House Republicans and Friends Across New Hampshire,
You may have seen my recent op-ed in the Union Leader on the conservative case for legalizing cannabis. I understand this is not a partisan issue and many of you may disagree with my position, and that is ok. What I do believe is that this is an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to come together to compromise and solve a problem our constituents have been asking us to address for years. Politics is not about getting what you want when you want it, but about getting as much as you can while giving up as little as you must – in the end delivering results supported by those we serve. We don’t always get to just jump in front of parades that are already underway, but sometimes we also need to do the hard work of tackling controversial topics.
What I believe we can all agree on is the need for expanding Education Freedom Accounts. The Senate has two important hearings this coming Tuesday in the Education Committee. The first, HB367, raises the income cap from 300% of the federal poverty level to 350%. While I believe there should be no income cap on this program, this modest increase at least keeps up with the rampant inflation we are seeing. It is a step in the right direction and will allow more families to access the program.
Additionally, the Senate will be hearing HB464, which expands eligibility to marginalized and at-risk students. This bill was vehemently opposed by teachers’ unions in the House. As Rep. Erica Layon said about her bill, “Simply put, the unions would rather tie persistently bullied students to their local school than lose the state funding tied to that student. This is oppression by the system – systemic oppression- and the solution is to help these oppressed students take their state funding with them, not hold the student and their state funding hostage.”
Please reach out to your senators and urge them to support these two bills. Given how wildly successful the program is, it is only natural we extend it to a larger portion of the population.
All the best,
Jason Osborne, House Majority Leader
The Sullivan County NH Republican Committee 