Perspectives on the economy: U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling

Chris Graham

Interesting week for me in my often overlapping roles as a business writer and politics writer. On Wednesday, I met with U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, after a roundtable in Staunton with local business owners and business leaders who gave Warner quite the earful about the state of business and the state of the…

Mark Warner: Every Virginian has a stake in Wall Street reforms

Chris Graham

Our nation will take an important step forward today to bring greater accountability to Wall Street and provide greater security to folks on Main Street. Every Virginian has a stake in the comprehensive financial reform legislation that becomes law today. Eighteen months ago, our nation was on the verge of an economic catastrophe. Many families…

Mark Warner: Keeping the focus on jobs

Chris Graham

Column by Mark Warner www.warner.senate.gov   In recent days we’ve seen another tough economic blow for our friends and families in Southside Virginia. Stanley Furniture, a fixture in Henry County for nearly 90 years, announced it will shutter its factory near Martinsville and relocate more than 560 jobs overseas. That tough news comes on the…

Mark Warner | Supporting Virginia’s small businesses

Chris Graham

We have seen some promising signs in recent weeks that our economy is on the path toward recovery, but I continue to hear from small business owners across Virginia about their difficulties in getting access to credit. While Congress took unprecedented action last fall to help stabilize Wall Street, we can do more to support…

Mark Warner | Concerns shared on stimulus

Chris Graham

While there are recent promising signs that our country’s economy is beginning to improve, I share the concerns of many Virginians about the federal government’s role in assuming significant ownership stakes in several private companies – namely General Motors, Chrysler, AIG and Citigroup. Taxpayers are understandably worried about how much of their initial investment they…

Uh, oh – McDonnell got Mark Warner mad

Chris Graham

I’d thought that we’d already litigated, so to speak, the 2004 budget reform back in the 2005 state elections, when Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore railed against what he termed the “largest tax increase in Virginia history” as the centerpiece of his message to Virginia voters, and snatched defeat from the jaws of electoral victory…

Mark Warner | The cost of reform

Chris Graham

As our health-care debate continues, I’m reminded that Virginians hired me last fall to help change the way things are done in Washington and to make sure the federal government is more responsible with taxpayer dollars, even in times of crisis. Reforming our health-care system is essential to ensuring a prosperous future and it cannot…