Rosemarie Rung, NH State Representative

As the House Finance Committee has been working on the state budget over the past several weeks, I have received literally thousands of emails, most from other parts of NH, but many from Merrimack residents. I want you to know that I read every one from a constituent, but have not had time to respond to each one like I typically do, so I’m going to address your concerns here and how I’ll move forward as the budget goes before the full House on Thursday:

1. Restore the Office of the Child Advocate; it is the only oversight for DCYF and vulnerable children need to have efficient and responsive intervention when they are at risk. I do this with the death of Elijah Lewis in mind and how we can’t allow this to happen to any other child.
2. Restore the Council of the Arts; how can we approve being the only state without an Arts Council? From supporting Artists-in-Residences for our schools, art programs and education, support for the NH League of Craftsmen, etc. art adds value to our lives and revenue to our economy.
3. Reduce the draconian cuts to the University System, which are so deep they threaten the continued operation of one of our campuses (likely Plymouth State). Republicans stated that they don’t support “subsidizing tuition” which is absurd. When NH students are priced out of their state universities, they go out of state and very likely don’t return. Businesses do not want to move to a state that doesn’t value the research centers and education provided by public universities.
4. Restore cuts to Medicaid, if not, nursing homes will not be able to keep nearly 50% of their elderly and disabled residents. Home services for the disabled will be cut.
5. Stop the expansion of private school vouchers. Republicans added millions of dollars to give parents of private/religious schools or homeschoolers, thousands of dollars each year, regardless of how wealthy they are.
6. Stop the assault on local control. There is a bill that got inserted into the budget that will override local decisions on spending caps, force communities to offer keno gambling, cap the amount of what towns get from meals and rooms tax. Really, this budget is not a friend to our town.
   Being in the minority party makes it tough to make these changes. But, the fight is not over and I hope that those who reached out to me, reach out to the Merrimack Republican representatives to ask that they vote what is best for Merrimack, not what they are told to do by the Republican leader and other Free State Project legislators.
   We did have some successes: saving the State Library and restoring retirement benefits for some Group II public employees (i.e., police, firefighters, corrections officers, troopers). I also want to thank our Police Chief and Town Manager for providing me with their recommendation and feedback on specific impacts to Merrimack so I can be a more effective representative.