Zerwas refuses to condemn subsidizing heroin addiction (while telling other bald faced lies)....

"The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of wisdom.
Proverbs 10:21

We attended appropriations chairman John Zerwas' trib event this morning.  It was the finest form in which we'd seen a Straus lieutenant in some time.  Our question about medicaid (to which the headline refers) is the final question in the video:



Highlights:

• Something, something "new sources of revenue."

• Calls Senate budget "austere."
• Note: LOLOLOL....

• "Reasonable" medicaid growth.

• "I don't think anyone wants to go back" to 2011 education budget 'cuts.'
• Personally, we'd like to eliminate socialized education in it's entirety; failing that, we'd love to cut it a LOT further than they went in '11.

• Wants appropriations committee budget vote to be unanimous.

• School finance requires: "undistracted period of time."
• Tacit endorsement of special session.
• Backtracks when he realizes he just endorsed a special session and calls for yet another 'study' during the interim.

• Endorses continued funding of state level border operations.

• Offers qualified praise of Obamacare.
• Repeal must be "very carefully thought out."
• Something, something people who obtained insurance under Obamacare need to be taken care of.

• Tax relief: "Going to be a challenge."
• "We need to fund our schools adequately...meet our responsibilities in Health Care" before tax relief.

• Rainy day fund: "We have to have a conversation" on a raid.

• Supplemental: "Will be out in the near future."
• Calls it a "one time expense" re: RDF.
• On what planet is medicaid not an ongoing expense?!?

• Parental Educational Choice: "I have to support my public school system."
• No "at this time."

• Throws privacy act under the bus.

Q&A:

• No public conference committee on budget.
• "We have to get the work done."

• Our question: Tells bald faced lie about Medicaid expansion.
• Calls his 2013 approach "innovative."
• Ignores the fact that he fully endorsed it in 2015.
• Non-committal on Tinderholt bill.