http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/Daily news about Virginia politics and Virginia politicians.enWed, 25 Jan 2012 14:54:12 PSTTypePad http://www.typepad.com/http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/Pg-MMspficA/progressive-conservative-leaders-have-rare-agreement-on-issue.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 14:54:12 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20168e611a078970cSometimes 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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/progressive-conservative-leaders-have-rare-agreement-on-issue.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/1Rns3EIehW0/rep-rob-wittman-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 09:04:24 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20167610f8dff970bU.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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/rep-rob-wittman-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/AvGq0TGjrcU/rep-scott-rigell-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 09:00:06 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20167610f7648970bU.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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/rep-scott-rigell-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/9edfkeGZAQM/sen-mark-warner-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:57:30 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20167610f7375970bU.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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/sen-mark-warner-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/66MOkuJVDj0/rpv-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:54:20 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20163001a5bff970dRepublican 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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/rpv-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/1sfO2zQQofQ/us-rep-bobby-scott-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:50:39 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20163001a5112970dU.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...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/us-rep-bobby-scott-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/iYeyO2BRwaQ/george-allen-on-state-of-the-union.htmlTodd Allen WilsonWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:55:32 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20167610f5083970bFormer U.S. Sen and Gov. George Allen, who is seeking the Reoublican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb, issued the following reponse to President Barack Obama's Stat of the Union address: “Tonight, millions were hoping to hear President Obama deliver a new vision for a better future for our nation and our economy. Instead, we heard campaign-type promises and advocacy for the same failed agenda. The sad facts remain that his Administration's counter-productive energy, as well as regulatory, tax and spending policies have Americans enduring 35 straight months with unemployment over 8 percent, high gasoline prices costing us $30 more for each fill-up and downgraded creditworthiness for the first time in U.S. history. “I envision a better future than what...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/george-allen-on-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/7vF7TuLSaBU/virginia-lawmakers-at-the-state-of-the-union.htmlDave HendricksonWed, 25 Jan 2012 07:58:27 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20168e61033c5970cVirginia Reps. (from left) Jim Moran, Frank Wolf, Randy Forbes and Bobby Scott had a congenial seating arrangement at Tuesday night's State of the Union address.http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/virginia-lawmakers-at-the-state-of-the-union.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/GjQFZgnC9o8/ga-progressive-caucus-unviels-2012-agenda.htmlTodd Allen WilsonFri, 20 Jan 2012 11:51:44 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20168e5cf2f4a970cThe General Assembly's Progressive Caucus announced its agenda for the 2012 session Thursday much of which centered on opposing provisions of Gov. Bob McDonnell's two-year budget plan and legislation put forward by the the Conservative Caucus, such as the "personhood bill" and voter id laws. "There is nothing heroic or courageous about balancing your budget on the backs of vulnerable Virginians," said caucus co-chairman Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, "Funding our most vulnerable populations is neither a priority nor a remote interest for this administration or the Republican Party. The Progressive Caucus will continue to fight for making funding our most vulnerable citizens a top priority and will seek to restore funding in these areas." Members of the caucus said they are pushing amendments that restore...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/ga-progressive-caucus-unviels-2012-agenda.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/dailypress/the_shad_plank/~3/yI3QrPEdjeM/sen-miller-3rd-grade-sol-bill-passes-committee.htmlTodd Allen WilsonThu, 19 Jan 2012 09:17:47 PSTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d73669e20162ffd8be74970dA proposal by Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News, to reduce the number of Standards of Learning tests taken by the state's third graders passed through committee Thursday and now heads to the Senate floor. The Senate Education and Health Committee, on a vote of 11-4, passed the measure which Miller said is designed to focus on third grade reading proficiency by only requiring those students to take SOL tests in reading and math - eliminating the the third grade tests for science and social studies. Miller said the idea comes from a recommendation the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission released last year that looked at third grade reading proficiency. The JLARC study came from legislation proposed last session by Miller and has been cited...http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2012/01/sen-miller-3rd-grade-sol-bill-passes-committee.html