61st Legislature - Opening Remarks by Minority Whip Mary Throne
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Jan 14, 2011
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Secretary of State and Madame Deputy Secretary of State, thank you for being here and for your dedicated service to Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, fellow members of leadership, members of the House of Representatives of the 61st legislature, honored guests, friends and family of the House:
I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you today on behalf of the Minority, pinch hitting for our courageous and able Minority Floor Leader, Representative Patrick Goggles. I want to extend a special welcome to our large and energetic class of new members. I also want to thank my family, Kevin, Michael, Tarver and Patrick for being here and for their sacrifices that allow me to do this work I love.
As a Cheyenne legislator, I often come to this glorious chamber when it is completely empty and except for our ever-present and faithful LSO staff, the second floor of the Capitol is quiet It is a much different scene than it is today. During most of the year, the House reminds me of an empty theater, after the curtain has come down, the lights have dimmed and the cast has gone home. Then, from a few weeks before the session until this Opening Ceremony, there is a gradually increasing buzz of activity. Our session staff comes on board to set the stage, this Chamber, for what will unfold over the next several weeks. Last of all we arrive, the Members of the 61st—all leading characters in the action to come.
Of course, the script of the 61st is not yet written. Will it be a drama? Perhaps, even an epic? Past experience tells me, there will thankfully be some comedy. Whatever transpires, I am confident we will not mimic the worst of reality television.
The plot of this general session is anyone’s guess. At this point, it appears a couple of issues are likely to dominate our debate—healthcare and education.
Healthcare is a troublesome and emotional issue. When considering policy options during this session, we should constantly question whether our action will make healthcare more affordable and accessible to Wyoming citizens. Approximately 71,000 of our fellow citizens are uninsured, many face bankruptcy or loss of a home due to unexpected medical bills and our hospitals routinely incur millions in uncompensated care. Ever-present healthcare cost increases pose a long-term risk to our rosy fiscal picture. If the policy choices in the coming days will not address our pressing healthcare needs, perhaps they should not be in law.
Education is personal for me and important to all of us. As many of you know, I am passionate about this topic--—sometimes too passionate--because I am a mother with three children in our K-12 system. Every year of our childrens’ education is precious and crucial to their future. This reality makes me impatient and cautious at the same time. On the impatient side—the current statewide assessment, known as PAWS, costs more than it is worth both in dollars and lost classroom time. There is no need to wait to fix it or to do more than the bare minimum required by federal law. No Child Left Behind has been a disaster for our schools and it is contrary to everything we believe in Wyoming to wait for Washington fix the mess. On the cautious side, there are many new ideas in draft and filed bills. All merit discussion. But before we rush to do something to “improve” education, let uss borrow a guiding principle from our friends in the medical community: “First, do no harm.” Many of the education reforms of the last decade have been done with the best intentions. Many, like No Child Left Behind, have done more harm than good.
Whatever issues make it into the script of the 61st, we know with certainty there will be little, if any partisan bickering. I have grown tired of the constant speculation since the election that this legislature will be dramatically different due to the overwhelming membership of one party and that the rest of us will be rendered irrelevant. I am here to assure you, it is not the intent of those of us in the minority of in the best interest for Wyoming, for us to be irrelevant. We have no fear we will be treated unfairly by any of our colleagues in the majority, especially the fine gentlemen assuming leadership today. In public and private comments, all of us have committed to use our collective talents to work together, as we historically have, to strive to do what makes sense for the State of Wyoming. Today we have all officially become members of the 61st, individual legislators each duly elected to serve our constituents. We have taken the same oath of office to uphold the Wyoming and United States’ constitutions. We are all united in our common purpose to promote the best interests of the people of Wyoming.
Whether we hail from the Big Horns in the north, the mountains of the west, the Black Hills of the northeast, somewhere along the Union Pacific line, energy counties or non-energy counties, the center of the state or the plains of the east, we share common Wyoming values. We share a love of our wide open spaces and a desire to keep our air clean and our water pure. We all understand that in Wyoming—neighbor is a verb, as well as a noun. We are all grateful for the natural resources which provide our state with abundant wealth. However, we are always mindful of our need to invest for a future when minerals may no longer provide our revenue. We all agree our people will always be our greatest natural resource. We are all opposed to Washington solutions that do not work in Wyoming. We are all skeptical of over-reliance on government solutions and careful before we spend one tax dollar. Yet, we know we must have regulations to safeguard our precious environment and programs to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable among us. Above all, we share respect for each other and respect for all the institutions of our democracy, including this one.
Despite our common values and our common objectives for this session, there will be debate, deliberation and discussion about the priorities of this great state. Today is merely the opening act and much work lies ahead. But we in the minority have no reason to doubt, that when the curtain falls on this general session, and the House Chamber again becomes a quiet, empty theater, each of us individually will have fulfilled our commitments to our constituents and together, we as members of the 61st will have done our best for the people of Wyoming.