Virginia Sen. Mark Obenshain talks budget.

Virginia Senator Mark Obenshain spoke in Harrisonburg about the budget and a new license plate he is backing for Virginia. I would love to get one for my vehicle. SwacGirl has all the details.

Former Va. U.S. Senator Byrd Criticizes Senator Warner!

This appeared in the Richmond Times Dispatch today. Wow, this is something profound from Former United States Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia. He criticizes Freshman U.S. Senator Mark Warner and his recent vote on Health Care Reform. Byrd said he was compelled to speak out against Warner because the freshman senator had campaigned on a platform of grounded fiscal discipline. Sen. Byrd is quoted as, "being shocked by his [Warner's] votes." Senator Byrd went on to say, "When a Virginia Democrat is elected to the Congress --Senate or House --he or she must decide whether to vote the party line or vote the Virginia tradition of finiancal responsibility." Senator Warner's office did respond to Senator Byrd, read the article for more.

"No one will be spared."

"No one will be spared." Delegate Dickie Bell is right. The economic environment in the Commonwealth of Virginia's budget is bleak. The General Assembly must find more than $4.2 Billion dollars in spending cuts in order to balance the budget.

However, we can look at the bright side. This climate of conversation will force our state government officials to become more efficient and get back to the basics of running the commonwealth. We can start to cut programs that are no good and should never have been started. It will give Virginia the chance to review state agencies and audit how they do business. It will cause our state government to become more lean and efficient. Something that has been needed for a long time. Lets get back to small limited government.

Great LTE for Sen. Webb and Warner.

The Letter to the Editor in todays NewsLeader was great. Mr. Eagan echoes the sentiments of many in Augusta County and Virginia. The Letter to the Editor is open ended to our U.S. Senators, the question is, "Where is our sweetheart deal?" I agree, where is our ridiculous sweetheart deal? If the Health Care Reform Bill were so great and would open all these doors for people to obtain Health Care insurance than why all the outright ridiculous bribery to get Senators to vote for it?

I would also like to know where the Health Care Town Hall Meeting is from our U.S. Senators to get the opinion of Virginians on this bill before it goes to a final vote. I also want to hear from Virginia's U.S. Senators in response to the ridiculous amendment made for the state of Nebraska? The spokesman for U.S. Senator Warner last year during the fall break said that a Town Hall from the Senator was not going to happen because the Senate didn't have a bill. He also said that once the Senate had a bill he was sure the Senator would have some Town Halls to get the input from the citizens of the Commonwealth. Well here we are Mr. Senator, where are you? Or did you think we forgot?

Gotta Laugh!

BOS Nancy Sorrells is already campaigning!

Well, its clear that the Augusta County Supervisors see re-election on the horizon. The NewsLeader had an interview with Nancy Sorrells, BOS of Riverheads District. The interview gives a brief question and answer from her. The notable quote of the interview for Sorrells was, "I guess I drew the short straw when we were deciding who to run for local office." She faces a tough re-election next year as rumors swirl about locals gearing up to oppose her in 2011.

Augusta County Superintendent to Retire.

Gary McQuain, 13 year Superintendent of Augusta County Schools, will retire at the end of this school year, the NewsLeader reports. McQuain said that it is time for someone new, with fresh perspectives and ideas. He stated that "its time." With the economy and state budget in such dire straights, McQuain acknowledged the challenges still ahead for this year. McQuain complimented the outstanding staff that he has worked with over the years and believes they will weather these tough times ahead. Now the task will begin to find a new superintendent for Augusta County Schools.

First Year in Office leaves Obama Tired.

Yesterday, In the Richmond Times Dispatch, President Obama is finding the Presidency Tiring, and this was only year one.

Saxman and McDonnell are committed on education.

In the News Virginian this morning there is a story about School Choice for our young Virginians. It covers Charter Schools, Public Schools, and how education could be improved. SwacGirl has a great post covering this. One thing is for sure, we have not seen the last of Del. Chris Saxman.

Business in Richmond wrongly accused of taking Stimulus Money.

In today's Richmond Times Dispatch, the owners of Escape Massage Spa were wrongly accused of taking Federal Stimulus Money on the Rush Limbaugh radio show. The owners had recently taken out a Small Business Loan to open a new facility. The loan was guaranteed by the federal government through the bank in Richmond that issued the loan, so when the federal government backed the loan for the local bank the loan showed up on Recovery.gov, the government website that is in charge of keeping track of federal money. However, the site has recently had many discrepancies on it. There has been no comment from the Rush Limbaugh show about the mistake. The owners of the Spa were inundated by angry calls, emails, and walk ins. A lesson is to be learned here, make sure the information we are getting from government websites is absolutely correct before vilifying someones livelihood.

Great Post!

SWAC Girl had a great post all should read.

Augusta County to hire new Director of Community Development.

Today in the News Virginian, The Augusta County Board of Supervisors is looking to fill the position of Director of Community Development. Dale Cobb, the current director, will be retiring in March. The Board hopes to have all applications in by January 8th. The salary range is $69,347-$97,986. According to Supervisor Larry Howdyshell, the position must be filled despite the lean budget of the county. Supervisor Nancy Sorrells says that the new director will work closely with the Economic Development Director, Dennis Burnett. The Economic Development Director position was created earlier this year despite the lean budget of the county.

Lets Change how we do the Budget Process.

Today in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Gov. Elect Bob McDonnell wants to change the way Virginia handles its two year budget process. Currently, the budget is constructed in such a way that a new governor has little time upon taking office to change the budget proposal already submitted by the leaving governor. This issue has plagued new governors as they took office and has caused a countless loss of efficiency in our state government. The article points out that Gov. Wilder, Warner, and Kaine all wanted to change the budget process as well.

McDonnell for Off Shore Drilling!

Today in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Gov. Elect Bob McDonnell has sent a letter to the Obama Administration to allow Virginia to drill off its shores for natural resources. According to independent research the job of off shore drilling would create 2,578 new jobs, $7.84 billion in capital investment, $644 million in payroll, $271 million in tax revenue that could be used for transportation, infrastructure and education in the state. All around this is a good thing for everyone. Off Shore drilling already occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling of VA throws down on Sen. Webb and Warner.

I received a copy of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling's letter to U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and Mark Warner of Virginia. The Lt. Gov. words are exactly my take on the matter. Good for you Bill Bolling.

December 21, 2009

The Honorable Mark Warner United States Senate SDB Building 40C Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Jim Webb United States Senate 144 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510

RE: Federal Healthcare Reform Legislation

Dear Senators Warner and Webb: I have been following with great interest the important debate currently taking place in Washington with respect to the proposed reform of our nation's healthcare system. While I certainly agree that we face serious problems with respect to the affordability and availability of healthcare for many Americans, it is important that any reform legislation address these issues without creating other problems for American consumers and businesses or jeopardizing the quality of our healthcare delivery system, which is currently the best in the world. For many reasons, I strongly oppose the healthcare reform legislation that is currently pending before the United States Senate and I encourage you to vote against this legislation and any procedural votes that would allow this legislation to come to a final vote.

In my judgment, the legislation currently pending in the Senate will ultimately increase the cost of healthcare and result in higher health insurance premiums and higher taxes for the vast majority of the American people.

In addition, I believe that this legislation will jeopardize the quality of healthcare that is currently available in our country and take important healthcare decisions out of the hands of consumers and turn these decisions over to government bureaucrats.

Perhaps most importantly, I am concerned that the cost of this legislation will be much higher than currently estimated, and it will inevitably add significantly to the cost of our federal deficit, which is, quite frankly, out of control and threatens the long term financial viability of our nation. If these concerns were not reason enough to vote against this misguided legislation, I am writing to you today to let you know that I am outraged by reports that surfaced this weekend regarding concessions that were made to Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson to secure his vote in support of this legislation.

As you know, one of our major concerns with this legislation is the potential impact it could have on the cost of Medicaid for Virginia's state government. Many reports have suggested that this legislation could result in much higher Medicaid costs for state governments across the nation, costs that state governments simply cannot bear. Against this background, I was amazed to hear that the Senate's Democratic leadership had made concessions to Senator Nelson that would hold his home state of Nebraska harmless as to any additional Medicaid costs that might come about as a result of the enrollment of new Medicaid recipients after 2017. I find these reports particularly troubling since they come on the heels of similar concessions that were given to Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to secure her vote in support of this legislation just a few weeks ago. In addition to the "pay offs" that were offered to Senators Nelson and Landrieu, unconfirmed media reports over the weekend have revealed that other Senators may have negotiated similar special treatment deals for their states. If these reports are accurate, this type of quid pro quo is unacceptable, and you and your colleagues should object strongly to the practice, which I have no doubt the American people will find offensive as well.

If the Senate's leadership is so desperate to obtain votes to secure the passage of this legislation that they would make these types of concessions to these Senators, I would ask that you demand that the same concessions be extended to Virginia, and for that matter, to every other state in the nation.

Allowing key provisions in this legislation to be used to essentially buy votes from Senators Landrieu and Nelson at the expense of other states such as Virginia should be as offensive to you as it is to me, and it should give you all the reason you need to oppose this misguided legislation. Thank you for your service to the people of Virginia and for considering my views on this important issue.

Very Truly Yours,

WILLIAM T. BOLLING

Lieutenant Governor Commonwealth of Virginia