Declarations

God, not Guns

“Let us keep the sanctity of churches and put our faith in God and not in guns.”

—Rep. Steven Breedlove, a minister at the Valley View (Ark.) Church of Christ. The Associated Press reported that Breedlove and fellow Arkansas legislator/pastor, Rep. Otis Davis, said they couldn’t, in good conscience, vote for a bill that passed the state House of Representatives, which would allow concealed handguns in churches. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, said she introduced the measure after a series of church shootings across the country. Each individual church would decide whether to allow the concealed guns.

Can’t Wait for the Feds

“We need to be proactive when the next hurricane strikes and we can’t wait for the federal government to take care of our citizens after a disaster.”

—Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston. Turner is the chairman of the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Hurricane Ike, which formed in October to study ways Texas could have responded better to the September hurricane. The panel recommended revamping the funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, stronger building codes, expanding the sales tax holiday to include emergency survival items and putting $250 million in the state’s Disaster Contingency Fund, among other things.

A Good Bill

“This is a good bill that provides an important safeguard for Oklahoma homeowners. If something goes wrong, the contractors insurance will take care of it, not the homeowner’s. That’s the way it should be.”

—Mike Means, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Home Builders Association. Means was commenting on legislation passed by an Oklahoma Senate committee that would require contractors to have general liability and workers’ compensation insurance before they can be issued residential building permits. Senate Bill 306 is sponsored by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, an Oklahoma City Democrat.

Advocating for Small Business

“I wish to begin my brief colloquy with a statement that might be surprising to some who are listening, that 40 percent of all the capital in the country for small business, basically, comes through or touches the Small Business Administration.”

—Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu. Landrieu, a Democrat and chair of Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, have advocated for key small business provisions in the U.S. Economic Recovery Package, including provisions to increase access to capital for small firms and temporarily eliminate fees on flagship loan programs; key assistance to microbusinesses; funding for the SBA’s surety bond program; and $10 million for oversight of small business stimulus funds.