TAKE ACTION AGAINST EXPANDING MEDICAID:
Please urge your Delegate and Senator to vote against the Budget Bill if it includes Medicaid expansion. Apparently backroom deals were made to secure votes for the Governor’s transportation tax hikes. It now appears Virginia may accept Medicaid expansion which involves adding 275,000 recipients to the current 1 million!
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/medicaid-compromise-close-va-legislature
Those truly unable to care for themselves should not be shoved aside, but Medicaid has major fraud issues that need to be resolved. Two days ago, AP reported on a Portsmouth woman convicted of 385 false Medicaid claims. In 2012, the GAO testified before Congress that despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prosecute, they still do not know the full extent of Medicaid fraud.
TAKE ACTION AGAINST TRANSPORTATION TAX HIKE:
We lost a hard battle in the House of Delegates over the transportation tax hikes, 60-40. (See roll call below). Tomorrow, Saturday, the full Senate will vote on HB 2313.
Please call and email your state Senator to vote against HB 2313 unless you want to pay higher taxes for: state sales tax, car tax, regional sales tax, vehicle and tangible personal property taxes, vending machine tax, heavy equipment tax, recordation tax on commercial, industrial and residential real property sales, hotel tax, hybrid vehicle tax, and diesel fuel tax. Not all of the money raised will go to roads. Much will go to Metro. Some will go to the General Fund. Shifting the gas tax will not guaranty lower gas prices.
Here is an image of the vote in the house.
Raising taxes is not the answer to our transportation woes. Local planning affects road congestion. The VDOT Funding Formula and road construction districts favor less populated areas. Just a few years ago $3.1 billion in transportation bonds were authorized, but roads carrying very few vehicles are often funded. If transportation is a core function of state government, we must better prioritize our general fund expenditures. The ATM (American Taxpayers’ Money) cannot continue to be tapped without having a detrimental effect on the economy.
Thank you for reading and taking action.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
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