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Mark Warner had just said that Congress won’t be able to come up with a solution to federal-budget and national-debt issues until both Republicans and Democrats put some “skin in the game” to work toward a compromise solution. A member of the audience at the Waynesboro YMCA put those words back at the centrist Democrat,…
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Mark Warner might be in D.C., but he’s definitely not of D.C. “No matter how many challenges you’ve got in the Valley or on City Council or others, they are not as wacky as the people that I work with up in D.C.,” Sen. Warner, D-Va., said during a visit to Waynesboro on March 2….
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For Mark Warner, it risked being a Michael Dukakis moment. “This is politician rule #1: You’re never supposed to wear a hat,” Sen. Warner, D-Va., said after being handed a Dr. Seuss hat that otherwise seemed sensible given what he was about to do. And you thought banging the gavel to open and close sessions…
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On Thursday, Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, requested and was granted unanimous consent from the General Assembly to introduce two new budget bills beyond the normal deadline. The Senate failed to pass previous budget bills advanced in the House, rendering them dead for the session.
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The message being sent by State Senate Democrats is clear: Work with us, or else. “This is nothing new. Four years ago, every single Republican voted against the budget. In 2004 the Republicans held up the budget until May. In 2007 the Republicans held up the budget until June. We still have four months to…
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The State Senate voted 21-19 on Tuesday to pass an amended version of legislation mandating that women seeking abortions in Virginia first undergo an otherwise medically unnecessary ultrasound procedure. Critics called the original version of the legislation, which had mandated an invasive transvaginal ultrasound be performed, “state rape.” State Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, called the…
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Following the passage of House Bill 29 and House Bill 30 in the House of Delegates, Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) today designated six delegates to serve as members of the Committee of Conference for the 2010-12 and 2012-14 biennial budgets. Speaker Howell named Delegates Lacey E. Putney (I-Bedford), M. Kirkland “Kirk” Cox (R-Colonial Heights),…
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Adjournment of the 2012 Session of the General Assembly, scheduled for March 10, is rapidly approaching, and we are in totally uncharted waters. The Senate versions of the caboose budget bill that covers the remainder of the current fiscal year and the budget bill for the 2012-2014 biennium have been defeated in the Senate. The…
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Republicans in the United State Senate have used arcane legislative rules to their advantage the past two years to fight from the minority anything substantive that Democrats want to do from coming to fruition. Republicans in Virginia are now crying foul that their Democratic counterparts are riding an arcane rule related to the 20-20 split…
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Six Republicans joined Senate Democrats in effectively voting down legislation that would define “personhood” at conception and could in turn outlaw all abortions and some forms of FDA-approved birth control. A 24-14 Senate vote returned the bill to a Senate committee for consideration in the 2013 General Assembly session. The vote was another defeat for…
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