Home Democrats call on Republicans to end Virginia budget stalemate
Local News

Democrats call on Republicans to end Virginia budget stalemate

Contributors

Democrat vs. Republican on whiteWednesday morning, Democratic House Leader David Toscano, Democratic Caucus Chair Mark Sickles, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Jennifer McClellan held a press call on the House Republicans refusal to take any action to close the coverage gap.

“House Republicans continue to play Washington-style, shutdown politics that is costing Virginia taxpayers’ money and leaving thousands of uninsured Virginians without access to quality, affordable health care,” said Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Jennifer McClellan. “This obstructionism has already lost $355 million of our own Federal tax dollars this year, and we will continue to lose money until the House Republicans come to the table.

“But House Republicans continue to put their Tea Party ideology first – isolating themselves from a bipartisan group of hospitals, chambers, business leaders, mayors, and Virginia families who are calling on us to act. It’s time to end the political games and gimmicks and work on a plan to bring our federal dollars back home and close the coverage gap.”

“The House Republicans response to any action to close the coverage gap and bring our tax dollars back to Virginia continues to be ‘no,’” said Democratic House Leader David Toscano. “We said let’s find a Virginia way to extend health care to hardworking Virginians, they said ‘no.’ We said inaction costs us $5 million dollars a day and puts our hospitals at risk, they said ‘no.’

“‘No’ is not a policy. ‘No’ is not a compromise. ‘No’ is a recipe for gridlock and shutdown.”

“One thing we continue to hear from the House Republicans is let’s separate this issue from the budget then we’ll deal with closing the coverage gap,” said Democratic Caucus Chair Mark Sickles. “But it is impossible to extricate Medicaid from the budget deliberations. This is just another tactic for delay from the House Republicans who continue to stand alone, unwilling to compromise in their opposition to helping our poor citizens gain access to health care for the first time.

“It’s time for the House Republicans to come to the table and end this gridlock. Uncompromising, Washington-style politics have no place in Richmond. We must pass a budget that extends routine, preventative, and life saving health care in a responsible and timely way.”

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.

Latest News

lgbtq+ court
Politics, Sports News

Trump signs executive order banning trans athletes from high school, college sports

Venezuelan Venezuela flag protest unrest immigrant migrant TPS
Politics, U.S. & World News

Venezuelan family legally in the U.S.: ‘For most people, we are criminals’

A number of Venezuelans living legally in the United States are afraid after the Trump Administration has revoked their protective status.

mark warner
Politics, U.S. & World News

Mark Warner throws down: ‘People need to stand up and speak out’

Mark Warner is starting to get it, that go along to get along isn’t going to work with Trump 2.0, that his predilection for being thought of as a radical centrist is outdated when the other side thinks everybody else is the enemy, and isn’t willing to triangulate.

lab with researcher and test tubes
Politics, U.S. & World News

‘NIH is mission critical’: Lawmakers call out Trump for endangering medical research

fire truck jacket helmet
Local News

Albemarle County: Cooking fire causes blaze in residential structure

crime scene tape
Local News

One injured in Harrisonburg shooting: Police searching for leads in case

student at computer
Politics, U.S. & World News

Trump pledges to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education; He doesn’t say why