(NOTE TO SENATE DEMOCRATS: Before you guys leave town, you need to make 100% sure that you get Bob McDonnell’s agreement, in WRITING (and also publicly), to expand Medicaid. End of story. – promoted by lowkell)
Just a few minutes ago, the Virginia House of Delegates passed, by a 60-40 vote margin, the transportation compromise reached earlier this week (and that we’ve discussed intensively here at Blue Virginia). Personally, I would have voted against this bill unless two parts were fixed and/or strengthened: 1) the $100 fee on hybrid vehicles is utterly absurd, totally bass-ackwards as the expression goes; and 2) I would want much stronger assurances that any new transportation revenues would be spent on environmentally friendly, smart growth, sustainable transportation solutions and not on more sprawl-inducing highway boondoggles from hell. In addition, House Democrats needed to use this bill for leverage on Medicaid expansion. I’m disappointed they didn’t do that, really don’t understand why they didn’t play hardball, and am 100% certain Republicans would have done just that if the shoe had been on the other foot. Sigh… {UPDATE: Is a a “deal in the works” on Medicaid after all? Let’s hope!}
Anyway, now on to the State Senate, where I’m hoping (but not holding my breath) that the issues noted above will be addressed.
P.S. It turns out that Republicans could only muster 34 of the 51 votes they needed to pass this bill. In other words, Democrats gave then 25 of their 32 votes to pass this bill, without getting anything in return on Medicaid, the $100 hybrid fee, or whatever. I’m baffled; what am missing here?!?
UPDATE: Here are the “yeas” and “nays”.
Yea: Albo; Hodges; Marshall, D.W.; Scott, J.M.; BaCote; Hope; May; Sherwood; Brink; Iaquinto; McClellan; Sickles; Bulova; Ingram; McQuinn; Spruill; Cosgrove; James; Merricks; Stolle; Cox, M.K.; Jones; Minchew; Torian; Dance; Keam; Morris; Toscano; Dudenhefer; Kilgore; O’Bannon; Tyler; Edmunds; Knight; Orrock; Villanueva; Filler-Corn; Kory; Plum; Ware, O.; Greason; Krupicka; Poindexter; Watson; Head; LeMunyon; Purkey; Watts; Helsel; Lewis; Putney; Yancey; Herring; Lopez; Rust; Yost; Hester; Loupassi; Scott, E.T.; Mr. Speaker
Nay: Anderson; Fariss; Lingamfelter; Ransone; Bell, Richard P.; Farrell; Marshall, R.G.; Robinson; Bell, Robert B.; Garrett; Massie; Rush; Byron; Gilbert; Miller; Surovell; Carr; Habeeb; Morefield; Tata; Cline; Howell, A.T.; Morrissey; Ward; Cole; Hugo; O’Quinn; Ware, R.L.; Comstock; Joannou; Peace; Webert; Cox, J.A.; Johnson; Pogge; Wilt; Crockett-Stark; Landes; Ramadan; Wright
UPDATE 3:12 pm: I’m hearing definitively that a deal on Medicaid expansion most certainly WAS an integral part of why many House Dems voted for the transportation deal. Now, the key is to make sure that deal is locked in, that McDonnell doesn’t renege or backtrack, and that the Senate make that absolutely clear before they agree to vote for this legislation!
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