Webb and Warner owe Virginians an apology

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   Column by Mark Obenshain www.markobenshain.com On Christmas Eve, while most Virginians prepared to celebrate with family and friends, Virginia’s two senators quietly broke faith with the Commonwealth, voting for the Obama health-care bill. In addition to adding an estimated 261,927 people to Virginia’s Medicaid rolls, Sens. Webb and Warner abjectly committed Virginians to help…

Focus | Webb, Warner back health-care reform

Chris Graham

Virginia Dems join 60-39 majority to move legislation forward Story by Chris Graham [email protected] U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner joined the 60-39 party-line Democratic majority that voted on Christmas Eve to move health-care reform forward in the Senate. Neither seemed to be jumping-up-and-down happy about it. “I voted today in favor of health…

Webb: Status quo of health-care system ‘unacceptable’

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Senator explains vote to move forward with legislation Statement from U.S. Sen. Jim Webb www.webb.senate.gov I have decided to vote in favor of moving forward on health care reform legislation. I do so despite my disappointment with some sections of the bill, which I will continue to address in the future. But the final package…

Focus | Democratic divide

Chris Graham

Battle brewing between progressives, centrists over direction of party Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The 2001 election that ushered in the Democratic Decade in Virginia gave power in Democratic Party circles to the centrists in the mold of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine who led the mini-revolution that fall. The model that they laid out…

Fifth District Report

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   Column by Tom Perriello www.perriello.house.gov Last week, I held a conference call with Chambers of Commerce and other business leaders from across the Fifth District to gain their ideas on job creation and how to create new competitive advantage in Central and Southern Virginia. Supporting small businesses is one of the best ways we…

Webb joins bipartisan group in prescription-drug plan

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   Staff Report www.webb.senate.gov Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) today joined a bipartisan group of 19 senators in proposing an amendment to the health care reform bill to lower prescription drug costs and save the federal government nearly $20 billion over the next ten years. Originally introduced earlier this year as the Pharmaceutical Market Access and…

Common-sense solutions needed to get Americans back to work

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   Column by Bob Goodlatte www.goodlatte.house.gov The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released November unemployment numbers. For the second month in a row, the unemployment rate is at 10 percent – the highest rate in 26 years. Equally sobering is the fact that last month the national debt surpassed $12 trillion. Earlier this year,…

Fifth District Report

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  Column by Tom Perriello www.perriello.house.gov My top priority is jobs for Main Street and rebuilding America’s competitive edge in the world. Recently, I was selected for two congressional roles to advance the ball on economic development for Central and Southern Virginia. I was appointed to a Congressional Task Force on Job Creation and was…

Webb on Afghanistan: ‘How do we define our enemy?’

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  Statement from U.S. Sen. Jim Webb www.webb.senate.gov I have great regard for the careful process employed by this administration in an effort both to define a new approach for the long-standing military commitment in Afghanistan and to put an operational framework in place for our responsible withdrawal. At the same time, I intend to…