Testimony: ‘Stand up, be bold’

Isaac Moffett, a charter school founder from Nampa, urged the House State Affairs Committee, “Stand up, be bold, protect us, and uphold … what is left of our liberty.”

Andrea Shipley, executive director of the Idaho Community Action Network, testified against HB 117, “because of its impacts to the creation of a health care exchange and the costs to the state to defend an unconstitutional bill.” She said, “Changing a few words does not change the intent of the bill, and it undermines the intent of the health care law which is the law of the land today, and is already helping (Idahoans) … get affordable health care.”

Wayne Hoffman, executive director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, told the committee, “I happen to be particularly proud of this bill.” He said, “We’re not going so far as to secede from the union or anything like that.” Instead, he said the bill is “interposing between a federal government that has gone too far and citizens.” Hoffman said, “Of course we want affordable health care for all Idahoans and all Americans, but with all due respect and to quote Ronald Reagan, government isn’t the solution, government is the problem.”

Rep. Bert Stevenson, R-Rupert, noted that Hoffman had used the word “we” several times in his testimony, and he asked him who “we” was. Hoffman responded that he didn’t think he’d used the word.