Posted on 05/29/2003 5:57:12 AM PDT by Constitution Day
North Carolina will receive $510 million in federal aid as part of the new tax cut package, said U.S. Rep. Richard Burr. State lawmakers need to use the $275 million of that aid earmarked for Medicaid for what it was intended, said Burr, R-5th District, speaking to nearly 180 people who were invited to the Rose Hill Plantation outside Nashville by N.C. Rep. Bill Daughtridge, R-Nash. "Those funds need to be "sheltered in a way to protect the Medicaid program." Burr, who was encouraged by the White House to run for the U.S. Senate, against U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said it was difficult to call U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole a junior senator when she is consistently the only North Carolina senator in Washington, D.C. "John Edwards seems to have forgotten where he has come from," Burr said, referring to Edwards' frequent absence from the U.S. Senate because of his campaigning for president. Burr, who supported Bush's tax cut plan, said he was not disappointed that the tax relief Congress passed amounted to only $350 billion dollars. "You could make it $600 billion or $700 billion and it would still be a small percentage over 10 years," he said. "The sum wasn't really important. To me it was the psychological impact that hopefully will allow the individual to get back into the stock market." Burr said Democrats who attacked the plan for being too lenient to the wealthy didn't understand how the plan benefited everyone. "The fact is that we know that 71 percent of Americans are in the stock market from 401(k)s," he said. "We don't have to explain to them that the capital gains cut is a good cut." Burr was invite to speak to the group of Republicans by N.C. Rep. Bill Daughtridge, R-Nash, who invited supporters to the plantation to update them on his work in Raleigh. Daughtridge, vice chairman of the N.C. Transportation Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Universities, reminded his audience that supporting community colleges was one of his top priorities. "Factories and plants determine where they want to locate based on the availability of skilled labor," he said. Daughtridge also reminded Twin Counties residents that they should purchase flood insurance for their homes before the finalization of the new flood maps. "If you (buy) flood insurance before the flood zone is changed, you can keep your old coverage," he said, "which is much cheaper." Dinning on gumbo and 80 pounds of boiled shrimp, the crowd cheered each representative, both during and after their speeches. "(Burr) was a good speaker, and I liked him," said Jerri Blanton, 37, of Rocky Mount. "He was saying within the next 18 months he was counting on people to help him. I would help him for his campaign." Burr: Use Medicaid funds for Medicaid
By Ned B. Hunter, Rocky Mount Telegram
"Factories and plants determine where they want to locate based on the availability of skilled labor," he said. True, but prospective employeers also consider other factors, especially low corporate, property, and unemployment taxes, none of which the State of North Carolina can be proud.
As an aside, I saw that the old Pepsi plant here in Rocky Mount is going to be occupied by a new company, finally.
Flaroma will add flavor to former Pepsi site
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