Friday, May 17, 2013
Chopra spoke with Patch Thursday afternoon after a campaign appearance at the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield.
Aneesh Chopra, one of two Democrats running for Virginia's Lt. Gov. seat, wants to reverse controversial legislation backed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli - the Republican gubernatorial nominee for Governor. "We would turn back on the ultrasound bill, on the TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) regulations, the voter ID Bills," said Chopra in an interview with Patch Thursday. "I would actively work with the Governor and Attorney General to institute the executive order on anti discrimination at the workplace based on a whole range of issues, including your sexual orientation," he said. Chopra spoke with Patch for about 20 minutes after making a campaign appearance at the Grenspring …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-VA) Troop Talent Act of 2013 would help transition between military and civilian employment.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va) bill to help veterans find employment and other resources more easily once entering civilian life was introduced Monday to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Troop Talent Act of 2013 is designed to help veterans effectively translate their military skills and credentials into civilian employment, Kaine said. As of March 2013, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 9.2 percent. That’s down slightly from 9.4 percent in February 2013 but still higher than the national average of 7.1 percent. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called that number "unacceptable" as she introduced the Troop Talent Act to the House of Represetatives on Monday. “The unemployment rate for Veterans who have served in the …
Friday, April 26, 2013
"Virginia's got to have the ability to collect all sales tax revenue," says Sen. Mark Warner, who is co-sponsor of a bill that would allow local government to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases.
Consumers across the country increasingly are buying things online, in some cases doing so to avoid paying sales tax. When that happens, local governments like Fairfax County miss out on much-needed revenue to help pay for roads, schools and police. One group estimates Virginia is missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars each year — $422 million in FY2012 — according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The group says in all, states will lose $23 billion in 2012. That could change soon. Virginia's two Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine voted in the majority (70-24) this week to proceed with a vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. The legislation will allow state and local governments to require …
Monday, February 18, 2013
Governor sends letter to president, congressional delegation.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday sent a letter to President Barack Obama and the Old Dominion's congressional delegation calling for immediate action to prevent automatic spending cuts under sequestration. The $1.2 trillion in cuts — meant to force Congress to compromise, which hasn't happened — are slated to go into effect March 1. That deadline has been pushed back several times as lawmakers have brokered Band-Aid solutions. "The automatic sequestration reductions mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are already having a significant adverse effect on the Commonwealth," McDonnell stated. "When fully implemented, they could force Virginia and other states into a recession. Sequestration-mandated reductions will be implemented …
Virginia’s junior senator calls sequestration ‘abdication of responsibility.’
The looming sequestration that is slated to cut military spending across the board will also cost Virginia about $48 million in federal funds for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade education, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine told educators Friday in Alexandria. Speaking to local school officials and state education advocates at the Campagna Center in Old Town, Kaine, a Democrat, said the cuts would also eliminate 7,000 Head Start slots in the state. If the March 1 sequester goes through, 10,000 teacher jobs would be at risk nationwide, as well as funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides and staff, according to Kaine’s office. Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said he maintained hope sequestration could be avoided. “I …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Kaine said he is "rested and ready."
Tim Kaine was sworn in Thursday as the newest Senator from Virginia. Vice President Joe Biden presided over the mock ceremony after the official one on the Senate floor, and Ann Holton, Kaine's wife, proudly held a bible as her husband was sworn in as Virginia's junior Senator at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. "I feel wonderful — rested and ready," Kaine said at a reception in his honor at the Hart Senate Office Building. "Life doesn't happen unless you are able to listen and compromise. With this beginning of the 113th Congress, the Senate has 15 newcomers...and I've watched group dynamics just as you have, and when you have that much change it opens the windows and rescrambles assumptions." Kaine then quoted from Abraham Lincoln's…
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Kaine takes oath of office Thursday afternoon at U.S. Capitol.
On the first day of the 113th Congress Thursday, Tim Kaine took the oath of office, officially taking the title of Sen. Tim Kaine. Kaine and his family participated in a re-enactment Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol's Old Senate Chamber with Vice President Joe Biden officiating. Kaine's wife, Ann Holton, held a bible. The vice president swears in new Senators and re-elected Senators at the start of each Congress. The official swearing-in took place earlier on the Senate floor. Kaine, a Democrat, was elected Nov. 6 to the U.S. Senate representing Virginia, and will serve alongside Sen. Mark Warner (D). Both Kaine and Warner are former governors of Virginia. Kaine, 54, was Virginia's governor from 2006 to 2010. Prior to that, he was …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Congressman says measure puts Northern Virginia 'on the chopping block.'
The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday night passed HR 8, the Tax Relief Extension Act, a permanent extension of many Bush-era tax cuts by a vote of 257 to 167. The late-night vote was taken at 10:57 p.m. The legislation keeps the Bush era tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 and couples making less that $450,000. It also makes permanent the fixes for the Alternative Minimum Tax and delays government spending cuts for two months. Here's the breakdown of Northern Virginia's votes Tuesday on the so-called "fiscal cliff" legislation, which the Senate passed early Tuesday morning: The legislation came to a vote in the House Tuesday night after it was passed by the Senate in the early hours Tuesday morning. Webb and Warner …
Friday, December 28, 2012
If lawmakers fail to reach compromise, sequestration would hit Northern Virginia especially hard.
While the potential loss of thousands of jobs and a devastating economic blow loom over the region thanks to sequestration, Virginia's senators can only wait and hope a workable compromise is reached before the new year. If such a compromise is not reached by Tuesday, a series of tax increases and spending reductions kick in automatically — taking the country over the so-called fiscal cliff. Some economists and politicians are concerned the combined effect will send the United States back into a recession. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, told CBS News this week that at this point any deal that could be made would be relatively small. “I think there’s unfortunately only going to be a small deal,” Warner said. “… We have to …
Monday, December 24, 2012
Soon-to-be Senator will serve on three committees important to Northern Virginia.
Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who will be sworn into office Jan. 3, will serve on three Senate committees important to Northern Virginia. His office announced he will serve on the following committees: Kaine had asked to join Armed Services, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Foreign Relations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship — in that order, according to a recent blog post on The Washington Post Web site. "I am excited to tackle these meaningful committee assignments," Kaine said in a news release. "Because of Virginia's deep connections to the military, through active duty personnel, veterans, military families and the private sector, Virginia needs a strong voice on the Armed Services committee as Congress makes decisions …
John Farrell
9:08 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Moran got it exactly right. Republicans won again and our President demonstrated a spine more like his hero's predeccesor in the White house than Honest Abe. more ›