Virginia House Democrats respond to Republican budget

The House Democratic Caucus released the following statements on the budget that passed today in the House of Delegates:

“This budget does not go far enough to address the kitchen table issues Virginians across the Commonwealth care about. Because it still underfunds K-12 schools and slashes funds for preschool seats that communities can use, this budget does not hold education harmless,” said Toscano. “We can and should do much better.”

“The choice today was simple: do we approve a budget that does not close the health care coverage gap for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Virginians? Or do we amend this budget to expand Medicaid, thereby helping working families who cannot afford to go see the doctor if their child gets sick?” said Surovell. “Republicans today made the wrong choice for Virginia families by choosing a budget that fails to close the coverage gap. I echo my colleagues today – this budget does not go nearly far enough to close the coverage gap.”

“We are incredibly disappointed that despite the Republican Caucus’s pledge to focus on ‘governing’ and ‘kitchen table issues’, they moved forward with a budget that imposes new restrictions on a woman’s right to choose,” said Kory and McClellan. “No matter your personal feeling on abortion, it is fundamentally wrong for some politicians to interfere in these deeply personal medical decisions and tie doctors’ hands. House Republicans’ decision to pass this budget with this amendment was a step backward for women’s rights to make their own healthcare decisions.”