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The 2011 General Assembly session is racing toward conclusion. We are now at the halfway point, the crossover, when each house must complete work on its own bills. We are just days away from having competing versions of the budget adopted and finalizing actions on a number of controversial issues. Intensifying the work is the…
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Listening to debate on the floor of the House of Delegates these days could lead one to conclude that Virginia’s relationship with the federal government is one of the principal issues facing the Commonwealth. The debates are not unlike those that took place when Virginia considered ratifying the new Constitution and joining the Union in…
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The House of Delegates on Tuesday passed a resolution to amend the Virginia Constitution in a manner that could encourage unconstitutional prayers in public schools. The vote was 66-33 to send HJ 593 to the Senate. Although the resolution does not contain plainly unconstitutional language, patron Del. Charles W. Carrico has made it clear he…
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U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., today introduced the “STOP the OverPrinting Act” (S. 210), the Senate version of House legislation requiring the Government Printing Office to post legislative bills and resolutions online instead of automatically printing and distributing them to each congressional office. The senators estimate that the legislation should…
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The 2011 session is proving to be one of the busiest I’ve seen. A typical day starts before 7 a.m. when constituents come to the General Assembly Building to meet with their legislators, followed quickly by 7:30 a.m. subcommittee meetings. Standing committees meet before and after the 12 p.m. session and last into the evening,…
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U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner today announced that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has established a new hotline to help small businesses struggling to access credit. The hotline was announced today by FDIC chair Sheila C. Bair at a small business forum with Sen. Warner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke held at George…
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I have had enough of hearing about death panels for the elderly and the sickly in the new health-care law. There is so much to try and understand. Each political organization has a different take in the outcome of this legislation. I believed it was removed, but it made headlines again during Christmas. Gee, how…
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The national conversation on our fiscal health for the past few months has been about whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for households with incomes over $250,000, or to allow them to expire on December 31st. To my amazement, lost in all this controversy and discussion has been any mention of what this would…
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Against all odds, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year, many with honors. They are among America’s brightest, most driven and underprivileged. We have invested much in their K-12 education, and they have much to contribute to our society. National identity and allegiance are established during adolescence. This is their homeland. Brought here…
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This weekend the Senate will finally be voting on the Bush tax cuts. This should not be a controversial vote for our leaders in the Senate. In fact, this is the first issue of the lame duck session where the public is overwhelming in agreement. A CBS poll this week found that only 26 percent of…
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