What does the health-care law mean to you?
The health-care overhaul will change the way millions of Americans get health insurance and require nearly everyone to have health insurance or face penalties. A number of factors – including income, age, location and family size – will determine how it specifically impacts your life.
News from Delegate Herring: Health Care Reform Edition
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In This Issue Welcome to Delegate Herring’s Newsletter Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter. I hope you find the information in here valuable. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. FALL JOB FAIR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING If you would like to participate in this fall event, please let me know. I am looking for companies and individuals who need to find a job. SAVE THE WINKLER PRESERVE |
Greetings!I hope you have found these weekly updates useful both during and after Session. My goal is to keep you informed about what is happening in Richmond and locally. If there is something that you want to hear about, please let me know. Also, please continue to contact me with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Charniele VIRGINIA’S CHALLENGE TO THE HEALTHCARE REFORM
This lawsuit undoubtedly will be followed closely by citizens who are concerned about health insurance, politicos, and legal scholars. Not only does the suit present a challenge to healthcare reform, which has been attempted by previous administrations, it presents a novel legal question which, I suspect, will ultimately be answered by the Supreme Court. As many of you know, I am an attorney. Looking at the pleading, I do not agree with the legal basis of his challenge to PPACA. However, I am not surprised that he filed the legal challenge. During his campaign he made it clear that he will challenge healthcare reform if it passes Congress. The violent acts that occurred this past week against our legislators and public officials are nothing but fear in action. Violence is not the answer. Peaceful protest and legal process are the only correct measures to address political issues such as this one. I hope all my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, will join me in condemning these acts. As Americans and Virginians, we should strive to be better. YOUR VOICE CAN STRUCTURE OUR STATE’S POLICYWhether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, it is important that your views are heard and that you participate in our process. Have you ever thought about being appointed to a state Board or Commission? I encourage you to submit an application today. Visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website for more information. |
As many of you know, Congress passed healthcare reform legislation (PPACA). Virginia’s Attorney General filed a challenge to the legislation. You can find a copy of the lawsuit delcherring@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1046
PO Box 406, Richmond, VA 23218
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Read moreIf you don’t find your common ground, you have to stand your ground
Speaker Pelosi with her grandchildren on the House Floor
Read moreYou strive for bipartisanship when you can. When you find your common ground, that’s great. If you don’t find your common ground, you have to stand your ground.” Speaker Pelosi turns 70 this week.
– House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Liberty Launching Voter Drive Ahead Of City Elections
LIBERTY LAUNCHING VOTER DRIVE AHEAD OF CITY ELECTIONS
By Liz Barry
The Lynchburg News & Advance
Liberty University plans to launch a campus-wide voter registration drive Wednesday, in which professors will hand out registration forms to students in all their classes over a two-day period, officials said.
Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. – who has characterized the May 4 City Council election as among the most important in the school’s history – devoted part of a recent faculty meeting to the student voting initiative.
“I emphasized how important it was for faculty members to assist us with reminding students to register and vote,” Falwell said on Tuesday.
Though Liberty enrolls just under 12,000 residential students, a surplus of 55,000 forms are on hand to ensure that any student who wants to vote has the opportunity to register before the April 12 deadline, said Larry Provost, director of commuter affairs. Resident advisors also will distribute voter forms to students during hall meetings.
The classroom and dormitory voting initiatives are just one part of the university’s get-out-the-vote campaign.
Earlier this month, Liberty mailed letters and blank voter registration forms to upwards of 10,000 Lynchburg-based alumni, donors and online students. The letter, written by LU co-founder Elmer Towns, urges members of the LU community to vote but does not endorse specific candidates.
“We are ready to take Liberty to the next level but the current property restrictions placed on us by Lynchburg City Council will cost LU great amounts of money as we continue to grow,”Towns said in the letter.
“These city mandates will force us to pay millions of dollars for projects LU does not need, instead of spending that money on capital and academic improvements and keeping tuition at a maintainable level … Liberty and the local community need your help. It is my hope and prayer that you will get involved by voting on May 4.”
This is the first election in which Liberty has made a concerted effort to encourage non-students to vote, Falwell said. Previous efforts have focused almost exclusively on the students’ vote.
Falwell has not set a specific goal beyond registering “as many students, faculty, staff and alumni as possible.”
Lynchburg General Registrar Carolyn Sherayko said Tuesday that she had not seen an influx of completed voter registration forms with a Liberty University address. As of the end of February, 3,853 people had registered with a Liberty campus address, she said, a number that does not account for off-campus and online students.
University officials worked with attorneys from Liberty’s School of Law on how to legally register voters, Falwell said.
Federal and state laws prohibit providing incentives for voting – i.e., “buying votes” – and federal law prohibits incentives for registration, according to Garry Ellis, voter registration coordinator with the Virginia State Board of Elections.
“We’re not allowed to incentivize or pressure the students in any way and we’re making sure nobody does that,” Falwell said.
The city council elections are not attracting much attention at other Lynchburg colleges.
Randolph College does not have a voter registration drive planned this spring.
At Lynchburg College, students and staff may organize a voter registration drive, but the details are still in the works.
“We’re not doing a huge drive, but we do have forms here on campus,” said Chris Gibbons, director of SERVE, LC’s volunteer office.
Read moreSenate Democrats’ Successful Session
Dear Friend,
As you probably know, we just completed an especially challenging legislative session of the General Assembly. We faced an unprecedented budget shortfall and for the first time since we regained the Senate majority three years ago, we did not have a Democratic partner in the Governor’s Mansion.
As the only Democratic-controlled body in state government, we were confronted by a Republican Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and a Republican-dominated House of Delegates. In the end, I believe we served the best interests of all Virginians this session, especially our most vulnerable. The House Republicans came to our position in the most critical areas of the budget, avoiding the devastating cuts the House had sought. After Governor Kaine’s initial budget proposal was mostly accepted, here are some results:
- K-12 Public Education – We protected K-12 education from an additional $500 million in cuts sought by Governor McDonnell, and an extra $450 million in cuts sought by the Republican House of Delegates. The Virginia Education Association said our work saved over 12,000 jobs in our schools.
- Healthcare Safety Net – Our caucus fought to hold Virginia’s healthcare safety net relatively harmless. Among dozens of proposed cuts, Republicans wanted to deny health care to 29,000 poor pregnant mothers and their children, eliminate the school breakfast program and cut medical services for the poorest of the poor. Aside from our work, many more cuts will be restored due to President Obama’s aid package which the House Republicans opposed.
- Public Safety – In the final budget we were able to restore most of the proposed cuts and keep 2,000 cops on the street.
We realize the cuts that remain in the budget are serious and I hope we never face the same situation again. However, it could have been much worse.
On March 24, the Associated Press wrote “…The Senate’s Democratic leadership no longer has an ally in the Governor’s offices. With McDonnell in charge of the executive branch and a Republican majority enlarged and emboldened by the November election, the Senate is all that stands between the GOP and domination over state spending priorities the next two years.”
This is why we are asking for your help. Your contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can give will help us stand up for all Virginians and commonsense government. Please click the link to contribute.
- Although this session was dominated by the budget shortfall, your Senate Democratic Caucus had many legislative accomplishments, as well.
- Autistic Children – We passed legislation that the House killed that would have provided autistic children with insurance coverage. On February 17, the Associated Press said “the Senate also dealt a blow to mighty insurance and business lobbies when it overwhelmingly passed a bill to require insurers to pay for specialized treatments for children with autism.”
- Fighting Discrimination – While Governor McDonnell was rolling back Tim Kaine’s discrimination protection for gay state workers, and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was telling colleges to remove those same protections for professors and students, the Senate Democrats passed a bill, SB66 from Democratic Sen. Donald McEachin, to protect gay students and employees from discrimination.
- Ethics Reform – The Senate passed a bill that opens up the investigation process when a legislator has violated the public trust.
- Protecting Our Children – Democratic legislation also funded the Internet Crimes Against Children taskforces that find and arrest internet predators.
As the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, I am very proud of the important legislation our Senate Democrats introduced, and the stand we took against devastating cuts to education, public safety, and healthcare. Now that we are the only elected Democratic force in state government we are committed more than ever to fight for commonsense policies that benefit all Virginias. We hope you’ll contribute $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can give.
Thanks for your time and your support.
Sincerely,
Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple
Chair, Senate Democratic Caucus
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