Op-ed by Sen. John Braun
Washington taxpayers deserve a better transportation deal than what they’ve been getting.
Unfortunately, the state Department of Transportation has not been a wise steward of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Continue reading
Author Archives: fdgadmin
Op-ed by Sen. John Braun
It’s time to get Washington’s transportation system moving again.
Here in Lewis County, we are highly dependent on a functioning highway system, without which our timber industry as well as other businesses would be unable to ship their products.
Many people also commute long distances to and from work. Our highways need to be first-rate to accommodate our need for mobility; unfortunately, they are not always up to the task. Continue reading
By Pete Caster
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, on Wednesday sat across from a semicircle of small business owners and listened to a litany of state- and federal-business regulation horror stories.
Braun and the dozen local entrepreneurs were joined by Patrick Connor, Washington state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Erin Shannon, director of Washington Policy Center’s Center for Small Business, at the event held at Braun Northwest in Chehalis. Continue reading
Tomorrow NFIB and Senator John Braun will hold a “Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations” event at Braun’s company, Braun Northwest, a manufacturer of specialty emergency vehicles in Chehalis. As the country gears up to celebrate the achievements of American workers on Labor Day, the event will highlight the regulatory obstacles businesses face today in creating jobs.Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations is a NFIB-led coalition of small business owners, farmers, manufacturers and associations from around the country committed reducing the regulatory burden on job-creators. Continue reading
Today, Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, and Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, supported the 2013-15 Capital Budget which allocates $28.2 million for flood protection in the Chehalis River Basin.
“Lewis County has been devastated by floods twice in the past decade. Today, we took a meaningful step forward toward our goal of flood protection for the communities in the Chehalis River Valley,” said Braun. Continue reading
OLYMPIA… Sen. John Braun yesterday supported an updated Senate spending plan.
“I’m proud that the Senate has once again crafted a sustainable budget that makes education the top priority,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “I am keenly aware of the need to pay our bills before anything else. The state’s paramount duty is to provide ample public-school funding. Our budget’s billion-dollar increase in support for basic education, while limiting the growth of non-education spending, is the right thing to do.”
The Senate’s budget’s provides $1,000 per K-12 pupil. This is a much higher level of support than provided by the House of Representatives’ budget, despite that plan’s reliance on more than $500 million in new taxes.
Braun acknowledged that while the Senate’s budget reflects some compromises with the House, he and other members of the bipartisan coalition have not backtracked on any of their core principles.
“We in the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus insist on a budget that lives within its means and upholds the state’s paramount duty of providing for education,” said Braun. “This budget is exactly what Washington needs. I hope the House members will see this, too, and approve our very sensible spending plan.”
The $33.4 million budget received a 25-23 vote.
Washington State’s 20th District Senator, John Braun, R-Centralia, talks about the budget impasse that appears to be necessitating a second special session, plus he comments on the workers’ compensation reform package recently passed by the Senate.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Yesterday, the state House passed Senate Bill 5496, a measure Sen. John Braun introduced that would give private schools the same ability as public schools to offer online school programs. The bill would help schools like Centralia Christian School and St. Joseph Catholic School, in the 20th Legislative District Braun represents.
Shortly after the bill passed the Washington Policy Center issued this statement: “SB 5496 enhances access to online learning to private school students. The bill is the result of the hard work of two far-sighted education reformers who care about improving the education of Washington’s children, Sen. John Braun (R-Centralia) and Rep. Mark Hargrove (R-Covington).” Continue reading