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Feb. 18, 2023
2023 Session - Week 6
For the third time in four years, I have been named a budget conferee. Such an appointment is the absolute pinnacle of legislative service, as I will be one of the handful of legislators in the room developing a final budget. It is work that I take very seriously.
My enthusiasm about this work is tempered by my concern that we will be unable to reach agreement in the next week. Much work remains to close the gap between the Senate’s position of investing the surplus in services for Virginians and the House’s and Governor’s proposal to fund an additional $1 billion in tax cuts. This is above and beyond the $4 billion in tax cuts the General Assembly approved last year. The stalemate could result in limited negotiations.
The budget is an important vehicle to not only provide core services but to help with specific areas of local need. I’ve always worked, throughout my time as a legislator, to promote the area I represent. Those have ranged from flood control projects in Rockbridge County to economic development efforts in Alleghany County, and from securing funding to establish Natural Bridge State Park and to bring as state park to Highland County to getting money for a welding lab at a local community college and for major construction projects at the University of Virginia and the Virginia Military Institute.
I continue to work to boost the area that I serve by trying to get services funded that matter to the people I represent. I covered those local projects in my Budget Day newsletter and will be working hard to promote those amendments during the budget negotiations. Sometimes these are successful, sometimes not, but I will continue to stay in tune with the area I represent and work hard for my constituents.
One of the primary areas of the budget that I work is in capital outlay. For the last three years, I have chaired the Capital Outlay Subcommittee of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. As a result, I have played a significant role in construction projects throughout state government, for example college and university presidents visit me often to relay the needs of their institutions. This year, in addition to carrying amendments for the institutions in the district I represent, I carried an amendment for Virginia State University for a leadership facility. I spent time at Norfolk State University and Virginia State University this past year to better understand the capital needs. The leadership facility at VSU is one that has been planned for a long time and will make a significant difference for the students who attend VSU. But the list of needs at every institution is long and compelling. For example, I met this week with the President of the University of Mary Washington about a problem they have with black mold in one of their buildings. We will be working to balance and prioritize so many competing needs.
Much of my work as a conferee will involve the area of the budget related to the provision of health care services. I have been focused heavily on mental health and making sure that we can provide services to people wherever they live. The reality is that we also have to ensure the workforce is there to provide the services. This year, I prioritized funding to increase pay for public and private sector workers by raising pay for CSB workers and increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates. The Senate included funding for more psychiatric residency slots and to provide incentives to enter the behavioral health field. But I have also worked to improve compensation for those who provide home health care services and a broad range of services to Medicaid recipients. We are facing a shortage of healthcare providers and every day that we fail to address that is another day lost, so I am proud the Senate has made this a priority.
Some of the problems we are trying to address are long-term recurring issues. Since the late 1990s I have been involved in trying to increase Medicaid rates for dental services. In 1998, there was only one pediatric dentist who accepted Medicaid in the area between Roanoke and Winchester. The one provider had to shut down the practice because there was so much demand. I carried a budget amendment back in those days to increase reimbursement. In 2021, we finally expanded the dental benefit to adults on Medicaid. Reimbursement for that was so low that we didn’t have sufficient providers, so we had to increase the rate in 2022.
The illustrative examples for this are scattered throughout the budget, such as increasing DD waiver slots to reduce the waiting list, funding long-term supportive housing, trying to raise teacher pay to above the national average, and funding water quality improvements from the Chesapeake Bay to Southwest Virginia. We are constantly investing more into those services, but the needs are so great. We went for far too long underfunding so many services, and we just have to keep making progress for Virginians.
All of this is important because the possibility of a budget stalemate puts the investments in the Senate budget at risk. I am committed to producing a budget that is fair for all Virginians, not just those at the top of the food chain.
We only have about a week left in the legislative session. If I can be of service to you, please contact me at (804) 698-7525 or by email at [email protected]. I have heard from so many constituents since January, it is heartening to see so many people paying attention and staying engaged.
