What My Opponent Hopes Conservatives Don't See

House District 70 Candidate Comparison

Issue	Rep David Meeks	Price Dooley
Gun Rights: NRA Grade	A (Solidly Pro-Gun)	D- (Anti-gun) (1)
Same Sex Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions	Oppose	Undecided (2)
Blocking Obamacare	Sponsored Legislation/Voted multiple times against funding healthcare exchange	“There is nothing a state legislator can do, ultimately…” (3)
States Rights	Support: Co-sponsored resolution	Unsure.  See Above.
Military Service	Yes-Honorable Discharge	No
Endorsements	Arkansas Right to Life NRA
No Climate Tax Pledge (4)	Signed/ Record of voting against every tax and fee increase.	Not signed (As of  5/10/12)

In addition Price Dooley has voted in Democratic Primaries going back to at least 2004.  So the question he should answer is who did he vote for in 2008?  Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton?  Who did he vote for in 2010? Blanche Lincoln or Bill Halter?  Did he vote for Joyce Elliot for Congress?

If he is voting for the party will he continue to vote with the Democrats?  If he was voting values what values does he have common with all the liberals listed above?

 I have a solid conservative record in the legislature and I will continue to fight for hardworking Arkansas taxpayers.  I will remain focused on important issues like job creation, spending cuts, and working on comprehensive legislation to combat Human Trafficking.

I ask the voters of District 70 to reject the negative smear campaign being run by my opponent and vote to return a proven, solid conservative to the legislature.

As always, you may contact me at david.meeks@arkansashouse.org

References:

(1)   http://www.nrapvf.org/grades-endorsements/2012/arkansas.aspx?f=11308

(2)   http://arkansasvotersguide.com/index.asp?p=compare&Officesought=State+House&District=70

(3)   http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/may/06/battling-health-law-dispute-gop-2-20120506/

(4) http://noclimatetax.com

The Fiscal Session

Here are some things to look for as we start the Pre-Fiscal Session Budget Hearings:


From: http://arkansasnews.com/2012/01/15/despite-agenda-add-ons-legislative-leaders-expect-smooth-budget-hearings/

Healthcare Exchanges: Part 1

Another issue likely to draw attention is a $462,000 contract in the state Insurance Department’s proposed budget to plan what the state’s role will be in a federally mandated health insurance exchange.

Healthcare Exchanges: Part 2

The governor in December said he endorsed the state’s involvement in a partnership with the federal government to implement the exchange in the state.

He also said he signed off on an application by the Insurance Department for a $7.6 million federal grant to plan for implementing the program.

AFC

The governor has asked lawmakers to approve $2.7 million in supplemental funding to help offset the commission’s shortfall. About $1.2 million would repay federal government grant money that was inappropriately used by the agency for the ongoing expenses, and about $1.5 million would fund the commission operations through the end of the fiscal year.

Increased Spending

There is an expectation that the Governor's budget will be around $4.7 billion which is an increase of around $155 million from last year's budget.  The bulk of the increase will be Medicaid and Public Schools.

Please feel free to send me your thoughts on these and other issues.  My email is david.meeks@arkansashouse.org

My Letter to Governor Beebe on Healthcare Exchanges in Arkansas

As you may already know, Commissioner Jay Bradford has asked State Legislators to contact Governor Beebe and ask them to support additional funding to continue planning the Healthcare Exchanges under Obamacare.

Below you will find the email I sent to Governor Beebe in opposition to additional funding.  I ask my colleagues to do the same.

Dear Governor Beebe,

I am writing to you in opposition of moving forward with any additional spending as it relates to implementation of the Healthcare Insurance Exchange. 

As you are aware, there are still lawsuits challenging the PPACA working there way to the Supreme Court.  Although Arkansas has chosen not to participate in these lawsuits, we do not wish to undermine them through aggressive policies that implement key components of the PPACA.

More importantly, as I have talked to people in my district, one common message I have heard is that they are against implementation of the PPACA here in Arkansas to include the HIE.

The many unanswered questions regarding HIE, as well as the overall future of the PPACA and the timelines and policies it imposes compels me to believe that not spending any additional taxpayer money on the HIE is the wisest course of action at this time.

Thank you for your consideration on this issue.

Respectfully submitted,

David Meeks

State Representative- District 46

Healthcare Exchanges Dead in Arkansas? Nope...

Yesterday, I read a blog post written by Jason Tolbert which you can review here:

http://talkbusiness.net/article/ARKANSAS-AVOIDS-FEDERAL-GRANT-FOR-HEALTH-CARE-EXCHANGES/2320/

In the article he quotes Governor Beebe's spokesman Matt DeCample as saying:

“As far as any other federal grants to help the state set up their own health-insurance exchanges, the Legislature made it clear that they wanted the federal government and not the state government to control the establishment of our health-care exchange. The governor has said before that he will not act unilaterally against those wishes, and he does not plan to change that stance,” 

I found this statement quite interesting as just last week at the Healthcare exchange meeting I attended the steering committee was still moving full steam ahead on implementing the exchanges to include requesting additional grant money.

So I sent an email to Cynthia Crone, who is leading the effort to implement the healthcare exhanges asking her:

What grants were turned down and/or sent back?
Will the planning meetings that we have been having continue as scheduled?
Are there any other plans to request any grants in the future?

Her reply:

We did NOT send back any money We are continuing our planning. The workgroup meetings will continue as scheduled.  We are now getting the results from our background research efforts.  Four of our workgroups have met this week--two yesterday and two today.

We do plan to apply for Level One Establishment funding in September--this is the next funding opportunity for States that have made progress with their initial planning grant--which we have.  More than half the states now have exchange authority or are otherwise planning their exchange.  Sixteen states have now received the Level One grants that we plan to apply for in September.   Please don't hesitate to let me know of additional questions/concerns.

So based on this reply nothing has really changed.  The planning on the exchange will continue and the grants for planning will still be requested.

Governor Beebe is already trying to frame the debate.  Look for a battle during the fiscal session over whether we will give the insurance department permission to start implementation of the healthcare exchange at the state level.  This, of course, all hinges on if the Supreme Court decides the constitutionality of the law by then.