Upcoming Events
9th Annual Sneaker Ball
Saturday, September 15, 20128:00 pm - 12:00 am The Hampton Roads Convention Center
1610 Coliseum Drive, Hampton, Virginia
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I hope everyone is having a great summer, despite the heat. Please take the opportunity to relax and have quality family time. Since the special session adjourned, I have been attending commission meetings and work groups for the Virginia Housing Commission. I will also be attending meetings of the Fort Monroe Authority and the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus will be hosting a series of Town Hall meetings throughout the state to address voting changes and hold voter education and registration dresiv. All citizens who are eligible to vote should be registered and participate in the democratic process. Look for a session in your area soon. I participated in a forum sponsored by the Urban League Young Professionals to address a variety of issues and will be participated in a second forum where the Rev. Al Sharpton will be the speaker.
In June the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Although the decision was mixed, the majority affirmed the central legislative accomplishment of President Obama’s first term. The decision did restrict one major portion of the law dealing with the expansion of Medicaid and allows states some flexibility not to expand their Medicaid programs without paying the same financial penalties the law called for. This ruling was a blow to Governor McDonnell and Attorney General Cucinnelli. The Governor would not address the matter of health exchanges because the matter was before the Supreme Court. Now he will not act by calling a special session because he is waiting for the outcome of the presidential election because Republican candidate Mitt Romney has said he will repeal the Act. The Governor has said: "I'm not going to waste taxpayers money for the next four months until we know who's going to be president…because Mitt Romney has said 'day one, every state gets a waiver and I will introduce a replace and repeal bill.' I'm not going to waste money expanding Medicaid and building a state-based exchange if we don't have to." So, rather than being proactive the Governor is hoping that Romney wins just as he hoped the Supreme Court would rule the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. In the meantime, Virginia falls further behind in addressing the health care needs of its citizens.
On another issue which was a blow for the Attorney General, a federal court rejected his challenge to an Environmental Protection Agency finding that greenhouse gases are hazardous to human health. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit defended the EPA’s conclusion from 2009 that climate change has a damaging impact. Cuccinelli argues that the agency’s conclusions were based on flawed research. He has vowed to continue wasting taxpayer dollars by planning to petition the Supreme Court to review the case.
On a sad note, the longest serving African American woman legislator, Senator Yvonne Miller, passed away on Tuesday, July 3, 2012. She was my mentor, confidant and friend. As my seatmate on the Senate, I knew that I could depend and rely on her wise counsel. Senator Miller was a powerful voice for the underserved and the voiceless. She will be missed.
