A Democrat attempt to second-guess the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq drew criticism from Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, and House Minority Chief Mike May, R-Parker, when they met with Capitol media today at the midpoint of the Legislative session.
A public hearing scheduled next week on the resolution proposed by Democrat Senators Ron Tupa, of Boulder, and Ken Gordon, of Denver, is likely to draw plenty of fire, according to McElhany.
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Senate Majority Leader Andy McElhany, right, fields questions from members of the Capitol press corps. |
“There’s nothing positive coming out of this resolution,” he said. “It’s simply a negative that can be used by our enemies to escalate divisiveness among Americans. This has been staged by Democrats for political concerns with no purpose whatsoever.”
May agreed and added that the Democrat-Iraq proposal is nothing more than a “partisan act” by both Tupa and Gordon.
“This resolution is not going to solve any of our education, health care or energy problems,” he said.
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Saturday marks the 60-day point of the 66th General Assembly, and Republican senators are nudging forward with their agenda of funding transportation, health care affordability, improving education and job creation despite Democrat opposition.
The senate minority leader acknowledged that up to this point the Legislature has seemed rather uneventful.
“I think it’s been a quiet session so far and even bipartisan,” McElhany said. “Maybe it’s noisier on the other side, but here it’s been pretty routine.”
Following the meeting with reporters, McElhany mentioned that it’s been an “uphill battle” to deliver on core issues important to the GOP, given its minority status. However, he cited positives such as the passage of Senate Bill 131 and Senate Bill 140.
SB 131, by Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, sets high-school graduation standards of four years of math and three years of science in order for students to receive a diploma.
SB 140, by Assistant Minority Leader Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, establishes a teacher identifier to place the best-performing teachers with at-risk or underachieving students.
Both proposals passed the Senate and are under consideration in the House. McElhany noted that the Democrat majority already has taken an axe to a large part of the GOP agenda.
Some key GOP bills that were killed by the Democrats include: House Bill 1273, tax deductions for low-income families for their own out-of-pocket medical expenses; HB 1191, business personal-property tax off-set for renewable energy fixtures; HB 1188, a tax break for employers who create high-pay jobs and SB 116, a comprehensive annual audit of Medicaid.
McElhany said it's hard to understand Democrats' strategy in opposing the GOP's agenda for health care, transportation and other core issues important to voters. He noted the Democrats don't seem to be offering very many substantive bills of their own on those issues.
"I think the Democrats would rather do another study than make an actual difference," McElhany said.