Burke MAY 6, 2011
DISTRICT 44
Caldwell MAY
ISSUE #1
Dear Friends,
Happy Mother’s Day!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Senator Warren T. Daniel Legislative Office Bldg., Room 411 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Email: warren.daniel@ncleg.net Phone: 919-715-7823 Fax: 919-754-3265
District Office of Sen. Warren Daniel 348 Harper Avenue NW Lenoir, NC 28645 Email: senwarrendaniel@bellsouth.net Phone: 828-754-9335 Fax 828-754-9335 (Please call before faxing) www.facebook.com
It has been a very busy week in the General Assembly. Now that the House has passed its budget, Senate members have been working hard to study its provisions. Unfortunately, due to budget meetings, I am unable address as many issues this week as in previous newsletters. This week, in a bipartisan vote of 72-47, the state House passed a budget that cuts wasteful spending, reduces taxes, and protects teachers and other vital state services. This is the first in many steps that will return North Carolina to responsible spending levels without requiring more in taxes from our citizens. The House budget will put over $1 billion back into the private sector in order to pull our state out of this tough economic downturn. Overall, the House budget appropriates $19.3 billion for fiscal year 2011-2012 and $19.5 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013. Next week, the Senate will take up the House budget in committee, carefully examining every line item before deliberations begin on the Senate floor. I am sure some changes will be made, and some provisions will be added and subtracted to have the greatest possible positive impact on North Carolina. Ultimately, our goal is to pass the budget in a timely fashion. We will urge Governor Perdue to sign the budget and demonstrate she is serious about addressing the $2.6 billion budget deficit we currently face. Continued on page 2
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MOTHER’S DAY HISTORY “God bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her.” So said Abraham Lincoln of his beloved mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, whom he lost to milk sickness—she drank milk from a cow who’d grazed on white snakeroot, it’s poisonous—when she was 34 and her son age nine, old enough to help his father plane pine boards and carve wooden pegs to make the coffin they buried her in. She died two weeks after drinking the blighted milk, as did several others in their village of Little Pigeon Creek, Indiana. It was October 5, 1818. Dennis Hanks, Nancy’s cousin, paints the death scene: Nancy called Abraham and his sister Sarah to her bedside and asked them “to be good and kind to their father, to each other, and to the world.” “I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”- A. Lincoln
Burke
DISTRICT 44
Caldwell Page 2
MAY 6, 2011
National Day of Prayer
On a different note, Thursday was the National Day of Prayer. This was a time for all of us in the General Assembly to take a break from our busy work schedules and remember our Creator, the source of all wisdom and blessings. Many legislators and citizens met on the Halifax Mall to pray for our state, for those serving in our state and federal governments, and those who are serving us at home and abroad in our military. Faith in God has always been the foundation of our government. Recall that Benjamin Franklin spoke during the Constitutional Convention, stating that “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” As we move forward as a state to address the difficult issues we are facing, may we all draw comfort from the God who has made us, and from the spirit of courage and perseverance of our forefathers that has made us Americans. Sincerely,
The first Day of Prayer was declared by the Continental Congress in 1775: “I therefore beg leave to move – that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business; and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.” -Benjamin Franklin In 1952 both Houses of Congress called upon the President to set aside a day each year as National Day of Prayer: “Prayer has indeed been a vital force in the growth and development of this Nation. It would certainly be appropriate if…the People of this country were to unite in a day of prayer each year…reaffirming in a dramatic manner the deep religious conviction which has prevailed throughout the history of the United States.” -Judiciary Committee Report In 1988, President Reagan signed a bill marking the first Thursday of May a National Day of Prayer: “On our National Day of Prayer, then, we join together as people of many faiths to petition God to show us His mercy and His love, to heal our weariness and uphold our hope, that we might live ever mindful of His justice and thankful for His blessing.” -Ronald Reagan
IN THE BEGINNING… Three people were arguing about what profession was used first in the Bible. The Surgeon says, "The Medical profession was used first when God took a rib from Adam and made Eve.” The Engineer says, "No, engineering was used first. Just think of the engineering job it took to create the world out of chaos.” The Politician says, "You would have nothing if we didn't create chaos in the beginning!”