Senator Bray Laments “fear and misunderstanding”
Senator Chris Bray, Democrat of Addison, is chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee. It’s the body – composed of five willing Democrats and no skeptical Republicans – that has generated the Affordable Heat Act, so I pay attention to what he says.
School Choice Advances (elsewhere)
Here’s a newsworthy item from the Wall Street Journal:
“In Little Rock, [Arkansas] new Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is following through on her reform promise after bringing on a member of Florida’s successful education team as her education secretary. On Thursday the state Senate passed a bill for education savings accounts on a 25-7 vote”.
Myers Mermel Discusses the Affordable Heat Act on Vermont Viewpoint
On Wednesday February 22, EAI President Myers Mermel discussed the the Affordable Heat Act on Vermont Viewpoint. You can listen to the show here.
PR: The Affordable Heat Act Offers No Savings- Ever
Implementation of the Affordable Heat Act (“AHA” or S.5) requires significant upfront investment across the households of 60% of all Vermonters, those who currently depend on heating fuel to warm their homes. This cost will likely be over $5 billion dollars- more than twice the $2 billion dollars estimated by the Agency of Natural Resources and the Vermont Climate Council, even after $380 million in state and federal funding is included. This $5 billion cost to provide weatherization, heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters, will mostly be borne by low and moderate income Vermonters, those who primarily use heating fuel. The Affordable Heat act will be the largest and most expensive social program ever paid for by Vermonters.
Affordable Heat Act: Between Scylla and Charybdis
Below is the written testimony given by Ethan Allen President Myers Mermel on the topic of the Affordable Heat Act before the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on February 16th.
Spirit of America
As some of you may recall, I have for several years offered my prime candidate for a nonpartisan nonpolitical charitable contribution: Spirit of America.
California Truckers vs. Unions
Will Swaim has an article in National Review that alarms me. It’s about the state of California driving out independent truckers. This is especially relevant for me because 41 years ago I wrote candidate Ronald Reagan’s speech to an independent truckers convention in Illinois.