McDonnell is using budget problems to force his conservative social agenda

November 14, 2011

The Washington Times reports, "[s]ervices for seniors and pregnant teens, funding for local jails and libraries, and investigators who go after tax scofflaws are all on the chopping block," in Governor McDonnell's upcoming budget.

Progressive Point: With a more conservative legislative body in Richmond, Governor McDonnell is looking to use fiscal uncertainty in Virginia to cut government agencies and programs that are at odds with his conservative social agenda--and he could cut up to 6% of their already struggling budgets.

Cutting funding for schools and vital programs like teen pregnancy and domestic violence prevention is the wrong direction for Virginia. Programs like these provide a pathway to security and prosperity for citizens and protect the most vulnerable among us. This past Tuesday, voters asked their representatives to focus on creating jobs and fixing the economy--not enacting a conservative social agenda. McDonnell and his Tea Party allies must prioritize Virginia families, not their extreme ideological agenda.

Get the Facts:
"[M]ost Republican campaigns in Virginia did not stress social issues, and many hardly mentioned them at all. They ran, and won, on opposing new taxes, promising an even friendlier business climate and vowing to create jobs... Given that, it's pretty clear there's no mandate in Virginia for an Arizona-style assault on illegal immigrants. There's no directive from the electorate for a Mississippi-style proposal conferring civil rights on fetuses. There's no popular demand for Virginia to become the gun-happiest state this side of Texas; to harass welfare recipients by forcing them to submit to drug tests; to slash education spending, gut environmental programs or fire workers for not speaking English." (Washington Post)

"Items [Secretary of Finance Ric Brown] identified as expendable in the biennial budget included: $11.1 million in local aid for sheriffs, jails and commonwealth's attorneys; $2.9 million to assist pregnant teens and provide teenage pregnancy prevention programs; $1 million in various programs for seniors; and $1 million for public libraries." (Washington Examiner)

Tweet it: McDonnell cannot use his failure to find fiscal solutions to force his conservative social agenda http://bit.ly/rwzMJY via @ProgressVA

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