Let’s kick off a new series we’re going to call, “Where in the world is Haley Barbour?” with a little video from CNBC.
While legislators were working to pass a new budget, Haley Barbour was getting some national television time talking about energy.
What’s so ironic about this interview is that he says, “We’re cutting spending in my state.” But Gov. Barbour’s not doing anything with the budget. He’s AWOL, talking to television reporters and raising money at partisan GOP events.
So what’s more important to Haley Barbour than working to pass a state budget? An in-studio interview with a CNBC reporter on an issue that would serve him well as a presidential candidate.
(BTW… My favorite quote from Barbour: We’re the Saudi Arabia of coal!)
Central District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley was appointed to the board of directors of a national research institute:
Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (D-Nettleton) has been appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presley was appointed to the board by Commissioner Frederick Butler of New Jersey, president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).
If you want to read the full press release, in pdf format, click here.
We congratulate Commissioner Presley on his appointment. We know he will have a long career in Mississippi politics.
Well, it didn’t take long for Gov. Haley Barbour to tell the people of Mississippi that his political plans are more important than staying at home and working on the budget.
From The Clarion-Ledger:
Gov. Haley Barbour said Wednesday he will still travel to Iowa and New Hampshire the last week of June, even if Mississippi legislators haven’t finished writing a budget.
“I don’t have any plans to do anything differently, based on the budget. We’re blessed with computers, cell phones, all that sort of stuff,” Barbour said at a Capitol news conference. “We’re always connected.”
We’ve called on the governor to stay at home and take care of the mess he helped create by demanding the Republicans kill negotiations in favor of a special session.
Instead, Haley’s going to go raise money for Republicans in other states. (I hope they have a better budget situation than we do…)
Let’s get behind Wilbert Jones
Wilbert Jones had a great night last night. Out of a field of five, he led the balloting in a special election to replace the late Rep. Charles Young in the District 82 seat of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Jones received more than 40 percent of the vote, and now he will face Bill Marcy in a June 30 run-off.
While candidates in special elections do not run with party affiliation, the lines are clear here.
Wilbert Jones is the Democrat. Bill Marcy is the Republican.
I’m proud to join with the Democratic leadership of the Mississippi House of Representatives in supporting Wilbert Jones. He is an outstanding candidate who also has the support of former Rep. Young’s family. In Wilbert Jones, we have the opportunity to continue the legacy of Mr. Young by electing someone who will work tirelessly for the hard-working people of East Mississippi.
Thanks for your support of Wilbert Jones.
Sincerely,
Chairman Jamie Franks
Here’s a shocker. GOP radio spokesperson Paul Gallo (come on folks, that’s what he is…) will feature three Republicans to bring you “balanced” coverage of the Medicaid fight.
His target seems to be a video we linked to during this post.
Here’s the text of an email sent from SuperTalkMS just minutes ago:
7:05 A.M.- Democrats team with MHAP to take advantage of the Budget Blockade. MHAP is airing an “attack ad” called “The Odd Couple”- Sen. Nunnelle and Gov. Barbour. It’s a hatchet piece with few facts and a well known music theme in the background. Who pays for this ad? Why is the ad being promoted by the Democrat Party? What do we know about this group? We’ll talk with Representative Dr. Sid Bondurant, State Party GOP Chairman Brad White, Senator Nunnelle and maybe a couple of others.
To answer his question about us “promoting” the video: We found it to have those rare qualities of being both entertaining and factual. So, yeah, we linked to it. We like this video too.
Listen if you like. But know you’ll learn nothing new past maybe a new set of Republican talking points on how Nunnelee, Phil Bryant and the rest of the GOP haven’t made a mockery of the budgeting process.
P.S. Someone should tell Gallo that if he is going to continue to be the GOP cheerleader he should learn to spell the name of one of their possible Congressional candidates. It’s “Nunnelee”, not “Nunnelle”.
Gov. Barbour needs to send a clear message that the state budget is his top priority and nothing can pull him from the state before it is completed.
Especially not political trips to New Hampshire and Iowa to stump for future elections.
Here’s some of the governor’s upcoming schedule:
- On June 24, he’s going to New Hampshire for a GOP fundraiser
- On June 25, he’s going to Iowa for a GOP fundraiser
Our governor should publicly announce that he will not attend any political fundraisers until this budget is passed. He wanted control of the budgeting process via a special session, and now he’s got it.
Call Gov. Barbour and ask him if he plans to attend these fundraisers if the budget has not been passed. His number is (601) 359-3150.
With all the political posturing going on over the state budget, it’s hard to cut through everything to get to the facts. So we want to help.
Chairman Jamie Franks believes that some issues are far more important than political posturing, and making sure we have a fiscally responsible budget passed before our state government shuts down is one of those things.
So what follows is not a partisan exercise. It’s the facts as we know them.
Will our government shut down if the budget is not passed?
That may be up to some debate, but the bottom line is this: State law allows for no way to pay for state services on a month to month period. In that case, yes, state government would shut down.
In Congress, if an agreement on a budget cannot be reached, then they can pass a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution basically extends the former budget a month at a time (or for whatever period approved in the continuing resolution).
In Mississippi, we have no such thing. Our Legislature can pass a budget by July 1, or we have no mechanism to legally pay our bills.
What happens if our government shuts down?
If a service or agency is managed or funded by the state, then it will, theoretically, shut down.
That includes:
- Mississippi Highway Patrol
- State hospitals
- Schools
- State prisons
- Medicaid
- State agencies and departments
Past just the services we will lose, hundreds of thousands state employees will go unpaid until a budget is passed. There is also the concern of their health care premiums, retirement payments and other benefits packages. All of this is state-funded, and with no budget these things cannot be paid.
What is the hold up? What exactly can’t be agreed on?
There are two things holding up the budget process:
- What to do with $60 million in federal stimulus funds
- Whether or not to pass a $90 million tax on hospitals
On the stimulus funds, Republicans want to hold this money for 2011. Democrats want to plug budget holes right now because that’s what the money has been given to us to do.
It makes no sense to us to hold the money. We can only figure one reason Republicans want to do that: Because 2011 is a statewide election year, and that money can be used then to avoid a budget fight during an election.
It should also be noted that there is a question over whether or not the federal stimulus money can be used in a later budget year. Democratic leaders in the House are working with the Obama Administration to answer that question.
As to the hospital tax, the thought of a $90 million tax on hospitals is frightening. Health care costs are rising and some hospitals are suffering. So $90 million seems excessive to the point that it could cause some hospitals to face financial strains too tough to bear.
The House agreed to a compromise hospital assessment. In this compromise, the House required that the state ensure that Medicaid reimbursements to the hospitals would not be cut. The Republicans would not accept that caveat.
Why is the reimbursement important? Because hospitals do not receive full payment for Medicaid services. If they are going to have to pay additional taxes, they want assurance that they won’t lose any more Medicaid reimbursements. That seems like a fair agreement to the Democratic leadership.
What happens next?
That’s a good question, and we don’t have the full answer.
First, the negotiators for the House and Senate are continuing to talk. The governor said he will only call a special session once an agreement is reached.
But that could change. The governor could call a special session at any time. He can set the agenda, and the Legislature will be able to consider only what he says.
He could piece-meal the budget to them: first education budget, then Medicaid budget, then the Corrections budget, etc. Or, he could call a special session for the passage of a specific budget, which will probably not fly considering his budget has costly cuts to education and Medicaid that the House Democrats will not accept.
What can we do to encourage our leaders to pass a budget?
You can make phone calls.
The House leadership offered a deal that was accepted by the Senate negotiators. But that deal was killed after the Senate leaders talked it over with the governor.
That was a good compromise. Nobody got everything they wanted, but the budget would have been funded.
If you want to restore such a compromise, click here.
We’re glad you want to help. If the leaders in the Legislature don’t hear from you, they won’t know exactly what the people want.
If you have not already, make sure you read Budget Watch: What Are The Facts. That post is not about politics but about letting people know what is going on in Jackson.
Remember, there was a deal on the table before the session ended. It was a compromise over the hospital assessment proposed by the House negotiators and accepted by the Senate negotiators. But after Sen. Alan Nunnelee discussed the compromise with the governor, the Senate negotiators killed the compromise.
So let’s see if we can use the power of the public to force the Senate leadership to compromise with the House and pass a budget.
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE?
Please call the legislative leaders and tell them you want:
- To use the $60 million in stimulus funds to plug budget holes this year.
- To protect our hospitals by passing reasonable assessments and by protecting their Medicaid reimbursements.
WHO TO CALL
Who needs to hear your support?
- Speaker Billy McCoy: (601) 359-3300
- Majority Leader Tyrone Ellis: (601) 359-3355
- Speaker Pro Tempore J.P. Compretta: (601) 359-3000
- Appropriations Committee Chairman Johnny Stringer: (601) 359-3340
Who needs to hear your concerns?
- Gov. Haley Barbour: (601) 359-3150
- Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant: (601) 359-3200
- Sen. Alan Nunnelee: (601) 359-3250
- Sen. Billy Hewes: (601) 359-3209
Let your voices be heard, and let’s work together to pass a budget today!
President Obama has kicked off the health care debate as he prepares to bring health care to every American by the end of the year.
This is going to be a spirited debate. A lot of people will call it “socialized medicine” and use scare tactics to make people believe it will ruin our health care system.
The truth is that the President’s plan is a well thought-out, well designed health care plan that will offer insurance to everyone. It allows people to continue on their current health insurance path, but it also provides and affordable system that will ensure everyone who does not have insurance.
This is a debate, and we look forward to speaking to facts, not scare tactics.
ETA: What follows is an email sent out by two Democrats on the coast who held a health care kick-off part over the weekend:
June 6, 2006
Hello everyone,
Renick Taylor and Jackie Washington of the Harrison County committee hosted President Obama’s Healthcare Reform initiative called Organizing for America this evening. The majority of Americans want Healthcare Reform that makes healthcare available to every American. The purpose of the meeting was to focus the attention of that majority on contacting their Congressional representatives to lobby them for meaningful healthcare reform.
We watched a video prepared for the event emphasizing President Obama’s objective to lower healthcare costs, allow patients to choose their coverage and doctors, and to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable healthcare. President Obama spoke about the fierce urgency of healthcare reform and said that it cannot wait another year.
The people attending then related their individual healthcare stories which only underscored the need for healthcare reform.
We then received a card entitled “This is It! Universal Healthcare Now!” asking everyone to contact our South Mississippi representatives and urge them to “support a public option for universal health care” so that we could have a choice of a public sector competitor in the private health insurance market. President Obama believes that a public option is the only way to guarantee healthcare for all Americans.
Please contact me at lfewkes@bellsouth.net or Renick Taylor at renicktaylor@yahoo.com for a supply of cards to hand out. The time to take action on this issue is now.
Thanks for all you do,
Louis Fuchs
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