If Alan Nunnelee were in Washington now serving as Mississippi”s First District congressman, and was facing a decision whether to vote yes or no on President Barack Obama”s health care plan, he would have already announced his decision.
“I would have announced months ago I would vote no, and not wait until the 11th hour,” the Tupelo Republican said in comments at a Thursday meeting of the Columbus Tea Party.
The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn.
Nunnelee, a Republican state senator from Tupelo, was referring to U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, who announced Thursday he would vote against the health care plan.
Nunnelee is running against Childers, a Democrat, for the congressional seat on the Republican ticket. Other Republican challengers include former Fox News commentator Angela McGlowan of Oxford and former Eupora Mayor Henry Ross.
Childers said there are many in Congress who plan to vote in opposition to the bill, but they were the same ones who voted in Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Nunnelee said a health care plan should not be placed in the hands of the government, but instead should be put in the hands of Americans.
“It should be for the patients, not the government,” he said.
Nunnelee also said it should be up to private investments and companies, not the government, to create jobs for people.
He referred to Mississippi”s sales tax holiday last year, in which people could buy up to $100 in clothing without having to pay sales tax.
“We can create our own stimulus program without the government”s help. If we let working men and women keep their own money, we can have our own stimulus and we don”t need one from the government,” he said.
Nunnelee has served in the Mississippi Senate for 15 years, winning the seat held by current U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. He represents Lee and Pontotoc Counties.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Nunnelee said if elected, he would want to work to see that the United States follows the example of the American working family to balance their budget and control their spending.
“In this recession we are in, there are some in Washington who do not want to cut spending. In Mississippi, the Legislature is working on the budget right now. Our challenge is to fit our spending with the available revenue,” he said.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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