Richmond, Virginia—Following several failed votes earlier in the week, late at night on Sunday, the House Budget Committee passed the Republicans’ proposed budget reconciliation bill, which offsets nearly $5 trillion in tax cuts for the top 1% of earners and big corporations with $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the program that provides health insurance to one in five […]
Press Releases
ICYMI: Winsome Earle-Sears Makes It Clear What Kinds Of Virginia Families She Respects
Richmond, Virginia—The Virginia Mercury has reported that Winsome Earle-Sears has once again used her platform to indicate her disapproval of a constitutional amendment. Yesterday, in her role as president of the Virginia Senate, she signed off on the in-progress constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom. But, in an unusual move, she chose to add a handwritten note […]
Virginia Republicans’ Mothers’ Day Priorities: Limited Contraception, Forced Birth, and No Paid Family Leave
Richmond, Virginia—In a move that highlights the chasm between Virginia Republicans’ rhetoric and their legislative platform, Governor Glenn Youngkin has chosen the week of Mothers’ Day to veto a bill seeking to enshrine the right of Virginians to access contraception. Youngkin, who campaigned as a champion of families and an advocate for parents’ rights, has […]
How Is The Federal Government Celebrating Teacher and Principal Appreciation Week? By Slashing Programs To Help Teachers and Principals In High-Needs Schools.
Richmond, Virginia—Teacher, staff, and principal appreciation week is kicking off in schools across the country, as schools and PTAs acknowledge the huge contribution of the often-underpaid and overworked professionals who serve our communities’ children. It is worth thinking critically about the policy choices we make to support principals, teachers and staff, particularly those who serve […]
ICYMI: Rural District Superintendent Champions Rural Schools As A Site For Solar
Richmond, Virginia—Superintendent Peter Gretz of the Fluvanna County Schools, a rural school district in a red-shaded purple county, has written an op-ed for the Virginia Mercury encouraging rural school districts to adopt Fluvanna’s practice of siting solar arrays on the top of their school buildings. In his op-ed, Gretz cited a variety of benefits that have come […]
Happy Earth Day! Trump Executive Order Allows Dominion’s Coal Plants To Keep Polluting Virginia’s Air Until 2045
Richmond, Virginia—Dominion Energy, which operates the coal-powered Clover Power Station and Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), has petitioned the Trump administration for an exemption to Biden-era environmental regulations requiring coal producers to lower mercury and particle emissions that they release into the air. Dominion had also agreed to transition away from coal mining and towards […]
It’s Black Maternal Health Week. Is Virginia Living Up To Its Obligations To Black Families?
Richmond, Virginia—This week marks the nationwide observance of Black Maternal Health Week, which serves as an opportunity to both mark the wide disparities in healthcare access and health outcomes for Black moms compared to their white counterparts and to celebrate the organizations working to close those gaps. The statistics around Black maternal health are stark. Black […]
ICYMI: Youngkin Threatens to Defund Virginia Cities Over Compassionate Treatment of Immigrants
Richmond, Virginia — On Tuesday, Glenn Youngkin took a break from vetoing 158 pieces of progressive legislation to threaten localities who declare themselves “sanctuary cities” by removing their funding for law enforcement. Youngkin first threatened to defund local police departments over disagreements on immigration in December, when he proposed a budget amendment that would allow him to remove funding for […]
In Amendment, Governor Youngkin Quietly Attempts to Transform Commonsense Gun Safety Bill Into Anti-Trans Legislation
Richmond, Virginia — As part of a flurry of vetoes and amendments in the earlier part of the week, Governor Youngkin has quietly attempted to turn the text of HB 1678, a piece of legislation requiring school boards to notify parents about the importance of safe storage of firearms and medication into a bill that forcibly outs […]
In A Last-Minute, Late Night Veto Session, Youngkin Vetoes Crucial Legislation
Richmond, Virginia—At 11:15 PM on the night of the Virginia law-mandated deadline for gubernatorial action on bills passed by the General Assembly, the governor had only vetoed eleven bills. By morning, dozens of bills had fallen to his veto pen, including many long-hoped for pieces of legislation designed to make life easier for working families, […]