amendments to the transportation bill?

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in a live blog.  Like much of the political campaign, this is a new experience for me.

First, let me say a few things about the transportation funding bill sent to Governor Kaine and the limitations facing the Governor.  The bill passed by the General Assembly was a compromise among the General Assembly's most conservative members.  It had no Democratic input and very little input from Northern Virginia delegates, senators, and local governments which leaves major segments of the state's population out of the process of developing a solution to one of the most pressing issues facing us.  Unfortunately, this type of partisan approach to business has become commonplace in the General Assembly.  The bill relied largely on more government debt without the means to repay it, which would pass the costs to our children and put public education funding at risk. 

The Governor was told that any statewide tax proposal was off the table.  I attended a briefing in Chantilly, Virginia last week where he discussed constraints on him in reaching an agreement that can pass the Republican controlled General Assembly. Thus, the prime method of financing transportation, the gas tax, could not be considered or else the entire deal would fail.  Moreover, the proposal would only provide about half of the money projected for Northern Virginia needs and only if the local government authorities passed a set of specified regional tax increases.

With these limitations, Governor Kaine and the House of Delegates Speaker have reportedly agreed to changes that mitigate some of the original bill's most serious shortcomings.  For instance, the tax on diesel fuel will rise to the same level as the tax on gasoline.  Also, local governments can levy new commercial and residential impact fees on new development.  The plan continues to rely largely on government debt, but the improved revenue sources put public education funding at less risk of future cuts.

I am pleased that some progress has been made to infuse new money into the transportation infrastructure, but more will be needed in the future to keep our transportation problems from worsening and our economic vitality and life quality from deteriorating.  We also must have new smart growth strategies that stop the endless sprawl to affordable housing in outlying communities and the resulting increase in traffic that follows.  In other words, the traffic problem needs a holistic solution that we do not yet have.

I think Rex Simmons' analysis shows a good grasp of the ins and outs of the transportation funding issue as it now stands. 

on smoking in restaurants?

It is time that state law recognizes the serious health consequences of second hand smoke to the public and restaurant workers.  A ban on smoking in restaurants is a good public health policy.

This is a public health issue for the workers in those restaurants, who don't have much of a "choice" to work elsewhere.

Do you think it should be expanded to the "triggerman" and other crimes, or should the # of death penalty-applicable crimes be reduced?

I believe Virginia is second in the nation behind Texas in the number of executions performed since the Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to be reinstated.  I do not see a compelling public interest being served by further expanding the application of the penalty.

emissions, as Al Gore proposed in Congress the other day that we do nationally, and then cutting them 90% by 2050?  If so, how would you suggest achieving this goal?

Because air moves so freely across state lines, I would like to see a national policy.  I would support regional policies where states, such as those in the mid-Atlantic area agreed to regional goals, like tighter auto emission standards.  Currently, only Northern Virginia automobile owners must have emission tests performed on their vehicles.  The remainder of Virginia is exempt from all vehicle emissions tests.

We also have an opportunity in regulating electric utilities to establish tougher carbon emission standards with economic incentives.  Further, conservation is an excellent way to reduce greenhouse emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels for energy.  We can create incentives for power companies and industry to conserve.  I commend Fairfax County for its Cool County initiative and believe something like that could be beneficial at the state level.  Under this program, public buildings are built to certain energy conservation standards and public vehicles are more clean fuel types like hybrids.

Another proposal that has both esthetical and environmental benefits is restoring and maintaining our tree canopy.

for transportation?  Should it be completely off limits for this purpose, should a certain percentage be allocated for roads and rail?

Virginia has generally used separate accounts to fund transportation and other core government expenses.  There have been several reasons for this.  Transportation projects are long-term capital improvement projects that need a sustainable source of funding for construction and maintenance.  Virginia has also tried to fund these projects through user fees, like the gas tax, and federal money allocated to transportation projects.  Therefore, the General Assembly has set up a separate account for transportation money, known as the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, where the money has been held in trust.  Unfortunately, the fund has lacked the long-term, sustainable funding needed to support the needs of a growing population and the distribution of spending has not always been equal to the needs of a growing population, especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

The general fund on the other hand is used to pay for K-12 public education and colleges, law enforcement, health care, social services, and many other government functions.  In recent years, the General Assembly has chosen not to spend all the anticipated revenue that goes into the general fund.  This has resulted in surpluses that some think should go to transportation.  There are unmet needs in both transportation and other core government services, and our legislators must choose how to allocate resources.  For now, I agree that a portion of unused surpluses should be used for transportation.

Rex, thanks for coming on RK to live blog.

I'd like to hear about what specific plans, if any, you have to push Virginia into a leadership role on environmental matters.  We're way behind other states (with a few city/county exceptions) on this very important issue.

Any ideas for green government, regulations or incentives for green business practices, and individual citizen incentives (i.e. more tax breaks for hybrid cars, energy efficient home appliances, home insulation, solar panel installation, etc)?

Again, I am pleased to have the opportunity to have this kind of community meeting online.

In the earlier question, I talked about several initiatives for air quality.  Virginia really has an opportunity to become a leader in water quality.  Our state has great rivers and streams.  Unfortunately, the water quality has suffered from industrial and farm pollutants.  A national treasure, the Chesapeake Bay is at serious risk.  We must have better waste treatment facilities and curtail the pollutants coming from the farmland all along our shores.  I grew up in a community along a river and sound in North Carolina.  They face similar problems.  We must have public investment to prevent further pollution, and use new farming techniques that keep nitrogen runoff away from the water.

We have already seen serious consequences in the decline of the Bay's oyster bed population.  We may be facing an ecological disaster if we do not act quickly.  Our generation has a stewardship responsibility to act now.

...is draining resources from real Americans into free education, free medical care, free food, free housing and (in some states) even free college for non-citizens ahead of U.S. citizens.  We all know "comprehensive plan" is Washington blather for "amnesty" and politicians have been rather spineless in addressing this openly and honestly.  What will you do to stop state funding from becoming a welfare program for international interlopers, stop the wasteful move to bilingual government, stop the catch and release program for illegals, and stop our school from coddling the ESL bullies draining limited education funding?

Immigration can be a hot topic these days.  Our national government has failed our country on immigration largely to provide cheap labor to agribusiness.  The way some have entered our country may be illegal, but people themselves are not illegal.  A better term is undocumented.  I am reminded of a cartoon featuring a Native American holding a sign which read, "Illegal Immigrants Go Home!"  In its own way, it cleverly points out that many of us are here as a result of illegal immigration.  I believe that a founding tenet of our country is that God endowed people with certain inalienable rights.  Basic human rights, like food, shelter, education, and health care should not be denied.  Some in our country seem to want to deny basic human rights based on immigration status.

Our job in local communities is to assimilate immigrants into our culture so they may contribute meaningfully to our society, as so many do.  Of course, terrorists and criminals should never have a safe harbor.  I also think we should be especially hospitable to immigrants who serve in our military and have yet to achieve citizen status.

Your stance (as I understand it) is that the American taxpayer should bear the burden for anyone who thumbs their nose at American sovereignty and breaks our laws.  For entering illegally, you believe they should be rewarded with a precious American citizenship as if it were a cheap toaster prize at a bank?  Where's the evidence of "assimilation?"  We are bombarded with Spanish TV, billboards, road signs, legal documents, emergency room translators and voting instructions in foreign languages.  Where's the assimilation?  Did God endow everyone on this planet to break another country's laws at will?  Do you know what would happen to you if you just "wandered" into ANY other country on the planet?  I also don't appreciate you mixing legal immigrants with the illegal immigrants.  We ALL want workers here legally but people that break into our houses and take what does not belong to them should not be any more welcomed than people who break into our country and take what belongs to real Americans.  Your amnesty stance is disappointing and I hope you'll reconsider before we become a welfare state for 30-50 million more coming across unchecked pourous borders in the next couple of years.

You wrongly characterize my position as open border.  I do not want an irrational immigration system that contradicts the law.  I favor aggressively stanching the flow of immigrants who enter the country illegally.  That is most effectively done with stiff penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants.  They came here for jobs, not our emergency rooms, schools, or public assistance.

But our founding fathers never intended for America to close its door to new Americans and we should not now.  We need to ensure that we have a rational policy for legal immigration.  As for the millions of undocumented immigrants already here, practicality matters.  There should be a path available to citizenship for those who will work for it as well as a penalty for breaking the law.  These are issues for our national government, not state or local government, to address.

on this issue, as far as I can tell...

...and as an elected representative of the people of the Commonwealth, you should know that.  I pay for their emergency room and medical bills.  I pay for their kids in school.  I pay for their welfare asistance.  My kids are getting lower wages at work because they've driven the wage scale down.  I pay the state and local taxes that finance bilingual garbage.  Their money is going back to finance the corruptuion in mexico--it doesn't stay here like tax dollars do.  I can't order a stinking hamburger in English anymore.  And we both know you have to press a button with every phone call to tell someone you speak ENGLISH in America!  Those aren't "federal" issues you can ignore.  The "path to citizenship" is already in place and it's called our Imiigration and Passport Control System which these people ignored.  In short, they broke the line and are now demanding that you and other politicians reward them for it.  If you're a lawyer, then you'd know that as Criminal Solicitation when you encourage others to break the law.  I totally agree about going after employers but Warner and others WON'T because they've been bought off by business campaign contributions.  No wonder Virginia was voted the best place for business recently--with so many politicians willing to take so much cash, who can resist?  Dry up the jobs and they'll self-deport unless we make the welfare benefits so wondeful on the backs of taxpayers that they'll stay and do nothing.  Close the borders.  Jail the employers.  America is for Americans.  Immigrants (the LEGAL kind) needed but should be invited and respect our laws.  They don't and I'm sick of paying for them.

...and I apologize for the tone but this is an issue that gets my motor going and I'm fed up with weak, spineless politicos who pay it lip service.  There are a lot of us that feel this way and our voices will be heard in the coming elections regardless of party.  America's sovereignty is not a partisan issue so whoever takes the tougher stand to protect my country gets my vote.

As a long time resident of this district, what would you have done differently than Delegate Hugo if you had been our delegate?

In fairness to other bloggers, I will need to summarize here.  Having reviewed Delegate Hugo's voting record, it is hard to point to any significant achievements he has had in 5 years in the General Assembly.  I promise that I will work on major issues that the voters have been telling me are important to our prosperity and quality of life.  These include improving our region's transportation infrastructure, such as extending Metro to Centreville and beyond; controlling sprawl; continuing emphasis on the quality of our public school system; tackling the affordability and availability of colleges and universities; setting high standards for environmental quality; controlling the exploding costs of health care; helping the 1 in 7 Virginians without health insurance become insured; and addressing the quality and affordability of elder care.

I will be a Delegate who (1) achieves meaningful results and works across party lines to do it; (2) works with Governor Kaine to do what is right for Virginia, and (3) will be a part of the Fairfax County team in the General Assembly.  I will also vote to protect women's rights, raise the minimum wage, protect our law enforcement personnel from criminals who would carry weapons onto police property, and curtail payday lenders from taking advantage of borrowers including military personnel.  All of these matters are a clear change in direction from the incumbent's record.

As a long time resident of the area what have you done to support Democrats and Democratic ideals before?

I read you website and know that you might have been hatched from something's; I also looked you up on opensecrets and saw that your only gift was:

Contributor
SIMMONS, REX ALAN
FAIRFAX, VA 22039

Occupation
FEDERAL GOVT/EXECUTIVE

Date
8/21/2006

Amount
$500

Recipient
DNC Services Corp

Your reasons for giving are your own business I just wanted to know if you wanted to share what inspired you to become a democratic supporter.

 

In the 30 years that I have lived in Virginia, I have always voted for Democrats.  My wife and I have also made modest contributions to Democratic organizations and other progressive causes.  A record of one of these contributions was found at the web site you went to.  Additionally, we raised two beautiful children who happen to be Democrats.

I have always been a Democrat and that comes from my family's background.  My Grandfather was a farmer during the Great Depression and he credited Franklin Roosevelt with saving our country.  I come from a humble background.  I was the first person from my Dad's family to complete college.  The Democratic Party provides hope to people.  For those who are not yet middle income, the Democratic Party provides the way to get there.  For those who are middle income, the Democratic Party helps to assure you can stay there.  Our party is the architect of the social safety net that protects Americans from the unpredictable disasters in life that can tear apart any family.  We are also the party of fiscal responsibility, effective government management, accountability, fairness, and inclusion.  These are my values and they explain why I am a Democrat.

I am a recently retired federal civil servant who held positions for 32 years where laws, agency policy, and my own sense of doing what was right limited my political involvement.  I was an assistant inspector general for 16 years and before that, I was an auditor with the Government Accountability Office for 16 years.  In these roles, I advised agency officials and members of Congress from both political parties about effective public policy and how to make government work better.  I never wanted to appear to be politically partisan in fulfilling these important roles. 

I look not only for a Democratic background and policy orientation in a candidate, but also for an upstanding character.  I worked with Rex Simmons for several years in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) before he left to take a job at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and in the years after that I worked with his wife, Nancy, at the GAO. I can attest to the high character and moral standards of both Rex and Nancy. 

Thank you for joining this community for a live blog.

What are your thoughts regarding Virginia's health care situation?

Thanks for asking the question Rob.  I am really pleased to be here tonight.  Health care is one of the issues that I care most about.  The Governor has a health care commission reviewing a lot of the issues and will be making recommendations later this year.  I expect the 2008 General Assembly will address the commission's recommendations.

For many of us, affordable health care is already out of reach. For others, an increasing portion of the family budget pays for health care. Insurance costs rise steadily and our share of medical bills keeps going up. For instance, the annual cost of family health insurance has almost doubled since 2000. The portion of the state budget that pays for medical services has more than doubled over 10 years.

I believe we need to do more to promote healthy life choices, including exercise, weight control, and nutrition to help Virginians live longer, healthier lives and lower medical bills. I chose our campaign theme, "Running for You" in part to emphasize this issue. We also need creative solutions to find affordable private health insurance for the 1 in 7 Virginians who do not have health insurance. We care about the uninsured because we are a compassionate community. Still, we must ensure that costs for the uninsured that become seriously ill are not shifted to those of us who do have health insurance. We also need to ensure our senior citizens have access to safe, caring, and affordable long-term care facilities.

Thank you, bloggers, for giving me this opportunity.  I hope I can come back again.  Please visit my web site at www.rexsimmons.com for more information about me and how to participate in our campaign.

If you can, what are your thoughts on our education system (especially the funding of higher education)?

Although my blog time ended, I want to respond to this question.  Our economy has become knowledge based.  Many of our occupations require a four-year college degree and more.  The competitiveness of our nation and state in the world economy depends on an abundance of highly educated talent.  I think it is important that we find ways to control the rapidly increasing costs to attend Virginia state colleges.  Putting on my auditor's hat, I think we need to review college operations thoroughly to find opportunities for improved efficiency that does not jeopardize quality.  The savings can be used to pay a higher portion of tuition expenses than the state currently provides.

Additionally, I would like to see private fundraising initiatives combined with existing state and federal money to allow low income students to attend college without assuming the enormous amount of debt that is otherwise needed to pay for college.  Another way would be to forgive student loans in return for service in the Virginia National Guard or for taking hard-to-fill teaching positions.