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Legislative Update May 7, 2012
In this update: On Capitol Hill: “Reconciliation” Proposal Following a weeklong recess, House lawmakers are scheduled to return to Capitol Hill this week to debate over the deficit. Republican leaders are planning to propose a $260 billion measure to slash the budget gap and replace across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect in 2013. The bill, known as a “reconciliation” proposal, is the product of six House committees and will be combined into one piece of legislation by the House Budget Committee. Democrats have already criticized it as an extension of the House GOP proposal that “reflects the wrong priorities” by protecting tax cuts for the wealthy and cutting programs for the underprivileged. Principally, the GOP measure would replace $78 billion in sequestered cuts resulting from the failure of the congressional supercommittee to strike a bipartisan deficit deal last fall. Both Republican leaders and the Pentagon have warned against what they say are arbitrary cuts to defense spending. In addition to the $78 billion in sequester replacement, the bill contains an added $180 billion in cuts aimed at reducing the deficit. Among the federal programs hit are food stamps, funding for the 2010 healthcare and financial regulatory laws and the refundable child tax credit. Any bipartisan agreement on changes to the sequester are not expected to come before a lame-duck congressional session after the November elections. House Republicans this week also plan to bring up the first of 12 annual appropriations bills — proposed 2013 spending for the departments of Justice, Commerce, Science and related agencies. After falling behind schedule last year, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio has made it a priority to return to regular order on appropriations before the fall campaign season. The other significant piece of legislation the House is likely to vote on this week is a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, following a tentative deal struck between Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Interest Rates for Stafford Loans under Review - UPDATE The House of Representatives voted 215 to 195 to pass a bill to keep the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans at 3.4 percent for another year. The package, which is not expected to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, is paid for by eliminating a corporate-tax loophole that allows wealthy individuals pay less in Social Security and Medicare taxes. In addition, President Obama has threatened to veto the measure because it would cover the $6 billion cost of the extension by cutting money in the health care reform law for preventive care and public health. With more 7.4 million college students with subsidized federal Stafford loans, the two sides will have to hash out the differences. Those students could see their interest rates double in July unless Congress reaches a compromise on keeping them down. Since President Obama started pushing the issue two weeks ago, both sides of the aisle now agree that rates should not rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8. There continues to be a dispute, however, over how to pay for a one-year freeze on the current rate, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cost $6 billion. The Senate plans to vote on the measure on Tuesday. Obama’s “Ready to Go” Rally at VCU
The Obama campaign has mapped out several scenarios to win the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency, and the choice of states for his inaugural rallies was not coincidental. Ohio, with its large cache of 18 electoral votes is a particularly coveted prize. No Republican has made it to the White House in the last century without winning the state. In Virginia, the campaign will try to capitalize on an advantage with women voters in the state. President Obama's rallies held on Saturday were intended to recapture some of the youthful, hopeful energy of his 2008 campaign. Business Development Caucus Created Four freshman Delegates have joined together to form the first ever “Business Development Caucus” in Virginia’s General Assembly. Delegates Chris Head of Roanoke, David Ramadan of Loudoun, Mike Watson of James City and Michael Webert of Fauquier — all business owners employing Virginians — will lead the Caucus’ mission of introducing legislation to stimulate entrepreneurship and job growth in the Commonwealth. Senior Delegates Joe May of Loudoun and Terry Kilgore of Gate City are serving in an advisory capacity. With the Business Development Caucus officially formed, the group’s post-session activities will include a series of business roundtable meetings in at least six regions around the Commonwealth to identify legislative priorities for the 2013 session. All four of the Caucus’s founders plan to attend each roundtable, accompanied by other Caucus members and representatives of Governor McDonnell as he promotes his “Year of the Entrepreneur” initiative. Ideas generated at these regional roundtables, once vetted, will produce legislation which Caucus members will guide through the legislative process in the 2013 session, enhancing the outlook for Virginia’s job-creators. To view a video of the press brief, visit: http://vimeo.com/40636233. Governor McDonnell offers Budget Amendments Governor McDonnell has proposed making nearly $44 million in amendments to the two-year, $85 billion state budget that lawmakers passed last month. His amendments include funding for economic development and education initiatives in addition to a provision to treat state legislators and statewide elected officials the same as state employees regarding pension plan contributions. As part of the proposed changes, Governor McDonnell seeks to restore $19.5 million in economic development funding, including money to entice Hollywood to film movies in Virginia and a program designed to lure private capital to life-science research projects at several state-supported universities. Lawmakers had removed about $47 million in economic development funding from McDonnell’s original spending plan. The governor also suggests revisions to a 3 percent performance bonus for state employees in November 2012 to be funded through savings from state agencies. The governor has proposed 17 amendments to the "caboose budget" bill — which deals with spending through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year — and 88 amendments to the upcoming two-year budget for July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014, according to G. Paul Nardo, the clerk of the House. The General Assembly will reconvene May 14 to take up the governor’s amendments. Children’s Services: MIECHV Project Expansion
The Department, in collaboration with the Virginia Home Visiting Consortium, previously identified 42 at-risk communities through a rigorous review of data. These 42 communities are now being served by prior grant awards. This new grant award will allow expansion of services to an additional 13 to 15 sites, through a competitive process. The funding will provide administrative support, including the development of sustainability models for home visiting in Virginia, training and technical assistance to home visitors and will examine ways to effectively link families to services. The home visitor program allows nurses, social workers and other professionals to meet with at-risk families in their homes, discuss their unique situations and needs, and evaluate the families’ circumstances. Through these family meetings, home visitors connect families to the types of assistance or variety of resources that can make a real difference in a child’s health, development, and ability to learn, such as health care, developmental services for children, early education, parenting skills, child abuse prevention and nutrition education or assistance. For more information about the Virginia Home Visiting Consortium, visit: www.homevisitingva.com and www.vdh.virginia.gov. National Nurses Week
To view the National Nurses Week history, visit: http://nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/MediaResources/MediaBackgrounders/NNWHistory.html. Executive Branch Media Talks Visit the following links to access President Obama’s and Governor McDonnell’s regularly scheduled media talks. President Obama's Weekly Video Address Governor McDonnell’s "Ask the Governor" Call-in Radio Show State & Local Government Meetings Visit the following links for information on official state and local government meetings open to the public. The Commonwealth Calendar To view the university and health system’s legislative priorities, updates, legislative tracking lists, and more… go to the VCU Office of Government Relations’ website. The next update will be available during the week of May 13, 2012. For questions regarding this information, please contact VCU Office of Government Relations at (804) 828-1235 or by e-mail. To be added to or removed from the weekly legislative updates email distribution list, please send an email to VCU Office of Government Relations.
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On Saturday May 5, President Obama officially launched his reelection campaign, making stops in two key battleground states — Ohio and Virginia. The president has been openly making the case for his reelection for more than a year, in official trips and public events focused on his agenda before Congress and efforts to revitalize the economy. But Saturday's rallies — one at Ohio State University in the afternoon and one later in the evening at VCU — were a first for the 2012 effort, featuring an unabashed attempt to reframe the discussion. The events saw the introduction of a new banner theme, "Forward," use of jumbo screens to debut campaign videos and unveiling of a new stump speech.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) recently received $6.2 million to expand the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) project. This federal grant is an expansion of previous grant awards and is provided through the Health Resources and Services Administration.
National Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6, National Nurses Day, to May 12, modern nursing founder Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The Week highlights the nursing profession as an art and a science, as well as the tireless amount of hours nurses work to serve communities. During National Nurses Week, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius encourages us to recognize the tremendous contributions that nurses make to keeping America healthy. As passionate advocates, leaders and innovators for better health, America’s nurses have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the public’s health care needs. During this week of recognition, please thank our nation’s nurses for the critical work they do in bringing better care and better health to all Americans.