Category: Press Releases

NH House Freedom Caucus
Contact: info@nhhfc.org
For Immediate Release
August 29, 2017

NH House Freedom Caucus Calls Out $93 Million
in Off Budget Spending Added by Fiscal Committee

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today criticized the Legislative Fiscal Committee for adding $93 million in off-budget spending at the first meeting during the new budget cycle this past Friday.

“Taxpayers deserve the right to know how the state is spending our money. However, the Fiscal Committee bypassed the budget process to spend $93 million without a single word of public input. This shows a disturbing lack of transparency that undermines the credibility of government. The Freedom Caucus fought the House budget in part because it included roughly $220 million in phony ‘cuts’ that were simply a way of bringing money in through the back door. New Hampshire is entitled to integrity in budgeting taxpayer money, but we’re witnessing just the opposite here,” stated Rep. Josh Moore (R-Merrimack)

DHHS Commissioner, Jeffery Meyers approved the following statement in a letter to the Fiscal committee, dated July 25th asking for the $70 million that the House Finance Committee removed: ” This accounting unit has traditionally been budgeted and was included in the Agency Efficiency budget and the Governor’s budget. The funding was taken out in both the House and Senate phases with the expectation that the Department would request the reinstatement of funding from the Fiscal Committee.”

“Without any discussion with the other 395 members, just five House members on the Fiscal Committee voted to add nearly $100 million in new spending to the state budget. That is an outrageous abuse of the legislative process that thumbs its nose at the vast majority of Representatives and our constituents. The merits of all major spending should be debated by the whole House, so that we all can determine if the taxpayers are getting good value for the money that government is taking from us,” added Rep. Len Turcotte (R- Barrington).

This “off budget” spending is precisely why I couldn’t give my endorsement of the budget. The pretense of removing this money from the budget with every anticipation to return it via the Fiscal Committee was intentionally misleading, as this money has already been spent or budgeted by the local School Districts. Furthermore, it causes the real increase in State spending for the budget to rise faster than the rate of inflation as we all anticipated it would with off budget spending. Rep. Dan Itse (R-Fremont)

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

For Immediate Release- August 17, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002

NH House Freedom Caucus Comments Regarding
Bombshell Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Report

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) offered the following comments in response to the bombshell revelation in today New Hampshire Union Leader that former Governor Maggie Hassan knew about the dubious Obamacare Medicaid expansion scheme, but said nothing about the threat to state taxpayers during her 2016 U.S. Senate campaign.

“It appears, that as Governor, Maggie Hassan put her personal aspirations ahead of the state when she chose to hide her scheme to pass off an illegal Medicaid expansion setup just long enough to get her through the election last year. Now, we’re learning that she has put the taxpayers of the state in substantial jeopardy in order to advance Obamacare and her career, in addition to asking the taxpayers to foot the bill for lobbying efforts for this illegal scheme” stated Rep. Hoell. (R-Dunbarton)

“Obamacare Medicaid expansion just keeps getting worse and worse for New Hampshire. Last month we learned that it is ruining the state’s individual market, making it unaffordable for people to buy health insurance. Today we are learning that New Hampshire taxpayer have always been at risk by the fishy plan to have hospitals pay the state share of expansion. It’s time for this failing experiment to end,” added Rep. Osborne(R-Aubrun).

“The Freedom Caucus has consistently opposed expanding Obamacare in New Hampshire, largely because we knew that problems would mount and there was never going to be a free lunch. Today’s revelation of just how much danger the last version of Medicaid expansion has put the taxpayers makes the decision to oppose continuing this program even easier. Like all of Obamacare, this program needs to quickly move into the ashbin of history as one more failed attempt at socialized medicine,” concluded Rep. Hill(Northfield).

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

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The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization
consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal
liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New
Hampshire a great place to live.

NH House Freedom Caucus Comments Regarding Passage of State Budget
For Immediate Release – June 23, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002

Concord, 6/23/2017 – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) declared that, despite the substantial concerns about the growth in state spending in HB144, a majority of NHHFC members voted to support the state budget and an even larger majority voted to help authorize the “trailer bill” HB517 enacting the necessary tax cuts to continue to accelerate our economy.

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus would like to thank the Senate and the Governor’s office for their efforts to work with the Freedom Caucus to address the concerns of the NH taxpayers.

“Although the caucus as a whole finds the level of spending in this budget objectionable, there are definite benefits for the New Hampshire taxpayers. The work requirement added into the expanded Medicaid program, the Hyde amendment for preventing taxpayer funded abortions, additional money for charters schools, and business tax cuts are all items that make New Hampshire a better state. The majority of our caucus members were able to support the budget in order to bring these benefits to our constituents.”
~ Rep. Victoria Sullivan (Manchester)

“The House Freedom Caucus has just begun its work. We vow to continue to work toward a fiscally responsible state government for the people of New Hampshire. It is clear that there was much broader support from our caucus for the policy changes portion of the budget and we will continue to make sure that the taxpayer have an ally in Concord while we look to address some of the concerns about the spending portions of the budget.”
~ Rep. Mike Sylvia (Belmont)

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Comments on State Budget Vote Thursday

For Immediate Release – June 21, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002

Concord, 6/21/2017 – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) announced that, despite substantial concerns about the growth in state spending, a majority of NHHFC members voted to support the state budget committee of conference report this Thursday. The caucus held a vote at a meeting Monday night that included a presentation on the budget by Senate President Chuck Morse.

The members of the Freedom Caucus had this to say about the ’18-’19 Budget:

“While the caucus as a whole, finds the level of spending objectionable, we were able, with the cooperation of the Senate, to craft a bill that will have some positive outcomes for New Hampshire tax payers, and businesses. Many of these points were clear objectives for the NHHFC when we went to House leadership in the early stages of the budget process. It is unfortunate that some of House leadership chose to exclude us from the process.” Rep. Anne Copp (Danbury, Merrimack 1)

“While we believe the proposal still spends too many taxpayer dollars, the Committee of Conference budget is moderately better than the reckless spending included in the House Finance budget, which failed spectacularly due to a lack of leadership and communication. Moreover, unlike the House proposed budget, this budget actually puts more money back in the pockets of taxpayers by cutting taxes, an prospect that was robbed from the House when tax relief was ruled non-germane. Accordingly, this new budget actually works to grow our economy and provide better opportunities and quality of life for New Hampshire residents,” stated Rep. Lino Avellani. (Wakefield, Carroll 5)

“The Freedom Caucus cannot thank the Governor and Senate Leadership enough for the work they have done to deliver a budget that is more fiscally responsible, often having to fight House leadership to lower spending and reduce taxes. There can be no doubt that it is a bizarre situation when the Senate President and Senate Finance Chair have to work to bring the House Republican caucus together, but that is precisely what happened, and this budget undoubtedly would have collapsed without their efforts,” added Rep. John Burt (Goffstown, Hillsborough 6).

“While a majority of the Freedom Caucus voted to support this budget, there are many things the Legislature must continue to do to make New Hampshire more fiscally responsible. One example would be the 1156 unfilled, but funded, positions across state government. This budget should have eliminated many of these, especially those that have been vacant for more than three months. Our work to continue to limit the size of government and improve the value that the state offers taxpayers will not end with this budget. In fact, the formation of the Freedom Caucus was just the beginning of our efforts to reduce the impact of state government on the hard-working taxpayers of New Hampshire,” concluded Rep. Dan Hynes (Merrimack, Hillsborough 21).

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

For Immediate Release – June 6, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002

NHHFC on House Forming Committee of Conference of Same Leadership that Led to Budget Failure

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today gave the following comments in response to the House of Representatives forming a committee of conference on the state budget that includes the same House leadership that led the House budget to fail in April.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By putting the same leadership on the committee of conference that led to a budget that failed by over 85 votes, the state is being set up for having no budget that can pass the House later this month. We need a fresh start to begin the processing of a truly fiscally responsible budget, not the same group that offered a reckless spending increase,” stated Rep. Anne Copp (Danbury).

“How can the Senate or Governor even begin to approach a committee of conference knowing that there isn’t much chance that the House conferees can pull together a majority of the body? This is a recipe for disaster and is something that we can all see coming,” added Rep. McConnell (Swanzey).

“With less just two weeks to go to the final House session, it is critical that the House leadership find a way to work with all of their members. However, the message that the House is sending in these negotiations when they put forth leaders who were so utterly clueless about the budget in April is they are only interested in more of the same. This is short sighted at best,” said Rep Hoell (Dunbarton).

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

For Immediate Release- May 22, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002
New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Blasts Obamacare Expansion for Driving Up Health Insurance Costs for Working New Hampshire Residents

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today blasted the reported 44% rate increase for 2018 identified in Sunday’s New Hampshire Union Leader. According to the report, largely due to Obamacare expansion passed by Democrats and liberal Republicans in 2014 and again 2016, New Hampshire residents forced to buy health insurance policies on the exchange will be forced to bear the costs of individuals on Medicaid, a state run program funded by the taxpayers and expanded under Obamacare to healthy, childless adults.

“Sunday, we learned just how badly hard-working New Hampshire citizens are being hammered by Obamacare. Anyone who is trying to an individual policy is getting hit coming and going – not only do they have to pay huge premium increases to cover Medicaid recipients who are using their “free” health care irresponsibly in their insurance pool, but they also have to pay huge Obamacare taxes to cover having these recipients in their pool. This is exactly the consequence I cautioned about during last year’s floor debate on renewal of this program. I understand our collective desire to help those in need, but we cannot continue to do so at the expense of higher costs on those that are barely making ends meet. I’m just not sure how much more of our health insurance “solutions” the good people of New Hampshire can afford.” stated Rep. Bart Fromuth, Hillsborough, District 7, who serves on the House Commerce Committee.

“Obamacare expansion has now been in New Hampshire for three years, and the results are in. Higher premiums for working New Hampshire residents, hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars spent and the promises of its supporters still have failed to materialize. For example, recipients are still dramatically overusing emergency rooms, despite predictions to the contrary. Even the insurance companies are losing money on the program. The big winners are the hospitals, who are pocketing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Keeping Obamacare expansion around is only about cronyism, not making the state a better place,” said Rep. David Binford, Grafton, District 15

For Immediate Release- April 17, 2017
Contact: Representative JR Hoell (603) 315-9002
New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus PAC Creation

New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Announces the Formation of House Freedom Caucus PAC to Support and Protect Current and Future Members

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today announced the formation of a new political action committee (PAC) to protect current and future Freedom Caucus members. The PAC will be chaired by Rep. Dan Hynes (R-Hillsborough-21) and will raise funds to support current members of the Caucus and candidates who hold strong to the ideas of limited government and personal liberty.

“Last year, Speaker Jasper utilized his PAC to target conservative Republican members in primaries. Based on his recent actions of maligning conservatives in the press and banning conservative House groups from the State House meeting rooms, we have every reason to believe that he will continue to undermine conservative candidates in the next election. The NH Freedom Caucus PAC will help to protect those members and candidates who stand on principle and refuse to be dominated by a big government House leadership,” stated Rep. JR Hoell.

“For many individuals who might consider running to serve in the House, they need to know that there will be help if they don’t immediately pay allegiance to a Speaker that is working to rapidly grow government, whether through his vote on Medicaid expansion or on budgets with 10.5% spending hikes. The NH Freedom Caucus PAC will be a beacon of hope that there will be resources to defend those to still believe in the values of protecting taxpayers and growing liberty,” said Rep. Greg Hill

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today offered the following comments in response to the House of Representatives’ failure to pass a fiscally responsible budget.

“Today, the House made the decision that we would not pass a fiscally irresponsible budget that grows government at an unsustainable rate. Right now, our economy is growing rapidly, thanks to tax relief in the last budget. Instead of using this new revenue to grow government, we believe that it’s critical to share the benefits of this economy with the hard-working taxpayers who earned it. We are hopeful that the Senate will take a more responsible view to state spending,” stated Rep. JR Hoell. (Dunbarton)

“Growing government at a rate that is rapidly higher than the rate of inflation in a good economy is simply setting up the state for massive tax hikes or huge spending cuts when our economy next slows down. We need a more balanced approach to growth that doesn’t expand general fund spending at 10.5%. We have no reason to expect that increase to be sustainable; it flies in the face of everything that turned around our state’s economy, as well as specific planks of the NHGOP platform.” added Rep. Dan Itse (Fremont).

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Comments on $12 Billion budget

Concord -The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) announces its opposition to the $12 Billion budget being proposed by the House Finance committee. The new budget, as reported at the beginning of this week, is the first budget to surpass the $12 Billion mark for state spending. It is over $800 Million larger than the current spending levels, and just slightly under that last two budget increases combined. Despite assurances from Republican leadership and budget writers, this budget is setting an unprecedented spending spree. Numerous members in the New Hampshire house have stated they cannot support the flagrant growth in the budget and plan on voting against HB1 and HB2, the two bills that combined, are the state budget for fiscal 2018-2019, unless changes are made.

“The taxpayers of New Hampshire elected the members of the House to pass a responsible, fiscally prudent budget. What we are seeing is massive growth of government just because the revenues will be higher. Our government would better serve our businesses and taxpayers by easing the tax burden on them, instead of going on a shopping spree . The long term fiscal health of our state will be jeopardized from this growth.” Stated Rep. Len Turcotte, Barrington.

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.