Today marks Day 34 since the government shutdown began. Northern Virginia is home to more than 83,000 federal employees, many of whom are currently on furlough or working without pay. Next Thursday, January 31, is the next regularly scheduled payday for federal employees, but it remains uncertain whether the government will re-open in time.
Our local governments in Fairfax County and City of Falls Church have done a wonderful job to provide support and resources in response to the shutdown, making sure no student goes hungry and hiring to fill temporary positions like substitute teachers and bus drivers.
Below is a list of resources available for furloughed federal employees and their families. I hope the information is helpful, but even more I hope that the Administration ends the shutdown soon.
Community Support for Furloughed Federal Employees
City of Falls Church
Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) will be expediting free and reduced lunch applications. The furlough is considered a change in income and all families affected can apply immediately to get this benefit. School lunch account balances will be allowed to accrue for affected students. Apply here.
FCCPS is also hiring substitute teachers and bus drivers. Find out more and apply online.
Falls Church Housing and Human Services offers a number of services and programs like food referral for City residents, along with financial assistance paying rent for contract government workers who will not receive back pay. Visit their website or reach them at 703-248-5005.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s pet pantry is open to Falls Church City residents (with valid ID). No appointments needed. Find out more here.
Fairfax County
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be providing meals (breakfast and lunch) regardless of ability to pay or temporary financial circumstances.
FCPS is offering substitute teaching positions to furloughed workers and will have an expedited hiring process. Learn more and apply online.
Fairfax Connector will provide free rides system-wide for federal government employees affected by the government shutdown who are still required to report for work. Eligible riders must present a federal photo ID to the bus operator. Find schedules, routes, and other information here.
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has pet food and a limited amount of other supplies available for furloughed federal employees. Supplies are available during shelter business hours. For more information, call 703-830-1100 or email animalshelter@fairfaxcounty.gov
Families in the Child Care Assistance and Referral Program with a 12-month eligibility can request that child care co-payments be lowered. Call 703-449-8484 or email DFSccarinfo@fairfaxcounty.gov
Other Resources
Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is offering a free (non-credit) class to furloughed federal employees and contractors. Employees can choose from select Business and Management, IT and Computer Skills, and Professional Development classes. Call 703-878-5770 or visit the website for more information.
George Mason University’s School of Business will offer free career skills workshops for furloughed federal employees and contractors. Find out more here.
The United States Office of Personnel Management has a website dedicated to furlough guidance.
AT&T/DIRECTV, T-Mobile, Cox, and Verizon are offering flexible payment options for those affected by the government shutdown.
Dominion Energy and Washington Gas are also providing support for federal employees impacted by the shutdown.
More information can be found on the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s website.
How You Can Help
If you’d like to help, check out the Stuff the Bus campaign to restock local food pantries in Fairfax County.
The Falls Church Community Service Council also welcomes donations of non-perishable food, toiletries, paper good (napkins, toilet paper, etc), and household items (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc). Donations can be dropped off at Knox Presbyterian Church (Route 50 and Allen Street) between the hours of 9:30a – 1:00p most weekdays. Please call their office 703-237-2562 if you have any questions.
The official Blog of Virginia Delegate Marcus B. Simon representing the 13th House of Delegates District, including the City of Falls Church and part of Fairfax County.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
2019 Session | Week 2
Raw power, honey, just won't quit
Raw power, I can feel it
Raw power, it can't be beat
Poppin' eyes and a-flashin' feet
Don't you try, don't you try to tell me what to do
Everybody always tryin' to tell me what to do
~Iggy and the Stooges, "Raw Power"
With the deadline to file legislation behind us, (Friday the 18th at 3:00pm was the final deadline to file bills), the pace of activity is really picking up during this short session. Each house has about 2 weeks left to finish work on their own bills. A couple of my 15 bills have already been heard and died (detailed update below). The House and Senate voted on judicial appointments last week, and advocacy groups ramped up their lobbying efforts.
Judicial election day caused the first real partisan fireworks of the session. Typically Judicial elections are fairly dull, procedurally complicated affairs with a lot of steps that have to happen in the right sequence so the House and Senate can sync up to vote on Judges.
About 4:30pm Tuesday, though, we learned that in addition to voting to reappoint sitting judges the majority party had decided on a candidate to be a new State Corporation Commission (one of three). We in the minority party were informed that she would be certified, qualified, and elected the following day.
As the House Democratic Caucus Parliamentarian, it fell to me to look for procedural opportunities to slow down the nomination and give us time to go through a proper process. As Delegate Toscano said on the floor, however, the nomination wasn’t up for actual discussion. Rather, it was an exercise of raw political power.
I submitted a floor amendment to remove the late addition from the resolution and force the election to be rescheduled for a later date, and made several parliamentary inquiries to see if we could have a genuine opportunity to vet the nominee. Unfortunately, the majority party had the numbers they needed to force the election through, which is exactly what they did.
Hope you enjoy this week's update!
Legislative Update
Early last week, my bill to allow same day registration was heard in a House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee (HB 1904). After some debate on the idea, the bill was defeated. Unfortunately, updating our voting and election laws remains an uphill battle.
Later in the week, my bill to prohibit 3D printing of guns was heard in a House Militia, Police, & Public Safety Subcommittee (HB 1691). For those that have read my session updates in the past, you can easily predict what happened with this bill - I presented the bill and several groups spoke in favor and the usual folks spoke against. In the end, the bill was killed as are most of the common sense gun violence prevention bills heard in this committee.
Tele-Town Hall on Minimum Wage & EITC
On Thursday, I participated in a teletown on raising the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit hosted by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). Senator Rosalyn Dance, who represents parts of Richmond and Petersburg, and Michael Cassidy, President of The Commonwealth Institute, were also panelists on the call.
Meanwhile, over the weekend...
An annual tradition, my son swaps out my old license plate for my new one. Five years after my first plate, I’m into the 50s - the plate number signifies seniority and not the district number as some might think. Lots of turnover in the House of a Delegates lately!
Raw power, I can feel it
Raw power, it can't be beat
Poppin' eyes and a-flashin' feet
Don't you try, don't you try to tell me what to do
Everybody always tryin' to tell me what to do
~Iggy and the Stooges, "Raw Power"
With the deadline to file legislation behind us, (Friday the 18th at 3:00pm was the final deadline to file bills), the pace of activity is really picking up during this short session. Each house has about 2 weeks left to finish work on their own bills. A couple of my 15 bills have already been heard and died (detailed update below). The House and Senate voted on judicial appointments last week, and advocacy groups ramped up their lobbying efforts.
Judicial election day caused the first real partisan fireworks of the session. Typically Judicial elections are fairly dull, procedurally complicated affairs with a lot of steps that have to happen in the right sequence so the House and Senate can sync up to vote on Judges.
About 4:30pm Tuesday, though, we learned that in addition to voting to reappoint sitting judges the majority party had decided on a candidate to be a new State Corporation Commission (one of three). We in the minority party were informed that she would be certified, qualified, and elected the following day.
As the House Democratic Caucus Parliamentarian, it fell to me to look for procedural opportunities to slow down the nomination and give us time to go through a proper process. As Delegate Toscano said on the floor, however, the nomination wasn’t up for actual discussion. Rather, it was an exercise of raw political power.
I submitted a floor amendment to remove the late addition from the resolution and force the election to be rescheduled for a later date, and made several parliamentary inquiries to see if we could have a genuine opportunity to vet the nominee. Unfortunately, the majority party had the numbers they needed to force the election through, which is exactly what they did.
Hope you enjoy this week's update!
Legislative Update
Early last week, my bill to allow same day registration was heard in a House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee (HB 1904). After some debate on the idea, the bill was defeated. Unfortunately, updating our voting and election laws remains an uphill battle.
Later in the week, my bill to prohibit 3D printing of guns was heard in a House Militia, Police, & Public Safety Subcommittee (HB 1691). For those that have read my session updates in the past, you can easily predict what happened with this bill - I presented the bill and several groups spoke in favor and the usual folks spoke against. In the end, the bill was killed as are most of the common sense gun violence prevention bills heard in this committee.
Tele-Town Hall on Minimum Wage & EITC
On Thursday, I participated in a teletown on raising the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit hosted by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). Senator Rosalyn Dance, who represents parts of Richmond and Petersburg, and Michael Cassidy, President of The Commonwealth Institute, were also panelists on the call.
Meanwhile, over the weekend...
An annual tradition, my son swaps out my old license plate for my new one. Five years after my first plate, I’m into the 50s - the plate number signifies seniority and not the district number as some might think. Lots of turnover in the House of a Delegates lately!
Thursday, January 17, 2019
The inalienable right to vote
This week’s edition of my Richmond Report is really coming to you from Richmond this month. The House of Delegates convened for our “short” 46 day session last week. With one full week behind us, things are starting to ramp up. A 46 day session means each chamber only has three weeks to work on its own bills before we reach cross-over and have to send them down the hall to the other side of the Capitol.
This past Saturday, many of you joined state Senator Saslaw and me for our annual early-session town hall, where we discussed our legislative agendas, priorities, and other issues that mattered most to our community. We covered a lot of ground during our time, discussing a broad spectrum of issues such as solar energy, the impact of Amazon’s HQ2 on our region, the Equal Rights Amendment, education funding, and of course, ending partisan gerrymandering, which will be a key fight this year.
Several bills I’ve introduced have to do with improving our system for choosing our elected leaders.
Gerrymandering is just one of many tools used to dilute the political power of specific voting blocs (like voters of a certain party, race, or religion). Perhaps the most insidious thing about gerrymandering though, is that it undermines the doctrine of “one man, one vote” or the idea that all votes cast should be counted equally.
It’s far from the only way Virginia has limited the right to vote. In 2017, then Governor Terry McAuliffe restored, en masse, the civil rights of 200,000 former felons who had served their sentences and paid their debt to society, allowing them to once again register to vote. This decision was controversial because language in our constitution, which traces its legislative history to the Jim Crow era, makes Virginia one of a handful of states that permanently deprives convicted felons of their voting privileges. The State Supreme Court eventually overturned the mass restoration, forcing McAuliffe to reinstate the rights of each felon individually.
Governor Northam continues the practice of routinely restoring the rights of felons individually as they complete their sentences and the process remains cumbersome.
That’s why I have introduced HJ598 – The Right To Vote – an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia to ensure that every person who is a U.S. Citizen and at least 18 has a RIGHT to vote and that no law can revoke that right. (Friendly reminder that in Virginia, Constitutional amendments must be passed through the full General Assembly twice before it can be put on a ballot to be voted on by the voters of the Commonwealth.)
There are other, more subtle ways that Virginia makes voting more difficult.
Which is why I also introduced HB1904 to allow voters who show up at the poll on Election Day not realizing that they needed to register or re-register the ability to apply for registration on the same day and cast a ballot.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 20 states plus the District of Columbia offer same day registration. States like California, Colorado, and Wyoming utilize state networked e-poll books to verify that voters are eligible to vote and that the voter has not registered or cast a ballot at a different location in the state. And guess what? It works!
Multiple studies have shown that on average, offering same day voter registration increases turnout by 3 to 7 percent, and about 5 percent on average.
Unfortunately, HB1904 didn’t make it out of the Privileges and Elections subcommittee, but I plan on introducing a similar bill again next year as part of a larger, more comprehensive proposal to reform our elections systems and processes.
Voting is a basic right and we should be lowering barriers of access to the ballot box and ensure voting is a free, fair, and accessible process. We should also be investing to make sure that every person who is eligible can vote without barriers.
Finally, voters need to have faith that the leaders they elect will act in their best interest, and not be overly influenced by the demands of constant fundraising and the strings that at least appear to come with some of those campaign contributions.
Up next week will be my perennial bill to ban the conversion of campaigns funds to a candidate’s personal use, and another stab at allowing Virginia localities to experiment with public financing of local elections.
Keep up with all things Richmond by following me on Facebook @DelegateSimon and Twitter @marcussimon.
Monday, January 14, 2019
2019 Session - Week 1
I need equal rights and justice
I need equal rights and justice
I need equal rights and justice
Got to get it, equal rights and justice
~Peter Tosh, "Equal Rights"
The 2019 Session began on Wednesday, January 9th and although it’s been less than a week since we started, I thought I’d go ahead and send out my first weekly e-mail today, since it is a short session (46 days).
Because it’s a short session, each member is limited to introducing 15 bills. That adds up quickly though, as we have already seen over 1,250 bills introduced, plus constitutional amendments, budget amendments, and other resolutions.
That’s a lot. And our session is even shorter than it seems, since every bill has to pass the house in which it was introduced by the halfway/crossover point. That makes the first three weeks of session by far the busiest and most hectic. I've already been meeting with advocates and constituent groups in between being on the floor and attending committee meetings.
Governor's State of the Commonwealth Address
Governor Northam gave his State of the Commonwealth address to the joint session on Wednesday, outlining his priorities for the year. I'm pleased to say that I'm carrying three of the Governor's priority bills - licensing of student loan servicers, prohibiting the use of campaign funds for personal use, and in-state tuition for Virginia National Guard members.
Overall, the Governor focused on key issues for Virginians including healthcare, education, environmental protection, workforce development, and improved access to parental leave.
You can read the Governor's full address or watch the video here.
My 2019 Legislative Agenda
As I mentioned, we are limited in the number of bills we can introduce during a short session. You'd think 15 bills would be plenty, but when you get down to what you think is important it can be surprisingly challenging.
This year, I have a combination of bills that were brought to me by constituents, state agencies, advocates, and of course the Governor. Here's a sampling:
HB 1690 | Adds the MWAA Police to the Line of Duty Act
HB 1691 | Restricts the 3D printing of guns
HB 1699 | Prohibits the personal use of campaign funds
HB 1760 | Requires student loan servicing companies to get a license to operate in Virginia
HB 1829 | Allows localities to establish public financing of campaigns
HB 1850 | Raises the minimum to $15 per hour
HB 1904 | Allows for same day voter registration
HB 2210 | Legalizes online sports betting with enhanced consumer protections
HJ 598 | A constitutional amendment codifying the right to vote
You can view my full legislative agenda here.
Constituent Services
I've already been hearing from many of you on a variety of topics, including the ERA, redistricting reform, the Solar Freedom bill, education funding, and voting rights - just to name a few!
During Session, you can always reach out to my office with constituent issues and legislative concerns:
Mailing Address | Pocahontas Building | 900 E. Main Street | Room 224W | Richmond, VA 23219
Email | DelMSimon@house.virginia.gov
Phone | (804) 698-1053
I always appreciate hearing from you!
I need equal rights and justice
I need equal rights and justice
Got to get it, equal rights and justice
~Peter Tosh, "Equal Rights"
The 2019 Session began on Wednesday, January 9th and although it’s been less than a week since we started, I thought I’d go ahead and send out my first weekly e-mail today, since it is a short session (46 days).
Because it’s a short session, each member is limited to introducing 15 bills. That adds up quickly though, as we have already seen over 1,250 bills introduced, plus constitutional amendments, budget amendments, and other resolutions.
That’s a lot. And our session is even shorter than it seems, since every bill has to pass the house in which it was introduced by the halfway/crossover point. That makes the first three weeks of session by far the busiest and most hectic. I've already been meeting with advocates and constituent groups in between being on the floor and attending committee meetings.
Governor's State of the Commonwealth Address
Governor Northam gave his State of the Commonwealth address to the joint session on Wednesday, outlining his priorities for the year. I'm pleased to say that I'm carrying three of the Governor's priority bills - licensing of student loan servicers, prohibiting the use of campaign funds for personal use, and in-state tuition for Virginia National Guard members.
Overall, the Governor focused on key issues for Virginians including healthcare, education, environmental protection, workforce development, and improved access to parental leave.
You can read the Governor's full address or watch the video here.
My 2019 Legislative Agenda
As I mentioned, we are limited in the number of bills we can introduce during a short session. You'd think 15 bills would be plenty, but when you get down to what you think is important it can be surprisingly challenging.
This year, I have a combination of bills that were brought to me by constituents, state agencies, advocates, and of course the Governor. Here's a sampling:
HB 1690 | Adds the MWAA Police to the Line of Duty Act
HB 1691 | Restricts the 3D printing of guns
HB 1699 | Prohibits the personal use of campaign funds
HB 1760 | Requires student loan servicing companies to get a license to operate in Virginia
HB 1829 | Allows localities to establish public financing of campaigns
HB 1850 | Raises the minimum to $15 per hour
HB 1904 | Allows for same day voter registration
HB 2210 | Legalizes online sports betting with enhanced consumer protections
HJ 598 | A constitutional amendment codifying the right to vote
You can view my full legislative agenda here.
Constituent Services
I've already been hearing from many of you on a variety of topics, including the ERA, redistricting reform, the Solar Freedom bill, education funding, and voting rights - just to name a few!
During Session, you can always reach out to my office with constituent issues and legislative concerns:
Mailing Address | Pocahontas Building | 900 E. Main Street | Room 224W | Richmond, VA 23219
Email | DelMSimon@house.virginia.gov
Phone | (804) 698-1053
I always appreciate hearing from you!
Thursday, December 20, 2018
It's getting better all the time
I've got to admit it's getting better (Better)
A little better all the time (It can't get no worse)
I have to admit it's getting better (Better)
It's getting better
~The Beatles, "Getting Better All the Time"
If Governor Ralph Northam’s address this week to the Joint Money Committees, still chaired by members of the opposite party, was a Beatles song, it would have started with “You have to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time.”
In fact, the 2019 General Assembly Session presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to make significant investments for Virginia’s long-term success including in education, broadband access, affordable housing, and protecting our natural resources. And it can be done while shoring up our reserves, preserving our AAA bond rating and providing targeted tax relief.
So, where is this money coming from?
Virginia is on positive financial footing resulting in better revenues than anticipated and all indicators suggest that these positive economic trends should continue. This, coupled with a few other things happening this year, creates an opportunity to adopt a budget that truly reflects our priorities.
Governor's Proposed Budget Amendments for 2018-2020
Internet Sales Tax
State Governments are now able to charge and collect sales tax on all internet sales, regardless of whether online merchants have a physical presence in the Commonwealth. Given the amount of conversation surrounding the internet sales tax, this is something that we all expect to address this session.
Federal Tax Conformity
The Governor’s budget assumes that, as in previous years, the General Assembly will conform to changes in the federal tax code. Conformity is usually a routine, straightforward action that comes before any conversation we have on tax policy. Because of the changes to the standard deduction, fewer Virginians will itemize on their state income tax returns. So, while the total tax burden for many in our area will decrease, Virginia’s income tax receipts are expected to rise.
Earned Income Tax Credit Refundability
The Trump tax cuts are mainly benefiting high earners and corporations – that’s why Governor Northam proposes targeted tax relief that will let working Virginians in every locality and every region keep more of their paychecks. $216.3 million (one time, sunsets with Trump tax cuts) will make the Earned Income Tax fully refundable, which will provide an estimated 600,000 working Virginians with targeted tax relief.
Teacher Pay
Every child in the Commonwealth deserves access to a world-class education. To compete with other states on attracting and retaining the best teaching talent, the Governor proposes adding $88 million to provide teachers a long overdue 5% raise effective July 2019. Another $80 million in one-time revenues will go toward state aid for school construction through low-interest loans and $70 million will be added to support high-needs students and supplement general aid on a per pupil basis.
Student Health and School Safety
Virginia is a nationally-recognized leader on school safety, but we need to take a more holistic approach when it comes to creating a safe learning environment for our students. $36 million will fund additional school counselors, the first-installment of a three-year, phased strategy to hire enough school counselors to reduce caseloads to 1:250 across all grade bands, the nationally-recognized best practice.
Higher Education Affordability
Although Virginia’s public higher education system is top-ranked and well-regarded, having best-in-the-nation colleges and universities won’t mean much if our students can’t afford to attend them. More than $20 million will go to additional need-based financial aid for public colleges and universities and the Tuition Assistance Grant Program.
Higher education institutions will also be required to develop tuition predictability plans for in-state undergraduates, outlining the expected cost of tuition and fees for at least three years.
Affordable Housing
Virginia families should be able to count on stable housing. The Housing Trust Fund, which supports local and regional efforts to address housing affordability would get an additional $16 million with $2.6 million going for expanded legal assistance for Virginians facing eviction proceedings.
Energy and Environmental Protection
The Governor proposes investments to improve water quality and to protect the progress we’ve made on restoring the Chesapeake Bay. This means $90 million to fund technical assistance for eligible farmers to prevent pollution from farm runoff and $50 million (one-time) to the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to help urban and suburban areas reduce pollution coming off impervious surfaces.
Infrastructure
Reliable, safe infrastructure is critical to our economy and quality of life. $75 million (one-time) will go to the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure bank to help fund infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth. $20 million (one-time) to develop build-ready sites, furthering Virginia’s ability to compete for large manufacturing companies.
You can review the Governor’s complete proposed budget here.
A little better all the time (It can't get no worse)
I have to admit it's getting better (Better)
It's getting better
~The Beatles, "Getting Better All the Time"
If Governor Ralph Northam’s address this week to the Joint Money Committees, still chaired by members of the opposite party, was a Beatles song, it would have started with “You have to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time.”
In fact, the 2019 General Assembly Session presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to make significant investments for Virginia’s long-term success including in education, broadband access, affordable housing, and protecting our natural resources. And it can be done while shoring up our reserves, preserving our AAA bond rating and providing targeted tax relief.
So, where is this money coming from?
Virginia is on positive financial footing resulting in better revenues than anticipated and all indicators suggest that these positive economic trends should continue. This, coupled with a few other things happening this year, creates an opportunity to adopt a budget that truly reflects our priorities.
Governor's Proposed Budget Amendments for 2018-2020
Internet Sales Tax
State Governments are now able to charge and collect sales tax on all internet sales, regardless of whether online merchants have a physical presence in the Commonwealth. Given the amount of conversation surrounding the internet sales tax, this is something that we all expect to address this session.
Federal Tax Conformity
The Governor’s budget assumes that, as in previous years, the General Assembly will conform to changes in the federal tax code. Conformity is usually a routine, straightforward action that comes before any conversation we have on tax policy. Because of the changes to the standard deduction, fewer Virginians will itemize on their state income tax returns. So, while the total tax burden for many in our area will decrease, Virginia’s income tax receipts are expected to rise.
Earned Income Tax Credit Refundability
The Trump tax cuts are mainly benefiting high earners and corporations – that’s why Governor Northam proposes targeted tax relief that will let working Virginians in every locality and every region keep more of their paychecks. $216.3 million (one time, sunsets with Trump tax cuts) will make the Earned Income Tax fully refundable, which will provide an estimated 600,000 working Virginians with targeted tax relief.
Teacher Pay
Every child in the Commonwealth deserves access to a world-class education. To compete with other states on attracting and retaining the best teaching talent, the Governor proposes adding $88 million to provide teachers a long overdue 5% raise effective July 2019. Another $80 million in one-time revenues will go toward state aid for school construction through low-interest loans and $70 million will be added to support high-needs students and supplement general aid on a per pupil basis.
Student Health and School Safety
Virginia is a nationally-recognized leader on school safety, but we need to take a more holistic approach when it comes to creating a safe learning environment for our students. $36 million will fund additional school counselors, the first-installment of a three-year, phased strategy to hire enough school counselors to reduce caseloads to 1:250 across all grade bands, the nationally-recognized best practice.
Higher Education Affordability
Although Virginia’s public higher education system is top-ranked and well-regarded, having best-in-the-nation colleges and universities won’t mean much if our students can’t afford to attend them. More than $20 million will go to additional need-based financial aid for public colleges and universities and the Tuition Assistance Grant Program.
Higher education institutions will also be required to develop tuition predictability plans for in-state undergraduates, outlining the expected cost of tuition and fees for at least three years.
Affordable Housing
Virginia families should be able to count on stable housing. The Housing Trust Fund, which supports local and regional efforts to address housing affordability would get an additional $16 million with $2.6 million going for expanded legal assistance for Virginians facing eviction proceedings.
Energy and Environmental Protection
The Governor proposes investments to improve water quality and to protect the progress we’ve made on restoring the Chesapeake Bay. This means $90 million to fund technical assistance for eligible farmers to prevent pollution from farm runoff and $50 million (one-time) to the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to help urban and suburban areas reduce pollution coming off impervious surfaces.
Infrastructure
Reliable, safe infrastructure is critical to our economy and quality of life. $75 million (one-time) will go to the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure bank to help fund infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth. $20 million (one-time) to develop build-ready sites, furthering Virginia’s ability to compete for large manufacturing companies.
You can review the Governor’s complete proposed budget here.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
2018 Election & The Blue Wave
Election night 2018 reminded me a lot of Election night 2017, only on a larger scale. In Virginia we love elections so much we have them every year, and so in 2017 we were the first place in the country to hold elections during the Trump presidency. Democrats did remarkably well, exceeding all but the loftiest of expectations, picking up an apparent 16 seats in the House of Delegates and being within a literal handful of votes (10 one for each finger) of picking up a 17th. The high didn’t last long though, as we learned that a transposition in recording the votes in the 40th led to an erroneous result there.
For weeks, while we awaited the outcome of the recount, it was hard to be excited about all we had won. Everything was focused on the one’s that got away, the places where we were so close.
Eventually, it started to dawn on us how big a day we really had, and how powerful we could be with 49 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates. Even if it wasn’t yet a majority with 51.
In 2018, its easy to focus on the fact that Republicans maintained control of the Senate, and view the evening as disappointing, the Blue Wave crashing made its way all the way to shore.
As more data comes in, though, the news looks better than we maybe felt about it on election night.
Democrats flipped 8 state legislatures, 372 legislative seats, and almost 40 Congressional House seats. We broke Republican supermajorities in 3 states and made significant gains in 7 other states. And just like this time last year, there are ballots still being counted and potential recounts, ongoing.
What does that portend for the year to come?
A lot of what happens in Richmond during our upcoming session will depend on how the state’s political parties read and react to the results of our midterm elections.
When you breakdown the statewide vote by legislative district, many Virginia Republican legislators find they now represent districts where a sizable majority of their constituents voted for Tim Kaine for US Senate and Jennifer Wexton, or Abigail Spanberger, or Elaine Luria for Congress.
Knowing that, how will they react? Will they try to moderate some of their positions, distancing themselves from the president and the National Republican Brand?
One of the first tests will be how the leadership of the Virginia House and Senate decides to deal with the Equal Rights Amendment. Virginia has the chance to be the 38th state to pass ERA legislation – putting us over the 75 percent threshold required to amend the US Constitution. Will the GOP Speaker of the House allow the bill to emerge from committee for a vote on the floor?
Will members of the majority view the defeat of Barbara Comstock, the NRAs highest funded member of congress, as a cautionary tale? Will they finally work with us to pass meaningful gun violence prevention legislation?
Will watching our former colleague, Scott Taylor, lose in a race where integrity and veracity were major issues, bring legislators to the table to finally have meaningful ethics and campaign finance reform?
Dave Brat, a Tea Party favorite, lost his election as well. Will that embolden those legislators who are more amenable to reaching across the aisle in search of bi-partisan solutions?
Or will the endangered GOP majority look at the results as a different kind of warning, that when participation is this high, Democrats tend to win. Will they double down on their efforts to restrict voting and access to the ballot to hold on to their slim majorities?
As your Delegate here in Falls Church I can tell you that I found Tuesday’s vote affirming. Corey Stewart received less than 16 percent of the Vote in the City of Falls Church.
That tells me you want me to continue to pursue the legislative agenda I’ve been working on for the last five years: making sure full time work pays a living wage for all Virginians, ensuring equal protection under the law for everyone, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or who they love; making Virginia a leader in solar renewable energy, and most importantly to all those goals, increasing voter participation and access.
After all, we have an election every year in Virginia, which means we have an opportunity to push the progressive line every year. In 2019, all 100 House members and 40 Senate members will be up for election. The 2019 General Assembly Session will be a strong tell as to how my conservative colleagues want to move forward – whether it is in the spirit of working together or in towing the party line and supporting the antics of the President.
For weeks, while we awaited the outcome of the recount, it was hard to be excited about all we had won. Everything was focused on the one’s that got away, the places where we were so close.
Eventually, it started to dawn on us how big a day we really had, and how powerful we could be with 49 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates. Even if it wasn’t yet a majority with 51.
In 2018, its easy to focus on the fact that Republicans maintained control of the Senate, and view the evening as disappointing, the Blue Wave crashing made its way all the way to shore.
As more data comes in, though, the news looks better than we maybe felt about it on election night.
Democrats flipped 8 state legislatures, 372 legislative seats, and almost 40 Congressional House seats. We broke Republican supermajorities in 3 states and made significant gains in 7 other states. And just like this time last year, there are ballots still being counted and potential recounts, ongoing.
What does that portend for the year to come?
A lot of what happens in Richmond during our upcoming session will depend on how the state’s political parties read and react to the results of our midterm elections.
When you breakdown the statewide vote by legislative district, many Virginia Republican legislators find they now represent districts where a sizable majority of their constituents voted for Tim Kaine for US Senate and Jennifer Wexton, or Abigail Spanberger, or Elaine Luria for Congress.
Knowing that, how will they react? Will they try to moderate some of their positions, distancing themselves from the president and the National Republican Brand?
One of the first tests will be how the leadership of the Virginia House and Senate decides to deal with the Equal Rights Amendment. Virginia has the chance to be the 38th state to pass ERA legislation – putting us over the 75 percent threshold required to amend the US Constitution. Will the GOP Speaker of the House allow the bill to emerge from committee for a vote on the floor?
Will members of the majority view the defeat of Barbara Comstock, the NRAs highest funded member of congress, as a cautionary tale? Will they finally work with us to pass meaningful gun violence prevention legislation?
Will watching our former colleague, Scott Taylor, lose in a race where integrity and veracity were major issues, bring legislators to the table to finally have meaningful ethics and campaign finance reform?
Dave Brat, a Tea Party favorite, lost his election as well. Will that embolden those legislators who are more amenable to reaching across the aisle in search of bi-partisan solutions?
Or will the endangered GOP majority look at the results as a different kind of warning, that when participation is this high, Democrats tend to win. Will they double down on their efforts to restrict voting and access to the ballot to hold on to their slim majorities?
As your Delegate here in Falls Church I can tell you that I found Tuesday’s vote affirming. Corey Stewart received less than 16 percent of the Vote in the City of Falls Church.
That tells me you want me to continue to pursue the legislative agenda I’ve been working on for the last five years: making sure full time work pays a living wage for all Virginians, ensuring equal protection under the law for everyone, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or who they love; making Virginia a leader in solar renewable energy, and most importantly to all those goals, increasing voter participation and access.
After all, we have an election every year in Virginia, which means we have an opportunity to push the progressive line every year. In 2019, all 100 House members and 40 Senate members will be up for election. The 2019 General Assembly Session will be a strong tell as to how my conservative colleagues want to move forward – whether it is in the spirit of working together or in towing the party line and supporting the antics of the President.
Friday, October 19, 2018
A rise in hate crimes
Over the last two weeks we’ve seen the best and worst of our Falls Church and Fairfax community. The worst in the ugly, vile painting of 19 swastikas on the Jewish Community Center on Little River Turnpike. And the best in the overwhelmingly positive and supportive response to that incident from the community at large.
Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a CommUNITY event at the JCC and was moved by the outpouring of support from leaders of other faith communities, statewide elected officials, county leaders from both parties, and community members.
The week prior, upon seeing images of swastikas spray painted on the walls and windows of the Center, I did what so many of us reflexively do when we are moved to speak out, I typed out a Facebook post on my smartphone. In addition to sharing a picture of the graffiti with words of condemnation, I also observed that the President had recently been accused of repeating anti-Semitic tropes about global Jewish financiers, and that the number of anti-Semitic incidents of violence and vandalism had increased substantially since his election.
I also said then, and I repeat it now, that we don’t know who painted these 19 swastikas or why. Nevertheless, sharing those observations in my post apparently hit a nerve with a number of people including many of my own constituents who support the President. They resented any implication that they were somehow responsible for the acts of a still-unknown bad actor, whose motives can currently only be guessed at.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which has catalogued anti-Semitic incidents since 1979, reports that anti-Semitic activity increased 34% in 2016 and by 86% in the first quarter of 2017. Before 2016, the number of incidences had been in decline.
Here in Virginia, there were 6 incidents of anti-Semitism in 2016. By the end of 2017, there had been 34.
Let me be clear. I don’t believe that support for the President makes you anti-Semitic. Nor do I believe the President himself is an anti-Semite. He does, however, have a troubling history of managing to appear to encourage those with extreme views.
Does he do it by design, or is this just part of his aversion to appearing to be “politically correct?” Does it matter?
Let me say it again. I don’t know who vandalized the JCC last Saturday and I don’t know why.
Here is what I do know.
When people watch a man mock a reporter with disabilities on stage; when they listen to him describe whole nationalities as primarily rapists and murderers – with some good people; when whole countries are described as s**tholes; when he calls women dogs, and horse-faced; when you support a leader who differentiates himself from other politicians with an unprecedented, unembarrassed willingness to demonize “the other” and stoke fear and sow division for his own political gain, you don’t get to pretend that the rise in acts of hate - against Jews, Muslims, LGBT friendly congregations, and others - has nothing to do with the poisonous environment those words and acts create.
When you build your coalition by pitting people against one another, by framing your world view as “us” being victimized by “them” - be it in trade, in job creation, or in allocation of government resources - when you frame every argument as a struggle where some are winners and the rest are losers, it’s easy to lose control of who gets to wear which label.
So, what do we do?
Elected officials at every level of government, Democrats and Republicans must continue to swiftly and forcefully condemn these criminal acts of vandalism. We also must not remain silent, or reward those who engage in campaigns to categorize and then divide us – to cast some members of our community as outsiders who don’t belong here. Be they anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, homophobic, or xenophobic, we can drown out these hateful words and deeds with messages of love and welcoming.
It was great to hear the unanimous voices of support at the JCC this past weekend, clapping and singing together. I think everyone enjoyed listening to Christians, Jews and Muslims, parents and children, Democrats and Republicans, all singing Bob Marley songs together, then tracing our hands and cutting construction paper as part of a collective art project. Symbols of love to obliterate those symbols of hate that had been painted days before.
It really was great and inspiration evening, and yet, as so many of the speaker’s said - we really have to stop meeting like this.
Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a CommUNITY event at the JCC and was moved by the outpouring of support from leaders of other faith communities, statewide elected officials, county leaders from both parties, and community members.
The week prior, upon seeing images of swastikas spray painted on the walls and windows of the Center, I did what so many of us reflexively do when we are moved to speak out, I typed out a Facebook post on my smartphone. In addition to sharing a picture of the graffiti with words of condemnation, I also observed that the President had recently been accused of repeating anti-Semitic tropes about global Jewish financiers, and that the number of anti-Semitic incidents of violence and vandalism had increased substantially since his election.
I also said then, and I repeat it now, that we don’t know who painted these 19 swastikas or why. Nevertheless, sharing those observations in my post apparently hit a nerve with a number of people including many of my own constituents who support the President. They resented any implication that they were somehow responsible for the acts of a still-unknown bad actor, whose motives can currently only be guessed at.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which has catalogued anti-Semitic incidents since 1979, reports that anti-Semitic activity increased 34% in 2016 and by 86% in the first quarter of 2017. Before 2016, the number of incidences had been in decline.
Here in Virginia, there were 6 incidents of anti-Semitism in 2016. By the end of 2017, there had been 34.
Let me be clear. I don’t believe that support for the President makes you anti-Semitic. Nor do I believe the President himself is an anti-Semite. He does, however, have a troubling history of managing to appear to encourage those with extreme views.
Does he do it by design, or is this just part of his aversion to appearing to be “politically correct?” Does it matter?
Let me say it again. I don’t know who vandalized the JCC last Saturday and I don’t know why.
Here is what I do know.
When people watch a man mock a reporter with disabilities on stage; when they listen to him describe whole nationalities as primarily rapists and murderers – with some good people; when whole countries are described as s**tholes; when he calls women dogs, and horse-faced; when you support a leader who differentiates himself from other politicians with an unprecedented, unembarrassed willingness to demonize “the other” and stoke fear and sow division for his own political gain, you don’t get to pretend that the rise in acts of hate - against Jews, Muslims, LGBT friendly congregations, and others - has nothing to do with the poisonous environment those words and acts create.
When you build your coalition by pitting people against one another, by framing your world view as “us” being victimized by “them” - be it in trade, in job creation, or in allocation of government resources - when you frame every argument as a struggle where some are winners and the rest are losers, it’s easy to lose control of who gets to wear which label.
So, what do we do?
Elected officials at every level of government, Democrats and Republicans must continue to swiftly and forcefully condemn these criminal acts of vandalism. We also must not remain silent, or reward those who engage in campaigns to categorize and then divide us – to cast some members of our community as outsiders who don’t belong here. Be they anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, homophobic, or xenophobic, we can drown out these hateful words and deeds with messages of love and welcoming.
It was great to hear the unanimous voices of support at the JCC this past weekend, clapping and singing together. I think everyone enjoyed listening to Christians, Jews and Muslims, parents and children, Democrats and Republicans, all singing Bob Marley songs together, then tracing our hands and cutting construction paper as part of a collective art project. Symbols of love to obliterate those symbols of hate that had been painted days before.
It really was great and inspiration evening, and yet, as so many of the speaker’s said - we really have to stop meeting like this.
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