News

Lawmakers Discuss Policy Goals with Chamber of Commerce

December 11, 2009

By Dorry Samuels
Source: Loudouni.com
 
Before the incoming delegation of lawmakers make their way from Loudoun to Richmond to begin the new legislative session on January 13, 2010, several headlined a breakfast Dec. 3, hosted by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, that focused on policy goals that affect the business community.

The lawmakers, both new and returning, discussed their predictions of the hot-button issues of the new legislative session, as well as their goals to deal with them. All highlighted transportation as one of the pressing issues facing Northern Virginia, and an issue the lawmakers would like to see remedied. They also discussed the budget and how funding for programs are allocated. The lawmakers predicted future cuts to the budget.

Transportation

With the Dulles rail on its way, transportation will improve around Northern Virginia, said State Senator Mark Herring (D-33rd District).

Funding the overpasses of Route 28 was successful, Herring continued, and he said he is confident the state will break ground next year in widening Route 50. He and the rest of the Senate will work to identify future projects in the area, he said.

Virginians have gotten to the point that they are currently endangering the transportation system, road congestion has gotten so bad, said Delegate Joe May (R-33rd District) He expects to see legislation providing additional funding for transportation in Northern Virginia, he said.

"I am very concerned about higher education and transportation," said Delegate Tom Rust (R-86th District). However fixing those issues cannot be done without additional revenue, he said. "The business community understands balancing budgets, and we\'re looking for your help because it won\'t be pleasant," he told the audience of Chamber members. "But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" he joked.

State Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27th District) had a similar dire impression of transportation needs. Transportation sucks the oxygen out of the room, she said.

Incoming delegate Tag Greason (R-32nd District) said that transportation is not a Democrat or Republican problem, but a geographic problem that affects all drivers in the Northern Virginia area.

Fellow newcomer Jim LeMunyon (R-67th District) mentioned that he had started drafting a bill to require the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to rate transportation based on what it will do to reduce congestion, so that policymakers will have a better understanding of the trouble spots when it comes to traffic.

Budget

The country is going through the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression, the lawmakers pointed out -  and the Commonwealth\'s budget still looks dismal.

So far, the General Assembly\'s $36 billion budget has been cut by $7 billion, Herring said. Despite the cuts that have already taken place, there are still more on the horizon. Herring predicted an additional $1.4 billion cut soon, an between $3 billion and $3.5 billion cut by the time this legislative session is over. Rust also thinks there will be another $3.5 billion in cuts.

Herring told the audience that even in his Senate office, there have been pay cuts, so everyone can relate to the country\'s financial pain.

He hopes that the program reductions that result from the budget cuts do not do long-term damage to Virginia\'s public schools, he said. "As difficult as things are, I would not want to be anywhere else than right here," he said, crediting Virginia\'s entrepreneurial system and high performing schools. This is a state where a child born is more likely to succeed than in any other state, Herring said.

His Senate counterpart agreed that programs would continue to see cuts. "Anything with a price tag is not going to go very far," Holtzman Vogel said, so Virginians will have to do that they can with scarce resources. But while things are bleak and the budget is poor, the economic challenges can bring the biggest opportunities, she said. Attention to the negative can be channeled to the positive, she added.

May believes it will be a "long, slow crawl out" of the dismal state of the budget and it will be a while until Virginians see benefits, he said. He concurred that there has to be more cutting, and that "we have to share the grief and the grief alike on this."One of the difficult budget issues, Rust predicted, was that the outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine will propose a tax to balance the budget, which incoming Gov. Bob McDonnell would try to cut as soon as he took office, "starting the first day with a huge fight," Rust said.

Both the audience members and lawmakers could feel the weight of the decisions that lie ahead. "I was really excited about getting elected until I heard Tom [Rust] speak. Now I\'m not as excited anymore," Greason said.

The delegation\'s other newcomer agreed that the future is not looking bright for Virginia\'s budget. "The bad news about the budget is that the bad news is true," LeMunyon said.

Education

In a time when schools\' budgets are getting hacked, the lawmakers emphasized their commitment to education.

Herring said it is his priority to expand access to higher education, and thanked the business community in attendance for their partnerships with area schools. Building a permanent campus in Loudoun for George Mason University will bring many more opportunities to Loudoun, he said.

Holtzman Vogel also said that education was one of her top priorities. She said that the K-12 system makes Virginia one of the best places to live.  

Job Creation

Half of the lawmakers in attendance mentioned job creation as one of their top priorities for the Commonwealth.

Herring would like to see new jobs created particularly in the technology industry, as well as refocusing economic development money to direct it to the bioscience sector, he said.

The government is truly committed to job creation, May added.

Greason, a small business owner in Loudoun who employs a fleet of 90 workers, said that job creation will stimulate growth in the economy.

Other Priorities

While the lawmakers agreed on a number of their priorities, they each had a pet project or two they would like to see accomplished before the end of the session.

  • Medicaid -  Holtzman Vogel said she wants to be sure that there are still resources available. "I\'m cautiously optimistic to break what has been a freefall," she said.
  • Energy -  Energy conservation is vitally important, May said, with lots of opportunities here in Virginia. In the United States, the energy consumption per capita is twice what it is in Europe, indicating that Americans waste a lot, he said. "Mind the methane" and landfills that are all over the place, he said. He would like to see attention paid to renewable energy.
  • Food Waste -  At all of these big meetings in the county, lots of food goes unused and thus, tossed away, Greason said. Second Harvest, an organization to move unused food to the less fortunate, can help with the food distribution problem, he said. After the meeting, Greason spoke with Loudoun Interfaith about other opportunities. "We all have plenty to give," he said.
  • Redistricting -  Northern Virginia is likely to get additional votes in the General Assembly, Greason said, which could lead to more funding for transportation.
  • Regional Protection -  The way it stands now, Northern Virginia sends a huge portion of their taxes downstate to split with the rest of the Commonwealth, making it less likely that they will be used for issues critical to Northern Virginia, particularly transportation, Greason said. "If about 60 percent of taxes raised are sent downstate, why bother?" he asked, adding that they need to fix the funding formula.
  • Transparency -  While interested residents can log onto the General Assembly\'s Web site, click on a vote and see how different members voted, they cannot go to the member\'s Web site and find a list of how they voted on issues. This type of accountability is "fundamental to government transparency," LeMunyon said. "I will publish my voting record until the House of Delegates does it for us," he said.