Archive for February, 2010
Over the past few days, Governor McDonnell and the House Republican majority presented their budget proposals, and the news is worse than expected for our community. Virginia is continually ranked Best State for Business and Best Managed State because we run an efficient operation with no fat to speak of, and we enjoy very low taxes and a strong public education system. Therefore, having already cut $7 billion over the past four years, we are light years beyond making merely difficult choices about cuts to address the remaining $4 billion Great Recession revenue shortfall, and we are struggling to protect the very core services that allow our society and economy to function. Unfortunately, by taking the entire revenue side of the state balance sheet off the table, Governor McDonnell and the “no tax pledge” Republican majority controlling the House of Delegates have proposed a budget that will result in fewer jobs now, undermine our economic growth in the future, and do disproportionate harm to our area.
While I have worked successfully with Republicans this year on bipartisan economic development proposals (especially my Renewable Energy Job Creation Tax Credit, which passed the House last week after being co-opted and renamed the Green Jobs Tax Credit) it is generally more efficient to preserve existing jobs than create new ones. Therefore, I was disappointed to learn that, at the same time we have been working together on proposals we hope will create jobs over the next year to five years, House Republicans have crafted a job-killing budget. Continue reading ‘Job-killing House budget especially bad for Alexandria, Arlington’
Richmond – Delegate David Englin (D-45) today issued the following statement in response to House Republican plans to cut $2.2 million from the Virginia Commission for the Arts in fiscal year 2011 and then eliminate the Commission entirely in 2012:
In a year where economic development — and especially job creation — has been a paramount concern in the General Assembly, I believe it is economically shortsighted for the House to pass a budget that will completely eliminate funding for an activity that is currently returning $7 in investment by private citizens, businesses, and local governments for every one dollar of state money invested. The Virginia Commission for the Arts has a proven track record in economic development and has helped revitalize local economies across the Commonwealth. In the 45th District, the Torpedo Factory Art Center, the Art League, MetroStage, Signature Theater, Del Ray Artisans, Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theater and numerous other arts organizations and programs supported by the Commission over the years have strengthened our economy and enhanced our community as a tourism destination, creating jobs and contributing to tax revenues that support core services like education, health care, and public safety. Moreover, House Republicans have found room in their budget for investments of similar scale in movie industry incentives, despite the fact that the conservative Tax Foundation’s recent comprehensive study of these incentives call into question any purported return on that investment. By eliminating the already modest investment in a proven economic driver in favor of a similar investment whose returns are questionable and speculative, the House Republican budget is advocating a risky fiscal scheme that I oppose.
This is not the only or even the most shortsighted, high-risk scheme contained in the House Republican budget. For example, massive cuts to public education and health care and raiding the state pension trust fund will result in tens of thousands of lost jobs, hinder our economic recovery, threaten our triple A bond rating, and diminish our coveted rankings by independent groups as best state for business, best state to raise a child, and best managed state. However, given the importance of the arts to the economy of the 45th District, this is an additional particular concern that I will continue working to address as the budget process moves forward.
Delegate David Englin is Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and is serving his third term in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he represents the 45th District, which includes parts of the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Arlington County. He serves on the Finance Committee, the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, and the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee.
Yesterday on the House floor, David highlighted one of his many concerns about the budget proposal announced Sunday by the House Republican majority, which makes massive cuts to public education. Embedded in a lottery block grant proposal is a policy change to take money away from the poor and at-risk students the program is designed to help and distribute it among all students, including students who are not poor and would not even qualify for the programs.
Richmond – The General Assembly yesterday passed legislation sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45) to protect children during public health emergencies by ensuring they have equal access to life-saving vaccines. House Bill 270 requires the Virginia Department of Health’s emergency vaccination plans to include procedures to ensure the prompt vaccination of all school-aged children, without preference as to whether they attend private schools, charter schools, traditional public schools, or are home schooled.
“During the H1N1 vaccination emergency last fall, I heard from private school parents concerned that their children didn’t have the same access to the vaccine as students in public schools,” said Englin, who serves on the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee in the House. “While it turned out that health departments in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax actually did a good job coordinating with private and parochial schools, my research turned up cases in Southwest Virginia and elsewhere where non-public school students were refused access to the H1N1 vaccine, including a severely disabled, home schooled child who ended up catching swine flu. This bill will ensure the appropriate level of statewide planning to so those kids will be protected in the future.”
Governor McDonnell released his proposed budget cuts this week, including $731 million in cuts to public education and $300 million in cuts to health care services for the poor. He proposed cutting $6 million from homeless services and shutting out 28,566 poor children and pregnant women from access to health care. David’s colleague, Delegate Charniele Herring (D-46) yesterday gave this amazing speech bringing home the human cost of these decisions:
