Dear TEA Party Patriots:
I want to thank you for all of your support through this strange back and forth on HB 1160.
As most of you know because HB 1160 was amended in the Senate (with my support) it had to go back to the House for approval of the Senate amendment. For several days after it was back on the House calendar, Delegate Barbara Comstock asked that the bill be "passed by for the day" to delay a vote on the bill. Delegate Comstock was the U.S. Justice Department's spokesperson for the Patriot Act and is the Virginia co-chair for Mitt Romney's campaign. Mitt Romney has said that he would have signed the 2012 NDAA including the objectionable detention portions.
During the time it was being passed by each day it became clear that the Governor had "expressed concerns" to some House members about the bill including the Republican Caucus Chairman, Tim Hugo. The Governor's Office has NEVER contacted me with questions or helpful suggestions about HB 1160. Governor McDonnell indicated his opposition to HB 1160 when it was in the House subcommittee.
Finally on March 6, 2012, under pressure from many outraged Virginians who had contacted their members to demand a vote on the bill, the House finally voted. The house voted to not accept the Senate Amendments by a vote of 48-51 http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+vot+HV1418+HB1160. In my judgment this was merely a ploy to kill HB 1160 in a stalled conference committee.
As I write you this email Delegate Comstock is personally lobbying senators in opposition to HB 1160. She claimed that Congressman Wolf had expressed concern about HB 1160. However, I personally talked to the Chief of Staff for Congressman Wolf about HB 1160. He told me that Congressman Wolf never gets involved in General Assembly bills other than gambling measures, and that he had taken NO position on HB 1160. Delegate Comstock also claimed on the House floor that the National Guard was concerned about HB 1160 because it might affect joint state federal information sharing. But the National Guard representative never mentioned these or any such concerns when I presented HB 1160 in both the full House and Senate Courts Committee.
Thanks in part to Senator Chap Petersen, today the Senate receded from its amendment and accepted the original House language. This is what I had hoped this would happen even though I supported the Senate Amendment because it will allow the Senate's vote to be the final vote on the bill. In other words, if the Senate accepts the House language there is no need for it to be sent to a conference committee. They then reconsidered the vote that they had just taken to recede from the Senate amendment and the bill was "passed by for the day." HB 1160 should be up for a final vote tomorrow, March 8, 2012, in the Senate. If the Senate votes again to recede from their amendment and then votes to approve the House language tomorrow the bill will be sent to the Governor. It they decide not to recede from the amendments the bill will be sent to conference committee where it is likely to be killed by taking no action. If they vote to recede from the amendments but then vote against the House version of the bill the bill will be dead.
THEREFORE, those who support HB 1160 should contact their Senators TONIGHT and ask them to RECEDE FROM THE SENATE AMENDMENTS AND VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE HOUSE PASSED VERSION OF HB 1160 when it comes up for a vote TOMORROW, March 8, 2012.
Thank you again for your support. If you have any questions please let me know and please pass this on to as many people as possible.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
RGM/ccg
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