David Toscano

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David Toscano
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Turning Thoughts and Prayers into Actions and Laws?
Gun Safety Special Session, plus Redistricting Update

June 19, 2019 by David Toscano

Governor Ralph Northam has shown leadership by calling the General Assembly into Special Session on July 9 to address gun violence in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting – this one in Virginia Beach, which took thirteen lives. The Governor and those of us who support gun safety measures realize the challenges ahead; Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the House and Senate and chair the committees, have been consistently reluctant to discuss measures supported by many Americans to cut down on gun violence and mass shootings.

Immediately after the Governor issued his call, Republican leaders leapt to brand it as “hasty;” in their view, it is never a good time to act against gun violence. Even as the statewide Special Committee on School Safety spent months last year working on many different aspects of safety for our children, the Speaker prohibited us from including gun safety measures in our discussions. In the last General Assembly session, nearly 35 measures were proposed to help combat gun violence and increase gun safety (two by me). The House bills, and the only one that made it through the Senate, were referred to a small House subcommittee controlled by rural conservative Republicans, where they all died. For years, gun safety bills have not been allowed to come to the House floor for a vote. After the Virginia Beach tragedy, many of us hoped that minds will change and that some of these measures can pass. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: Domestic Violence, Gun Safety, Legislative Redistricting, Mental Health Policy, Special Session, Virginia General Assembly Process

Why I Serve In The General Assembly

January 7, 2019 by David Toscano

The 2019 Session Is Upon Us

Since my election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2005, my goal has always been to serve this region with honesty and integrity while pushing the progressive measures which reflect this community’s values.  For all of this time, Democrats have been in the minority in the House, with the result that many of the initiatives our region supports have not yet been adopted. Nonetheless, we have achieved some major victories, not the least of which occurred in the last session when we were able, after 5 years of trying, to pass Medicaid expansion, and provide access to health insurance to over 300,000 Virginians.  It was the most consequential vote in decades.

Working with others in the General Assembly, we have been able to raise teacher salaries, make more investments in environmental protection and mental health, and provide monies for critical investments in transportation, including roads and mass transit.  We have worked to restore and increase funding for education that was cut during the Great Recession.  And we have fought efforts to restrict the reproductive rights of women and deny the rights of our LGBTQ and immigrant communities.  As Democratic Leader for the past seven years, I was proud to help lead these fights.  Under the McAuliffe Administration, Virginia’s economy expanded and many new jobs were created.  Under the Northam Administration, growth rates have increased and we have been able to better meet the needs of all citizens in the Commonwealth.  I remain committed to the following principles and will work to see policies embodied by them passed in upcoming sessions.

Good Jobs that Honor Work, Provide Opportunity, and Build Prosperity: Virginians Need a Raise

Hardworking Virginians should be able to earn a livable wage and have a decent standard of living, including the ability to access paid time for family leave, vacations, and sickness.  Opportunity and prosperity are ensured when employees are protected at work, and have access to health care and other benefits.  Virginia families want their children and grandchildren to succeed and not be forced to move from their communities to seek a better life. To that end, we should pass laws to ensure:

  1. A concrete plan to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour, lowest in the nation, to $15 per hour.
  2. Strong paid family leave policies.
  3. Contracting procedures that reward companies which provide health care and benefits to their employees while ensuring workers’ rights to a safe and secure workplace.
  4. Equal pay for equal work.
  5. Nondiscrimination in hiring and employment.
  6. Incentives to ensure that all Virginians have access to affordable and quality health care.
  7. Prohibitions against wage theft in the workplace.
  8. Better workforce training linked to good jobs in the community.
  9. Greater investments in Virginia’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, directing these monies for local use (similar to the $1 million grant we obtained for Habitat’s Southwood initiative).

Access to Affordable and Quality Health Care

Virginians continue to experience problems with accessing health care at affordable rates.  Large numbers of Virginians remain uninsured, and in many parts of the Commonwealth insurance premiums take too large a percentage of a family’s income.  Medicaid expansion will permit a larger number of Virginians access to quality insurance, but there are other areas where reforms are necessary.  I support:

  1. Effective implementation of Medicaid expansion.
  2. Expanding health care insurance options to increase access and hold down costs.
  3. Transparency in providing information about the costs of services and prescriptions so that consumers can make educated choices.
  4. Investment in public health centers and free clinics to assist those who are unable to pay for medical procedures and prescriptions.
  5. Emphasis on preventive public health rather than expensive emergency medicine.
  6. Increasing investments to ensure that food insecurity is eliminated among Virginians.
  7. Protecting women’s reproductive rights.
  8. Lowering drug prices under Medicaid by leveraging the purchasing power of state agencies.
  9. Protecting consumers from surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers.
  10. Ensuring that persons with pre-existing conditions do not lose insurance.
  11. Enhancing the ability of our Bureau of Insurance (BOI) to rein in health insurance premium increases.

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: Affordable Health Care, affordable housing, Anti-Discrimination, Education, Environmental Protection, Equal Rights Amendment, Gun Safety, Job Creation, K-12 Education funding, limiting campaign contributions, Medicaid expansion, Mental Health Policy, minimum wage, Pre-K Education Funding, Reproductive Choice, Standards of Learning, Virginia Higher Education Funding

Medicaid Expansion: A Really Big Deal

June 7, 2018 by David Toscano

It’s Been A Long Time Comin’

Today was the final step in perhaps the most significant success in my thirteen years in the General Assembly. After five years of advocating, strategizing, cajoling, pleading, and fighting, last week we passed a budget that includes Medicaid expansion to about 400,000 Virginians; today, Gov. Northam signed it into law. It is an amazing feeling to cast a vote that will help so many. There are about 3,400 people in the 57th District who would be eligible for the expanded Medicaid program now, and as many as 10,000 additional people in the local region who would benefit. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2018 Tagged With: Affordable Health Care, Medicaid expansion, Mental Health Policy, Special Session, State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget

House and Senate Pass Historic Budget with Medicaid Expansion

May 30, 2018 by David Toscano

After almost two months of waiting, the General Assembly has passed a historic budget that expands access to Medicaid for more than 300,000 Virginians. It took a five-year fight in Richmond to get this done, and the battle could not have been won without the efforts of so many Virginians who pushed, especially at the ballot box, for this initiative.

This budget is probably the best I have seen in my twelve years in the General Assembly.

Republican leadership in the Virginia Senate attempted to hold the budget hostage over this issue. Ultimately, they were foiled by members of their own caucus like Emmett Hanger and Frank Wagner, who were willing to expand Medicaid not simply because of human benefits, but because of how the additional federal dollars would help with our state budget. In fact, Virginia’s Medicaid has been expanding for years, but in the most fiscally irresponsible manner. Under the present program, the federal government matches our spending on a one-to-one basis. For every dollar we spend, they match it with a dollar. Under Medicaid Expansion, the federal government will pay over ninety percent of the costs of the new enrollees. This is a much better financial deal for the Commonwealth. Republicans also recognize that the Affordable Care Act is not likely to be repealed, so they concluded it would be better for us to bring billions of tax dollars that Virginians pay to Washington back to the Commonwealth to help Virginians with health insurance and to shore up our budget. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2018 Tagged With: Affordable Care Act - Virginia, Affordable Health Care, Education, Environmental Protection, K-12 Education funding, Medicaid expansion, Mental Health Policy, Pre-K Education Funding, State Employee Compensation

Senate Goes To Richmond, But No Budget Vote

May 23, 2018 by David Toscano

I was planning to be driving to Richmond this morning for the next House floor session to pass a two-year budget for the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Instead, I am writing about what didn’t happen yesterday in the Senate. For at least another week, Virginia will remain without a budget.

This impasse reminds me of my first session in 2006 when Republicans in the House and Senate deadlocked on a budget until June 28, the very last minute before the end of the fiscal year. That year, the prospects of a government shutdown were real; now, we have a different dynamic. The 2019-2020 budget legislation has been bottled up by the Senate’s Republican leadership, which is preventing it from getting to the Senate floor.

Here are critical things that you need to know: [Read more…]

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2018 Tagged With: Affordable Health Care, Education, K-12 Education funding, Medicaid expansion, Mental Health Policy, State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget

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