Richmond - Delegate David Englin, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement after the House of Delegates unanimously passed the final negotiated version of the Virginia budget this evening:
When we debated the budget proposed by House Republicans on Feb. 10, Democrats time and again argued that transportation is important, but it is wrong to take from education, public safety, and our already meager services for the poor, the sick, the elderly, and the disabled to build roads. House Republicans ridiculed us at the time, but they listened and they did as we Democrats urged. The final negotiated budget is fully balanced, and it adds $75 million into public education, more than $100 million into higher education, and makes major increases to health care services for the poor and to critical community-based services for the disabled.
I’m especially gratified that the final budget includes language nearly identical to my proposal to repeal the “accelerated sales tax” gimmick that artificially inflates state revenue by forcing small businesses to pay sales taxes they have yet to collect from customers. That will eliminate this burden for 80 percent of businesses throughout Virginia, including the mom-and-pop businesses and restaurants that are part of the vibrant, diverse community I serve in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax.
Budgets are moral documents; they express our values as a society, deciding whom we lift up and whom we leave out. No budget is perfect, but this budget strikes the right balance and is consistent with the fiscally responsibly, socially progressive values of the people of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax.
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. An Air Force veteran, Englin is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He serves on the Finance Committee, the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, and the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee. For more information, visit http://www.davidenglin.org.