Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It is wonderful to be home.� With the
session now over, the routine of heading off
to an early morning subcommittee meeting has
given way to getting the kids ready for
school and heading to work.
As you may know, Virginia was the
first state to pass a budget using
money from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.� Although the
budget passed by a wide margin, it was a
bittersweet moment for many of us.� Unlike
the federal government, Virginia's
constitution requires a balanced budget -
something I am very proud of.� It forces us
to make tough decisions, but it makes us
stronger in the long term.� It is enormously
frustrating that we didn't take advantage of
good economic times to balance the federal
budget and create a rainy-day fund like we
have here in Virginia.� Today, our federal
debt is more than $10.9 trillion.� However,
the stimulus package also saved Virginia from
having to cut an additional 7,100 jobs.�
Given that all taxpayers will eventually
have to repay our national debt, to decline
our share of the stimulus package would have
been a disservice to Virginians.
Virginia will eventually receive
more than $4.8 billion in stimulus
money - about a third of which was
used to balance our current state budget.�
So where will the money go?� How will it
affect our community?� Although I cannot do
the topic justice in just a few paragraphs, I
wanted to provide a snapshot of the major
points.
It is worth noting that the budget
approved by the General Assembly still
includes $2.8 billion in spending
cuts.� And, keeping true to our
Virginia tradition of fiscal conservatism,
the budget also includes a $160 million
reserve - just in case. �Going into
session, Virginia faced a $2.9 billion
revenue shortfall.� Based on those figures,
Governor Kaine introduced his proposed
amendments to balance the budget, including
cuts to education, human services, and
corrections - just to name a few.� By
mid-February, the picture only got worse
with the shortfall increasing to $3.7
billion.� In the end, the stimulus money
allowed the General Assembly to prevent even
deeper cuts and to restore some of the
original cuts proposed by the Governor.�
Here is where the stimulus money
went.
- First, the stimulus package
temporarily increased the federal
share of Medicaid costs from 50% to
56%. �Medicaid provides health coverage for
eligible low-income parents, children,
seniors, and people with disabilities.�
Traditionally, this program has been an
equal partnership between the states and the
federal government.� This one change freed
up $962.5 million in general funds that were
then used to restore proposed cuts to
Medicaid and other health care services.
- Second, the stimulus package included
$365 million in funding for both
K-12 education and higher
education.� This money was primarily
used to restore cuts that were proposed to
K-12 education to address the original $2.9
billion shortfall.� As a result, Fairfax
County will receive $24 million more than
expected and the City of Fairfax will
receive $7.3 million more. �In addition,
$127 million was used to offset some, but not
all, of the proposed cuts to higher
education.� Approximately $11 million will
go to George Mason University.� The result
is an overall budget reduction of 7% --
which is still better than the 15% originally
anticipated.
- Third, the stimulus package included
$218 million in the form of a
flexible fund account.� Of this
amount, $109 million was used to help
establish the reserve to protect against
future general fund reductions, while the
rest will be used for one-time expenses such
as higher education buildings, capital outlay
planning, and BRAC-related expenses.
- Finally, the stimulus package included
$23 million for public
safety.� This money has been used to
restore cuts that would otherwise have been
made to local sheriff's offices.� The
introduced budget proposed an
across-the-board cut of 7%.
Governor Kaine has created a special
website where citizens can get information
about the prioritization process and the
specific projects being funded.� Items not
included in Virginia's budget yet because
they were announced after adoption include an
anticipated $164 million in grants for
weatherization and energy-efficiency programs
and $818 million for transportation-related
projects. �Visit www.stimulus.virginia.gov
for more details.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
�If you would like me to attend an
upcoming meeting or event, please let
me know. �I am always delighted
to speak with constituents about the issues
affecting our community.
Sincerely,
David Bulova
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Bulova
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