Today is day 11 of Governor Terry McAuliffe’s budget impasse.
The Governor and Senate Democrats (see here… and here… and here... and here…) remain insistent on holding the state budget hostage in their effort to bring Obamacare to Virginia, despite just last year approving and applauding an agreement to take Medicaid expansion out of the budget debate.
Last year, the House, Senate, and Governor agreed the issue of Medicaid Expansion should not be in the budget process and created the bi-partisan Medicaid Innovation & Reform Commission.
The goals of this commission are clear: review, recommend and approve innovation and reform proposals for Medicaid. Once the reforms are in place and their impacts are measured, the MIRC can then consider expansion.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (Fairfax) said, “On the two biggest pro-business bills of this session, Democrats provided the votes necessary for passage.”
Democratic Senator Don McEachin (Henrico) said he was “especially proud” and “pleased with the path we put the Commonwealth on today.”
Democratic Senator Janet Howell (Fairfax) said “today, we have made a wise choice and done the right thing.”
But one year later, Senate Democrats have already reneged on this compromise and inserted the issue of Medicaid Expansion into the state budget process, threatening a government shutdown.
Using our teachers, local governments and law enforcement officers as bargaining chips is wrong.
When the General Assembly returns to Richmond, we should pass a clean budget and then address Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion separately.