. Arun Raha, our state's top
financial forecaster and
director of the Office of the Economic and Revenue
Forecast Council, talked about state unemployment
and economic issues last month. He said the state
unemployment rate, which has now reached 9.3 percent,
may peak at 10.6 percent in the middle of 2010.
Dr. Raha
also said the ongoing recession, which has been
described my many economists as consumer-led, has
now evolved into one that is business-investment-led. He believes
sagging investments by businesses will slow economic
recovery.
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Health care reform -- at the state and national
levels
You may
be hearing a lot in the news about health care reform.
There is no question something needs to be done at the
state and national levels to increase access to and
reduce the cost of quality health care. How we go about
doing this is very important.
I recently joined
my fellow House Republicans in sending a letter to our
Democrat federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C. We
expressed our views on proposals being considered in
Congress, and shared our
nine-point plan for the state.
You can read the letter
here.
Here are some facts
about health care in Washington state:
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Around 89 percent of Washingtonians have health
insurance.
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Approximately 51 percent of our state's uninsured
are ages 19 to 34, with many choosing to go without
coverage due to costs and other factors.
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Cost for a family health benefit plan has nearly
tripled since 2000.
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Small business health benefit plan costs
have more than doubled since 2000.
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Here
are my guiding principles when it comes to health care:
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People make better decisions about their health care
needs than politicians and bureaucrats.
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Quality health care means getting the care you need,
when you need it.
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All
solutions must take into account their impacts on
health care costs.
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Government-run health care will lead to more costs
and fewer choices for people.
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The
private sector must be a part of
solutions. This means creating a health insurance market in
which competition drives down costs.
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View my video updates
I taped video updates every other week this legislative
session and posted them in my Web site's newsroom.
In these updates, I expand on many of the issues
addressed in this e-newsletter. To view them, please
click
here and look for the
"VIDEO UPDATE"
entries. You will also find my news releases,
e-newsletters and opinion pieces.
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For more
news and information, visit my website at
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Bailey
If you would rather not
receive legislative e-mail updates, please
click here. |
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