IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) released the following statement after voting in favor of H. Res. 990, a resolution to support the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
“The brave men and women of ICE are tremendous. Every day they do so much, both noticed and unnoticed, to protect our communities from threats of gangs, violent crime, and drug trafficking. They deserve our full and unqualified support, and I'm proud to stand with them.”
WORKED TO EXEMPT NC COUNTIES FROM VEHICLE EMISSIONS TESTING
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially signed off on a proposed action from the North Carolina General Assembly to eliminate the requirement for vehicle emissions testing for 26 North Carolina counties. The list of counties includes five counties from Rep. Mark Meadows’ (R-NC) Congressional district, NC-11.
In 2016, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recommended a list of North Carolina counties for removal from mandated vehicle emissions testing. The General Assembly addressed the report by passing Senate Bill 131 in 2017, which required the EPA exempt the counties in the bill from emissions inspections requirements.
Rep. Meadows worked extensively with the NC General Assembly and the EPA to ensure the full implementation of the exemption. After several months of work, led by NC House Speaker Tim Moore and State Rep. Michele Presnell, the proposal has finally been implemented.
“Our environment is in the best hands when we allow the free market and the private sector to take the lead, with limited government oversight and involvement,” Rep. Meadows said. “Vehicle emissions testing is a minimally effective policy with a high price tab for the taxpayers. This was a badly needed reform and I’m thrilled to see five of my district’s counties on the list of those who will see the benefits of the exemption. I want to thank Speaker Moore and State Rep. Presnell for their outstanding work and leadership on this issue, and the Trump administration for their willing assistance in seeing the policy through.”
“As recommended by the state Dept. of Environmental Quality, I worked for quite a while to pass a law through the General Assembly to end the useless bureaucratic exercise of emissions inspections in Haywood County,” Rep. Michele D. Presnell (R – Yancey) said. “The people of Haywood County lose more than $1 million every year to emissions inspection fees alone, which does not include any required repairs. I would like to thank Congressman Meadows for working with the EPA to follow through on the state law that delivered this much-needed reform.”
“I want to thank Congressman Meadows for his support in working with the EPA to see this initiative through,” said NC House Speaker Tim Moore. “This is a critical reform that will relieve a serious financial burden for thousands of North Carolinians in the future.”
WORKED TO ELIMINATE OBAMACARE'S MULTI STATE PLAN
The House passed an amendment authored by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) to prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to administer Obamacare’s ‘Multi-State Plan Program.’ The amendment passed with a bipartisan majority by a vote of 223-192.
Section 1334 of the Affordable Care Act requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to contract with at least two national health plans, one of which must be a non-profit plan, to compete directly with private plans in every state. These plans are called multi-state plans, or MSP’s. The law requires they be available in all 50 states as of 2017.
Multi-state plans were intended to drive competition on the health care exchanges. However, the program has failed to meet the Obama administration’s 750,000 enrollment projection or the 50-state statutory requirement. The program has been so unsuccessful that in 2018, there is only one participating state (Arkansas).
Elimination of the program is supported by the OPM and the National Active Retired Federal Employees Association, among other groups. The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation have also conceded that eliminating funding for the plans will not affect the level of competition or premiums in the insurance market place, nor would it affect any Obamacare subsidies.
Rep. Meadows released the following statement on the amendment:
“The Multi-State Plan program amounts to a textbook waste of taxpayer dollars and needs to be eliminated. It makes no sense for the OPM to dedicate funds to a program that does nothing other than spend money and stifle competition in the marketplace. Bottom line: the program was a poorly conceived provision of an even more poorly conceived bill in Obamacare, and repealing it is a positive step in the right direction of improving America’s healthcare markets. I appreciate the support of my colleagues.”
