March 12, 2008
Well, serving in an elected capacity leaves little time for punditconsistency. We're winding down now at the state legislature and the election cycle is officially in full swing. So listen up and mark your calendars accordingly.
March 18 th is a big day and if you can participate it will be helpful in the long run. The event is the first meeting of the full coordinated Democratic campaign committee. It will be on the 18 th at the Summit beginning at noon with a luncheon. Please RSVP by Thursday to Tom Vogel @ tom@wvdemocrats.com.
For those of you who are looking at the Democratic Convention, have races you are really interested in working or want to know how the delegate selection will work in West Virginia, this will be a good luncheon to attend for answers.
I've missed yakking with all of you but know that between now and May 13 th there is a great deal of work to be done. I hope some of you are already out there working for the Democrats of your choice. We'll get caught up on all of that as we go along. Right now, I hope to see you on March 18 th at the Summit as we move forward.
For two months much time and attention has been paid to passing new West Virginia laws. Much that was passed leaves me nervous, skeptical and concerned. Tax reduction laws that will benefit business are massive - $149 million in reductions. I have my fingers crossed that business and our legislative leadership team know what they're talking about on taxes as well as the massive changes we made to the community college system. I am comforted though that if the train goes too far off the track safety measures were included to pull us back from the cliff.
We still have yet to resolve the pension problem teachers find themselves mired in and won't know until the budget is finalized if we came close to a livable resolution. Pay raises for state employees and teachers is not nearly what we'd like to have given but the best the process will allow for now. Retirees similarly are looking for relief on property taxes and we hope that the plea for equity will not go on deaf ears.
What struck me along the way is the reality that we can provide tax reductions and pay raises until we're blue in the face but fundamentally it does nothing to solve the underlying problem of constantly rising prices. The high cost of almost everything is crippling average West Virginians – gas, food, medicine, hospital costs, utilities, insurance, and education just to mention a few. Unless we find a way to reign in the underlying culprit we'll continue applying a Band-Aids to broken bones.
The lowest point however, had to be the legislation the Senate gifted to the House that would have allowed West Virginia to extend to gay people the same human rights protections as are now enjoyed by women and blacks. I am as sad as I can be to report that bigotry and prejudice are alive and well and active among enough members of the WV House of Delegates that we found ourselves short on the votes needed to protect this class of human beings. In fact, one Republican evangelical lawmaker sanctimoniously stated – “If we grant this protection, then pretty soon there won't be anyone left to discriminate against”.
And gee, what fun would that be? Absolutely the lowest possible point of the legislative session. Made me weep like a baby.
The Bush Administration has issued a number of regulatory changes that would severely limit Medicaid reimbursement for important services and significantly reduce access to Medicaid services and to our health care safety net.
These regulations will shift costs to states and force cuts across a range of social services programs. It is important that organizations at the state and local level weigh in along with the many national groups urging Congress to delay implementation of the regulations. State-by-state information on the impact of the regulations in 43 states and the District of Columbia can be found here.
Please express you organization's support for congressional efforts to delay the implementation of those Medicaid regulations by signing a letter.
To sign your organization onto the letter to the Hill, please contact Varina Winder at the Alliance for Children and Families at vwinder@alliance1.org. Please send your name, organization (as it should be listed), address including state, phone number, and email address. The deadline for signing is close of business on Friday, March 14 .
You'll want to be the first at your corporation to make a contribution to this great man's legacy. The Bush Library will include:
To highlight the President's accomplishments, the museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate them.
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