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Olympia Office:
426-A
Legislative Bldg.
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Phone: (360) 786-7832
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Toll-Free Legislative Hotline
1-800-562-6000
Website
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong |
Committees:
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Gov't and Audit Review
(Ranking)
Rules (Alternate)
State Government and Tribal Affairs
Transportation |
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March 9, 2007
Dear
friends and neighbors,
We're spending
many late hours on the floor of the House
debating bills. Some are good bills.
Unfortunately, with such a large Democrat
majority, most are very bad bills that will cost
you more, create more regulations, and build
bigger government. My Republican colleagues and
I are doing what we can to stop these bills --
or at least try to amend them to limit the
damage caused to the state. We have fewer
members though, so it is very challenging.
One of those
bills expands health coverage to children below
the 300 percent poverty level. It's for the
children, so it sounds great, right? Take a
closer look. There's more to this bill than
meets the eye. It does nothing to lower costs or
make health insurance more affordable to
families. It just creates another layer of
government bureaucracy -- at YOUR expense. I've
provided more details about this bill below.
Let's finally
make it clear. I do not favor a Washington state
income tax. Below in this e-newsletter are some
reasons why.
Have you gone to
my website yet? If not, give it a try. You'll
find local news and
views, photos, and district information. You may
view it at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong.
It is an honor to
serve you!
Rep. Mike Armstrong
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State income
tax a BAD idea
For some reason, a
rumor has been floating around that is
flagrantly not true. I DO
NOT SUPPORT A
WASHINGTON STATE INCOME TAX!
Here are two
basic reasons why:
1) I
believe Washingtonians are over-taxed already.
Increasing our tax burden will harm our families
and damage our economy.
Advocates of a state income tax fail to
acknowledge that our state does not have a
revenue problem. It has
a spending problem. |
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Even this year, as Washington enjoys a revenue
surplus of nearly $2 billion, Gov. Gregoire’s
proposed budget, released in December as a
baseline, would spend us into a $600 million
deficit within two years. Majority Democrats
consistently write a budget that spends more
than the governor, and I don’t expect that to
change this year. The reason proponents in
government want an income tax is so they can
spend more of your
hard-earned money.
The only reasonable
solution that serves the public's best interest
is to control excessive spending and reform
government to make it more efficient and
accountable to the taxpayers. It makes no sense
to tinker with the tax system to try and squeeze
more revenue out of the hard-working citizens of
our state.
2) There is little reason for the public
to have confidence in claims that an income tax
would replace existing taxes. Until the spending
habits of government are changed to stop
out-of-control expansion of the state budget,
how can we trust that income-tax advocates would
use tax reform for any purpose other than
increasing the amount of money available for
even more state spending?
Washington voters
have turned the income tax down six times from
1934 to 1973, the last time by a vote of three
to one. Yet another attempt to impose a state
income tax and fuel further excessive spending
increases is a mistake.
So there you have
it. If anyone asks you about where I stand on
this issue, you can boldly and confidently tell
them,
"Representative Mike Armstrong says a Washington
state income tax is a BAD idea."
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Children's
'poverty' health care bill goes too far
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"This bill is not looking at making
insurance more affordable for anyone. It
is driving people onto a government
system.
If we truly want to help people, let's
make health insurance affordable in this state"
Rep. Mike
Armstrong's floor speech
on Senate Bill 5093, March 6, 2007 |
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How many of
us would consider $62,000 as poverty
level for a family of four? Likely, not
many people would think that is poor,
especially considering that in 37 of
Washington's 39 counties, the median
income in less than $40,000 a year.
Yet a
bill that purports to help poor children
obtain free state health insurance
coverage would actually expand coverage
beyond the poor at great expense to
the taxpayers of Washington. The
measure provides that a family of four
making 300 percent of the federal
poverty level -- or $62,000 a year --
would qualify for this health insurance
for poor children.
Simply
put,
Senate Bill 5093 goes too far and
is another incremental step toward
pushing everyone onto government-run
health insurance.
We all
want children to have access to good health care.
However, that's not the real point
behind this bill.
Only 4.4 percent of the uninsured in
Washington are children. And 70 percent
of the uninsured already qualify for
existing government health care
programs. This bill isn't just about
covering poor children. It is about
putting those who now have health insurance
coverage on the state system.
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This bill will
actually result in people who have children on
private insurance dropping that insurance in
favor of the state plan. And I might add, at
great expense to taxpayers.
If we truly want to
help people, let's not hide behind children with
a bill like this. Instead, let's open the market
for a variety of insurance plans that would be
affordable to all people regardless of income
levels. Let's make insurance affordable for
employers and their employees. Let's not expand
government-run health insurance!
Unfortunately,
this bill passed the Legislature and is
scheduled to be signed by the governor next
Tuesday. |
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Legislative Assistant Wanda Brosey |
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We're
here to help you!
It is my
greatest honor to serve as your state
representative. I am very fortunate to
have great support staff that helps me
do my job. When you call my Olympia
office, the first voice you'll likely
hear is that of my legislative
assistant, Wanda Brosey.
Wanda
keeps me on schedule. She answers the
phones, checks the e-mail, makes
appointments, and she works hard in
assisting me to be most effective in
helping you.
I'm here
to serve as well as represent you. Call
my office any time you have a question,
comment or suggestion. Wanda and I will
be glad to assist you. My phone number
is (360) 786-7832, or you may call and
leave a message on our toll-free
hotline: 1-800-562-6000. |
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For more
news and information, visit my website at
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong
If you would rather not
receive legislative e-mail updates, please
click here and send me an e-mail.
In the subject line, please include the words UNSUBSCRIBE ME. |
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