Progressive, Conservative leaders have rare agreement on issue

Sometimes there are bizarro moments during the General Assembly's legislative session.

Like when the heads of the Conservative and Progressive Caucuses hold a joint press conference to push a piece of legislation.

Especially when it has to do with tax policy.

That's what happened Wednesday when co-chair of the Conservative Caucus Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, and co-chair of the Progressive Caucus David Englin, D-Alexandria came together to tout their bills that would put a five-year limit on tax credits.

"Whenever the most conservative and the most liberal members of the General Assembly see eye to eye on something, I think it's newsworthy," Englin said. "It's something people should sit up and pay attention to."

Both Englin and Cline are sponsoring legislation this session that would require new tax credits offered by the state to sunset after five years in order for lawmakers to assess whether a given credit is achieving its goals before reauthorizing it.

They said the idea came from a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission draft report looking at the commonwealth's 187 different tax preferences, loopholes, credits and loopholes.

The unpublished report shows that in 2008 lost $12.5 billion in tax revenue due to preferences, credits and loopholes, Englin said.

Cline said the goal is to eventually look at the tax code to find which of these are offering economic benefits to the state and which can be done away with to "streamline" the tax code.

"This is a first step," Cline said. "What we need to do is lay down a marker going forward. We think it's fiscally responsible to review tax credits every five years. Eventually we hope to start evaluating and analyzing existing credits that are out there."

 

 

Rep. Rob Wittman on State of the Union

U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

“Tonight, we witnessed a storied tradition of American government, as the President addressed a joint session of Congress and the American people on the state of our union. I believe, as the President stated, that we must preserve the American Dream. A dream fought for by so many in our history, by heroes that gave their lives in the name of freedom. But the American dream does not emerge by sending more money to Washington, over-regulation of our job-creators, or simply saying ‘no’ to projects that will bring more energy development here in the United States. I was disappointed to hear a proposal for higher taxes. Washington has not shown that it can be responsible in spending, and Americans and job-creators should not be asked to send more of their hard-earned salaries to Washington. Missing from the President’s speech was a commitment to ensure our Department of Defense is directed by strategy and not by numbers.

“But even as we disagree on policy, tonight we found inspiration through Rep. Gabby Giffords, whose presence and amazing recovery is an inspiration to us all. I applaud her strength and resolve, and wish her well as she bows out from Congress to focus on her continued recovery. Rather than placing blame, Congress and the President must work together for solutions that keep our country safe, stimulate our economy to grow once again, and to preserve the dreams of a bright future for our children and grandchildren.”

Rep. Scott Rigell on State of the Union

U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"I appreciate the respect and tribute President Obama paid to our troops. Our men and women in uniform sacrifice so much in defending our freedom, and I was grateful the President acknowledged that.

"We heard the President talk of the need to come together, yet some of his remarks pitted one group of Americans against another. I think that is counterproductive and divides, rather than unites, America.

"The President spoke of energy tonight, which is a top priority of mine. He said he is directing his Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Though encouraging, it does not match up with Secretary Salazar’s recent decision to prohibit the exploration of energy off Virginia’s coast, a decision which is holding back job creation in our District. I hope that the President’s speech results in a reversal of that decision.

"The President also renewed his commitment to bringing jobs to America — while suggesting that Congress was being obstructionist in this effort. Obviously, I take issue with that given that nearly 30 jobs bills have been passed by the House of Representatives and are sitting, unacted upon, in the U.S. Senate. I would have liked for him to call out the fact that the Senate hasn’t passed a budget for America in 1,000 days. I would also have liked for him to acknowledge that his decision to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project will indeed slow our recovery.

"Regarding tax reform, the President and I agree on the need to close loopholes, end subsidies and make our entire tax code flatter and fairer."

Sen. Mark Warner on State of the Union

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"I agree with the President: To jumpstart our economic recovery, we must work together to boost jobs and investments in manufacturing and refocus our efforts on quality job training and rebuilding American infrastructure. I was pleased to see the President endorse several elements of my bipartisan efforts to promote entrepreneurship and cut government duplication and waste.

I firmly believe that the best thing we can do to restore confidence is to reach agreement on a plan that addresses our deficits and debt, and I will continue to work with a growing bipartisan coalition in the House and Senate to come up with a responsible plan that fixes our nation's finances."

RPV on State of the Union

Republican Party of Virginia chairman Pat Mullins issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"It is abundantly clear that the current occupant of the White House has given up on governing and is doing nothing but campaigning from this point forward," Mullins said. "This was two hours of re-election rhetoric, with no substance to speak of."

"We've heard this all before. Unfulfilled promises that come with expiration dates, pie-in-the-sky policy proposals, designed for nothing more than political expedience," Mullins said. "President Obama has no record to run on, except one of failure. Unemployment is over 8 percent, our economy remains extremely weak, and under his radical policies, our national debt that has spiraled out of control.

"All the flowery rhetoric in the world can't hide President Obama's massive record of job-killing, anti-economic growth policies," Mullins said. "I have no doubt that Virginia voters will make sure in November that this was Obama's last State of the Union speech."

U.S. Rep Bobby Scott on State of the Union

U.S. Representative Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"Our economy has added a total of 3.2 million private sector jobs over the last 22 months, but the President and Congressional Democrats realize that we must do more to create jobs and accelerate our economic recovery.  The wealthiest Americans have seen their bank accounts and stock portfolios continue to grow despite the economy, while too many American families have seen declining housing values, their incomes eroded, and are struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the deepest recession since the Great Depression. 

"Tonight, I believe the President laid out a strong blueprint that will ensure the long term success of our economy and better address economic inequality by calling for a greater emphasis on American manufacturing, American energy, and investment in the skills and competitiveness of the American workforce."

George Allen on State of the Union

Former U.S. Sen and Gov. George Allen, who is seeking the Reoublican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb, issued the following reponse to President Barack Obama's Stat of the Union address:

“Tonight, millions were hoping to hear President Obama deliver a new vision for a better future for our nation and our economy.  Instead, we heard campaign-type promises and advocacy for the same failed agenda. The sad facts remain that his Administration's counter-productive energy, as well as regulatory, tax and spending policies have Americans enduring 35 straight months with unemployment over 8 percent, high gasoline prices costing us $30 more for each fill-up and downgraded creditworthiness for the first time in U.S. history.

“I envision a better future than what we are experiencing now in the ‘State of our Nation.’  In the heart and spirit of the American people, there is a reservoir of optimism and belief in our ability to achieve the American Dream.  Americans share my view that we should be limited only by our imagination, ingenuity and hard work. We must provide Americans with a competitive advantage for more jobs and investment; unleash our plentiful energy resources and creativity; and rein in the overreaching, overspending federal government. 

"I wish the President's actions truly followed Abraham Lincoln's words of limited, focused government. The chief responsibility of the federal government is our national defense and we all appreciate our troops, veterans and their families. 

"While his statement regarding energy efficiency in buildings is a worthy goal, I also hope he will allow Virginia to produce natural gas and oil off our coast.

“While many people in today’s America have already seen their dreams diminished, I firmly believe the fight for our future can be won.  We can spark a genuine comeback for America with empowering tax, regulatory and energy policies that help us recapture the promise of the American Dream for future generations and ourselves.  With the right leadership for proven solutions, we can send the message to the world that ‘America is Open for Business, Again!’” 

 

Virginia lawmakers at the State of the Union

Virginia Reps. (from left) Jim Moran, Frank Wolf, Randy Forbes and Bobby Scott had a congenial seating arrangement at Tuesday night's State of the Union address.

G.A. Progressive Caucus unveils 2012 agenda

The General Assembly's Progressive Caucus announced its agenda for the 2012 session Thursday much of which centered on opposing provisions of Gov. Bob McDonnell's two-year budget plan and legislation put forward by the the Conservative Caucus, such as the "personhood bill" and voter id laws.

"There is nothing heroic or courageous about balancing your budget on the backs of vulnerable Virginians," said caucus co-chairman Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, "Funding our most vulnerable populations is neither a priority nor a remote interest for this administration or the Republican Party. The Progressive Caucus will continue to fight for making funding our most vulnerable citizens a top priority and will seek to restore funding in these areas."

Members of the caucus said they are pushing amendments that restore funding to community based health clinics, public schools, the state's preschool program, child advocacy centers and child care subsidies.

Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the caucus is committed to stopping the controversial "personhood" bill sponsored by Del. Robert Marshall, R-Manassas, which would define life as beginning at the moment of conception.

She said people should be concerned about the implications of the measure because under Virginia law even some procedures to deal with miscarriages of wanted pregnancies would be considered abortions.

"Women who don't think they're going to be in a position where they need to have an abortion, they need to be very concerned about bill passing," McClellan said.

WIth GOP control of both the House of Delegates and the Senate, and an emboldened Conservative Caucus that stands at the extreme opposite on most issues with the Progressive Caucus, the group of Democratic Delegates and Senators have a series of hard fights ahead.

But Del. David Englin, D-Arlington, said there is one area the progressives and conservatives agree - looking at the variety of the state's tax credits, extensions and loopholes with an eye to doing away with many. Englin said both he and Conservative Caucus co-chairman Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, have introduced nearly identical pieces of legislation to start the process. The Conservative Caucus introduced it's legislative agenda on Tuesday.

"Whenever you have the most liberal and the most conservative members of the General Assembly actually agreeing on something the I think that everyone else should sit up and take notice," Englin said.

 

Sen. Miller 3rd Grade SOL bill passes committee

A proposal by Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News, to reduce the number of Standards of Learning tests taken by the state's third graders passed through committee Thursday and now heads to the Senate floor.

The Senate Education and Health Committee, on a vote of 11-4, passed the measure which Miller said is designed to focus on third grade reading proficiency by only requiring those students to take SOL tests in reading and math - eliminating the the third grade tests for science and social studies.

Miller said the idea comes from a recommendation the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission released last year that looked at third grade reading proficiency.

The JLARC study came from legislation proposed last session by Miller and has been cited by Gov. Bob McDonnell as part of his 2012 education agenda.

Under the proposal third graders would still be taught the SOLs for social studies and science, they would just not be tested on those subjects.

Sen. Richard Black, R-Loudon, voted "no" on the proposal and said in comments to the committee that he felt if students were taught the subjects of science and social studies they should be tested on those subjects.

A representative from the state's Department of Education said the department is neutral on the study, but said it proposed failed legislation in 2009 to do away with the social studies test.

She also said students are tested on social studies in fourth grade, but not in fifth, and science in fifth grade, but not in fourth. Even though they are not given tested in both subjects, students are still taught the grade level SOLs for social studies and science in the fourth and fifth grades.