Vermont Republican Party Slams VT Federal Delegation Over #SchumerShutdown

It's nothing short of a miracle. Deep Blue Vermont has a state Republican Party that is actually fighting back!

The entire Vermont delegation rejected the HR 195 spending bill to end the #SchumerShutdown.

Unbelievable, but true.

The Democratic Party has lost all sense and sensibility, divorced from the concerns of everyday Americans, even in Vermont.

Will the left-wing, progressive movement which has ruined Vermont for the last ten years finallly meet its end in 2018?

Shameful Representation in Washington   Arthur, I don't know about you, but I am disappointed in our federal delegation. Yesterday, both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to end the three-day government shutdown. In the Senate, where the shutdown originated, a bipartisan funding agreement won very strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. Our federal lawmakers, however, were unable to put aside partisan politics, yet again choosing obstruction over leadership.     Where is Vermont's leadership?. The bipartisan funding bill that Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders, and Representative Welch tried unsuccessfully to block provides urgently needed funding for the nation's military and defense, vital government services, and an impressive six-year extension for CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program It’s a shame that Vermont's representatives couldn’t see their way clear to be responsible, mainstream legislators and do the right thing for Vermonters and all Americans   Vermont deserves better … Contribute Any Amount Today! Sincerely, Deb Billado Chairwoman, VTGOP HELP US SEND A MESSAGE TO SANDERS, LEAHY & WELCH IN 2018 $20.18 MONTHLY DONATION >>

One can only hope that the Vermont Republican Party can capitalize on the epic failures of the Democratic Party nationally. Can Vermont Republicans win enough seats to ensure long-term passage of meaningful fiscal reforms at the state and local level?

Vermont GOP: Governor's Commitment to Vermont Taxpayers

STATEMENT ON TAXES & FEES FROM THE GOVERNOR:
My top three priorities are growing the economy, making Vermont more affordable, and protecting the most vulnerable. Last year I insisted on a budget that did not raise a single tax or fee – for the first time in many years. Today, as understandable concerns around property taxes continue to grow, I wanted to confirm for Vermonters that ***my Administration is absolutely committed to preventing taxes and fees from increasing again this year, so families can keep more of what they earn***. This includes property taxes. Reports suggesting otherwise are incorrect. My Administration will not support putting more of a burden on already over-taxed Vermonters because we know that is not how to make Vermont more affordable for families and businesses.

The cost of state government, and the per pupil cost of education, should not grow faster than wages and underlying economic growth. That’s how we can ensure we’re helping families be more economically secure, move up the economic ladder and save for the future. If the costs of state government are rising faster than wages and economic growth Montpelier is, in effect, pushing people down the economic ladder. That is not acceptable to me, or to an overwhelming majority of Vermonters. That’s why, to be clear, my Administration is committed to preventing taxes and fees from increasing again this year, including property taxes.
- Phil

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Vermont GOP: Fighting the Carbon Tax

At least there are Republican parties in other states who are fighting--actually fighting--the carbon tax proposed by the Democratic Party.

Most voters have already forgotten, but within 3 months of his first administration, President Obama pushed through Cap and Trade, which passed the House, but by the narrowest of margins. 8 Republicans did cross over to vote for the outrageous, climate alarmist program.

But it was dead on arrival in the United States Senate.

This tax on everything human and alive has not died in some statehouses, however.

California not only established the program in 2006, with the help of the "Republican" Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but 8 Republicans in the state legislature voted to extend the program for another ten years!

Republicans in California actually did this! Do they not have any shame? Do they not have any dignity or integrity left?

What's really sad about this? The Vermont Republican Party, with Governor Phil Scott in the Governor's masnion, is actually fighting the whole carbon tax scheme!

Arthur Christopher -- You've probably seen the news. Here we go again... Vermont Democrats and their radical friends at VPIRG are renewing their push for a state Carbon Tax! This time, they are having their activists show up at public meetings attempting to convince Governor Scott to support this disastrous policy. Governor Scott recently reiterated his opposition to the Carbon Tax by stating: “Imposing a carbon tax on our workforce would be detrimental for Vermonters and our state’s economy.  As I’ve said many times before, I will veto a carbon tax if it comes to my desk because we cannot make Vermont more affordable by making it less affordable." If passed, the Carbon Tax will be a dollar per gallon tax on gasoline and home heating fuels. Last year, Vermonters overwhelmingly rejected the carbon tax with the election of Governor Scott. Please stand with us and Governor Phil Scott again! Sign our petition in opposition to the carbon tax by clicking the photo below. (Or click here) After signing the petition, will you please forward this e-mail to your friends and family and encourage them to sign the petition too? Together, we can put an end to this ridiculous tax on hardworking Vermont families. Jeff Bartley Executive Director Vermont Republican Party http://www.vtgop.org/

Vermont's Republican Governor Blocks All Tax Increases in Budget--First on Record

Now this is really amazing.

For the first time on record--in recent memory--the state of Vermont passed a budget which did not have a tax increase.

The legislation also negotiated for better management of the teachers' health insurance plans and placed in command more efficiencies.

This is what Republicans do, and this is what conservative governance looks like:

Greetings,

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for your help and generosity throughout the last campaign. It’s because of your support that I’m writing to you now as Vermont’s 82nd Governor. It’s a role I’m proud and honored to serve in, and one that gives all of us tremendous opportunities to make Vermont stronger. While I’ve only been in office eight months, many of those opportunities are starting to come to fruition. As promised throughout the campaign, my administration is concentrated on growing the economy, making Vermont more affordable, and protecting the most vulnerable. Those three principles guide us in everything we do. To make good on that promise, I’m proud to have presented, fought for and signed a historic budget that does not raise a single tax or fee. This is the first time this has been done that we can find on record! But it didn’t come easy. Initially, the majority in the legislature  passed a budget that would have raised property taxes AND ignored my proposal to save millions of dollars by changing the way teachers’ health care benefits are handled. I vetoed that budget bill because I knew we could do better for all Vermonters. And we did! The final budget I signed on June 28 ensures property tax rates do not increase for the first time in recent memory, saves $13 million over the next two years by restructuring teachers’ health care benefit plans, and provides a path to achieve greater efficiency, and more savings, in the future. We are working to restore fiscal responsibility in Montpelier, and helping families get ahead, by insisting state spending doesn’t grow faster than the economy or wages. And I will continue to fight to make Vermont more affordable and run a state government which lives within its means. Governor Phil Scott (R-Vermont) In addition to a historic budget that doesn’t raise taxes or fees, we are also prioritizing investments in pro-growth areas like job training and secured a $35 million dollar housing package that will employ hundreds of workers and generate $50 million in wages in the construction of more than 500 housing units -- and help make homes more affordable for middle income households. My budget also invested in early care and learning, and higher education -- an important step toward a cradle-to-career continuum of learning that will attract more jobs and more working families who want to raise their children in the nation’s safest and healthiest state. We are also changing the culture in State Government by listening to those on the front lines, and we’re making some exciting headway in terms of innovating state government to make it more efficient, productive and valuable to you. During my first week in office, I issued three Executive Orders. The first created an Agency of Digital Services, a single entity to better manage state IT projects. The second combined the Lottery Commission and the Department of Liquor Control (the legislature slowed this merger, but I’m confident we’ll get this in 2018). The third order would have unified the Agency of Commerce and Community Development with the Department of Labor -- literally putting the people who help create jobs next to the people who help Vermonters find jobs. Unfortunately, this too was blocked by the legislature, but it’s an idea that continues to be discussed in the State House. Over the next several months, I will remain laser-focused on making state government work better for you. Every Tuesday morning when I convene my cabinet, I always remind them we’re public servants, we’re here to serve and follow through on our commitment to grow the economy, make Vermont more affordable  and protect the most vulnerable. And we’ll continue to think this way, because it’s what Vermonters deserve and expect from their state government. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish just 8 months into the job, but there is much more work to do. Everything I’ve proposed cannot happen overnight, which is why I need your help to ensure I have another term to get this work done. Can I count on you to donate $100, $250, $500, $1000 or any amount you are comfortable with up to $4,000? I can’t thank you enough for the support and encouragement you’ve shown me over the years. Please don’t hesitate to reach out; I’m always willing to listen. Sincerely, Phil Scott Governor Final Reflection Blue state Republicans can make a difference if they focus on basic issues. As long as they keep their promises to make key states affordable, to lower the costs of living and allow the voters to keep more of their money, then they have nothing to worry about!

Vermont Governor Phil Scott: Balanced Budgets, No Tax Increases

There's good news, even in uber-liberal Vermont with a center-left Republican Governor.

Let's hope that he rejects any notion of moving left on any other issue, all while standing his ground against liberal spending habits and wasteful governement expansionism.

Check out his latest press release:

A Foundation for Growth
by Governor Phil Scott

On my first day in office, I issued an executive order defining the top goals of my Administration: Growing the economy, making Vermont more affordable, and protecting the most vulnerable. We are laser-focused on these priorities and they guide us in everything we do.

That’s why we’ve concentrated on government modernization and efficiency, rethinking and revitalizing our approach to economic development, transitioning to a cradle-to-career education system that is the best in the nation, strengthening our response to the opioid epidemic, and making sure state spending isn’t growing faster than wages or the economy.

With this approach, and the help of the legislature in the session that recently ended, we succeeded in investing more in economic growth, including marketing Vermont as a place to do business, expanding small business development centers, and establishing tax credits that will support our growing aerospace sector and the forest products economy as well as the creation of new co-working and “maker” spaces that nurture small, innovative startup businesses.

To begin addressing the need for housing that working families can afford, we passed a $35 million housing bond that will create hundreds of new homes throughout the state, employ 1,000 workers, generate $50 million in wages in the construction phase and hundreds of millions of dollars in additional economic value over the next 20 years. We also made commonsense changes to support housing developments and downtown growth by simplifying permitting and increasing tax incentives for development – proven tools for expanding infrastructure and spurring growth.

I believe our education system can be one of our strongest tools for attracting more working families who want to raise their children in the nation’s safest and healthiest state. That’s why I proposed significantly increasing access to childcare, pre-school programs and higher education by redeploying ongoing savings in a K-12 system that sees declining student enrollment year-after-year. It’s also why I fought so hard to save up to $26 million each year from the transition to new health insurance plans for teachers, without asking them to pay more or reducing services to our children. 

Ultimately, we increased funding for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program by $2.5 million, and the Vermont State College system by $3 million to help stabilize tuition, and established a full-time focus on career and technical education at the Agency of Education.

To strengthen our response to the opioid epidemic, I created the Opioid Coordination Council, appointed a director of drug policy and prevention, and convened Vermont’s first statewide convention focused on growing the workforce to support opioid and substance misuse treatment.
We also took important steps toward modernizing state government with the creation of the Agency of Digital Services, which merges dozens of IT management functions that were previously spread across state government, and making government more efficient through our Program to Improve Vermont Outcomes Together (PIVOT) initiative, which has asked frontline state employees for ways to make our systems more efficient and easier to use.

Acting quickly and decisively, we upheld long-standing values with the passage of S.79, An act relating to freedom from compulsory collection of personal information. This legislation proactively protects our Constitutional rights, and defends the state against federal overreach by clearly prohibiting state agencies from sharing personal information for the purposes of creating a federal registry based on personal characteristics.

Perhaps most importantly, we achieved all of this without asking you to pay more.

For the first time in many years, state spending isn’t growing faster than our ability to pay for it. And, not a single piece of legislation that I signed created or raised taxes or fees. That means state government is doing its part to help families keep more of what they earn, and we did this while protecting essential services and the frontline workers who deliver them.

The path was sometimes challenging. For example, it took a veto to ensure that – for the first time in recent memory – the state budget didn’t raise any taxes or fees, including property taxes rates. We could have taken the easy path, but I believe Vermonters elected me to improve state government and the state’s economic trajectory. And we’re getting there, but there’s much more work to do.

Overall, this legislative session resulted in real progress and an important shift in our thinking – we have built a foundation for stronger growth. When I think about the opportunities ahead of us, I’m more committed than ever to rolling up my sleeves and building a stronger, more affordable and more prosperous Vermont. 

Paid for by the Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee
Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee.
www.vtgop.org

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