House Speaker Dan Hawkins said GOP legislators will work on tax cuts, prioritize K-12 education and commit to ending long disability wait times
BY: RACHEL MIPROKansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Republican legislators will guard against communist China espionage, provide tax cuts and eliminate wait times for disability services, House Speaker Dan Hawkins said in a rebuttal to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s annual State of the State address.
“We will be ever vigilant in combating the danger posed by communist China,” Hawkins said. “Cracking down on their espionage conducted by drones in Kansas and safeguarding our farmland from foreign communist ownership are critical national security measures we can implement in the heartland.”
Hawkins also panned Kelly’s Medicaid expansion proposal, calling the reform a way to “increase welfare for able-bodied, working-age people.”
Medicaid expansion would allow an estimated 150,000 Kansans — primarily workers with low incomes, residents suffering from chronic illness, and children — to gain access to medical care and unlock $700 million in annual federal funding.
Under Kansas’ current state-run Medicaid program, called KanCare, a person must be either younger than 19 or older than 64, pregnant, or mentally or physically disabled. Caregivers are also eligible. Besides these requirements, the individual must be below 38% of the federal poverty level. A single mother working a minimum wage job earns too much to qualify under the current standard.
“Limited resources should be reserved for the truly needy instead of siphoning them away to able-bodied adults who don’t want to work and who have access to other health care options,” Hawkins said.
Only 54.1% of Kansans get health insurance through their employer, according to a Kansas Health Institute report.
Hawkins said Republicans would work to create higher medical reimbursement rates, support for community mental health centers and would work on eliminating the long wait times Kansans with disabilities face for help in lieu of expansion.
Republicans would also prioritize a commitment to K-12 schools in the coming months, Hawkins said.
Hawkins said Kelly had a similar method to “Joe Biden’s extreme approach” of spending more instead of cutting taxes, a move he characterized as one that chips away at “freedom, personal responsibility and public safety.”
The governor has proposed a $1 billion tax cut with bipartisan support.
Hawkins, along with Senate President Ty Masterson, previously announced their intent to bring back a massive flat tax proposal that narrowly failed last year.
The previous legislation would have implemented a 5.15% income tax rate for all Kansans, decreasing revenue by an estimated $330 million each year. About 43% of the tax savings would go to the 3% of Kansans who earn more than $250,000 a year.
“Too many family conversations in the living room are centered around higher prices and economic uncertainty,” Hawkins said in his speech. “Kansas families deserve relief from inflation in the form of tax cuts — not a bigger government.”