Rep. Scott cries foul on budget gimmicks

U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, said a bill considered by the House of Representatives is designed to hide the real economic effects and impact of extending the Bush-era tax cuts.

The "Pro-Growth Budgeting Act," would change the way the non-partisan Congressional Budgeting Office (CBO) analyzes the fiscal and ecnomic impacts of measures before Congress.

While in the past the CBO has estimated that extending the Bush-era tax cuts would raise the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, going forward the "Pro-Growth Budgeting Act," an analysis made by the CBO would show no real harm done by extending those cuts, Scott said.

"Today the House considered legislation that will not create any jobs or reduce the budget deficit but will instead force the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to use accounting gimmicks to cover up the true cost of extending the Bush-era tax cuts," Scott said.  "CBO has estimated that extending the Bush-era tax cuts will add $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that a long term extension will reduce economic growth by up to 1.6 percent by 2020.  H.R. 3582 would require CBO to adopt a baseline that would already include the cost of permanently extending the Bush-era tax cuts, and thus, any analysis of the economic impact of any legislative proposal would have to be relative to this new baseline.  Under this scheme, if the House considered a long term extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, an economic analysis of such a proposal would show no adverse economic or fiscal impact.  Requiring CBO to base projections on unproven economic theories and philosophy, instead of traditional arithmetic, will suggest that unaffordable tax cuts have no adverse effect on the budget and will only make our deficit and economic situation much worse than it is now."

Del. Watson on way to fulfilling campaign promise

During his campaign freshman Del. Mike Watson, R-James City County, told voters he wanted to rein in the Business, Professional and Occupational Licenses tax.

He took a major step towards that Thursday when a bill he sponsored with Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, passed the House of Delegates on an 88-12 vote.

The BPOL tax is levied by localities on businesses'gross receipts. Under Watson's measure the tax would be frozen at 2011 levels. The bill would also limit any locality that does not currently impose BPOL but plan to implement it to taxing a business's profits, not its gross receipts.

Because the BPOL is based on gross receipts, many new businesses operating at a loss still find themselves with a "hefty" tax bill, Watson said.

“Reformation of the BPOL tax to keep Virginia the most business-friendly state in the nation is imperative," Watson said. "Throughout this process, it is important that we consider the financial needs of the localities and ensure we move forward in a way that allows them to continue to raise revenue to accomplish the tasks with which they are charged.  This bill works towards that goal."

Watson said he is excited to be moving forward on his campaign agenda just three weeks ito his first session - especially after being warned that at this point in his freshman term he'd still wouldn't be able to find the bathrooms, much less pass legislation important to him.

"I came here in December to figure out where the bathroom was, so I could come up here in January and actually do something," Watson said.

The bill still has a ways to go as it must make it through the Senate and then be signed by the governor, before Watson can claim victory.

 

Sen. Howell proposes male rectal exam amendment to ultrasound bill

Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, offered an amendment Monday to a bill requiring women to receive an ultrasound before having an abortion, that would require men with erectile dysfunction to have a rectal exam.

In protesting what she see's as an unecessary procedure for women to have to undergo before having an abortion.

"We should just have a little gender equity here," Howell said.

The amendment ultimately failed to pass on a nearly party line vote of 19-21.

The Senate is expected to vote on the ultrasound measure Tuesday.

Norment lets Dems know who's in charge

Senate Majority Leader and head of the Senate's Courts of Justice Committee laid down the law in a terse exchange with Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, when the committee met Monday.

Senate Democrats on the committee objected to what was essentially a new hearing for one of a series of bills that had to be re-voted on by the committee because of a technical snafu last week.

Last week it came to light that some members of the committee who voted by proxy on a number of measures were not physically on the Capitol grounds, which is a no-no.

Norment had the committee, with all members present, redo it's votes without retaking up the pieces of legislation - except one allowing the state's Medicaid fraud investigators to carry guns and have law enforcement powers. On that bill, members of the committee re-debated the merits of the proposal.

Democrats on the committee objected, and at one point Lucas, who was against the measure, said, "This is way out of line."

"I'll run this committee," Norment retorted as the measure, which failed last week, passed when the new vote was taken.

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."