David J. Toscano

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“Trumpcare” Part Two – cutting Virginians’ health care to fund tax breaks for the wealthy

June 30, 2017 by David Toscano

Donald Trump had it right when he described health care in the United States with the phrase, “It’s complicated.” And now Republicans at both national and state levels are discovering how complicated it is.

President Obama’s significant legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has survived a number of legal challenges and been the law of the land since 2010. It made major changes in a healthcare industry that represents 18 percent of the GNP, providing substantial benefits to a wide variety of Americans, including thousands of Virginians. The percentage of Americans with health insurance has risen dramatically. The law allows families to cover their children on their health insurance plans through age 26, and prevents insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.  ACA established certain “essential health benefits” that must be included in all insurance plans, and provided an incentive for states to include more people in their Medicaid programs. It established a mechanism by which working families could purchase health insurance on “insurance exchanges” and receive tax subsidies to assist them in doing so.

Trumpcare threatens to undo many of these provisions, and, in the process, provide a major tax break to the wealthiest people in the United States; the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that the Senate bill cuts taxes by $1 trillion over 10 years, with one-third of that amount going to the 100 wealthiest families in America. This is not “repeal and replace;” rather, it is an example of “cut and redistribute.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Assembly 2017 Tagged With: Affordable Care Act - Virginia, Affordable Health Care, Medicaid expansion, Virginia budget

Budget Passage and Adjournment

February 25, 2017 by David Toscano

On Saturday, February 25, 2017, we adjourned this year’s “short session” of the General Assembly with passage of a modified budget. The revised budget places total General Fund spending for FY2017 and FY2018 at $40.47 billion. [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Assembly 2017 Tagged With: Education, Environmental Protection, Gun Safety, K-12 Education funding, Mental Health Policy, Renewable Energy, Reproductive Choice, State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget, Virginia Higher Education Funding

Crossover and Budget

February 10, 2017 by David Toscano

We’ve hit the mid-point of session, marked by what we call “crossover,” the day that all bills from one body cross over to the other in order to be considered. Many of the most heavily-contested bills arrive on this day, leading to long hours and fierce debates.

My primary focus continues to be passing legislation to help build the New Virginia Economy. That means pushing bills that spur job creation and that provide Virginians a much-needed raise. It also means supporting investments in education at all levels. We have made progress in some areas, but not in others. [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Assembly 2017 Tagged With: Adoption, Anti-Discrimination, DNA Database Expansion, Domestic Violence, Education, Environmental Protection, Gun Safety, Immigration, Job Creation, K-12 Education funding, Legislative Redistricting, Pre-K Education Funding, Renewable Energy, Reproductive Choice, State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget, Voting Access

General Assembly Week 3: The Pace Increases

January 27, 2017 by David Toscano

We have completed the first three weeks of session. “Cross-over,” the date by which all bills must be passed by the originating chamber so they then can “cross over” to the other chamber for consideration, is approaching. The Clerk of the House reports that 1,400 pieces of legislation are already in play in the House of Delegates, not including all the amendments being negotiated nor any of the bills that will cross over from the Senate to the House in early February. With so much happening, it’s not possible to cover everything that the House worked on this week, but here are a few highlights (and lowlights) of interest. [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Assembly 2017 Tagged With: Anti-Discrimination, Education, K-12 Education funding, State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget

Virginia’s Budget Shortfall: Is Anyone to Blame?

September 2, 2016 by David Toscano

Governor McAuliffe announced last Friday that the state would not meet its revenue projections for fiscal year 2016, which just ended June 30, with the result that this year’s budget will be short a projected $266.3 million. Revised forecasts for the state’s two-year budget (which ends June 2018) places that shortfall at $1.2 billion. This has put much-needed pay raises for teachers and state employees this next year in peril, and will require further belt-tightening and possible curtailment of some state services. Why did this happen? Could it have been averted? [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Assembly 2016 Tagged With: State Employee Compensation, Virginia budget

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