Democrats head to session united with a shared Vision for Virginia
RICHMOND, VA – Today, Virginia Senate and House Democrats released a joint policy framework, outlining their shared priorities headed into the 2023 session. Their “Vision for Virginia” is focused on creating an economy that works for hardworking Virginians, protecting our freedoms from extremism, delivering a world-class education, and keeping Virginia communities safe and healthy. House leadership released the following statements:
“We’re prepared to come together the way all Virginians do, by rising above the partisan noise and MAGA culture wars to focus on what really matters,” Leader Don Scott said, “Our vision for the Commonwealth is to see to it that we deliver on real issues: common sense gun reforms, a world class education, and building an economy that works more for hardworking Virginians. It’s what the people deserve, and it’s what they’ll get from Democrats this session.”
“Democrats are coming to the table clear eyed and laser focused on results for everyday Virginians,” Chairwoman Charniele Herring said, “That means an economy that works for hardworking Virginians, a Commonwealth that safeguards our hard-fought freedoms, and a future where every child can receive a world class education. A Virginia where every community is safe.”
Below is the policy framework.
Vision for Virginia
Creating an Economy for Hardworking Virginians
- Making a more affordable Virginia
- Keeping housing costs low so hardworking Virginians can afford to stay in their homes without worrying about rising costs
- Holding drug companies accountable to lower the costs of healthcare and prescription drugs to save Virginians money
- Supporting Virginia families
- Putting money back in the pockets of Virginia families by making the earned income tax credit fully refundable
- Fighting for Virginia’s workers
- Defending the minimum wage increase, investing in apprenticeships, and protecting collective bargaining rights
- Requiring sick leave for frontline essential workers in healthcare and grocery stores and defending Republican attacks on fundamental worker protections
Protecting Our Freedoms From Republican Extremism
- Protecting Virginians’ freedom to make their own healthcare decisions
- Enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in the Virginia Constitution
- Protecting life-saving reproductive health care and safeguarding abortion access
- Protecting Virginians’ right to marry the person they love
- Passing a Constitutional Amendment to remove the same-sex marriage ban in Virginia’s Constitution
- Fighting against Republican efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ protections
- Protecting Virginia from election deniers who want to overturn our democracy
- Investing in our institutional election systems to defend against Republican attempts to attack our fair and free elections and protect and expand voter access
Delivering a World-Class Education
- Fully funding our public schools
- Providing our communities’ schools with the essential resources they need to hire and retain the best teachers, maintain safe and modern buildings, and provide the necessary resources for the best education for students
- Removing culture wars from our schools
- Stopping Republican efforts to play politics with our kids’ education and whitewash Virginia’s history
- Investing in our children’s futures
- Investing in bold initiatives like in-person tutoring to bridge the gap of COVID learning loss
Keeping Virginia Communities Safe and Healthy
- Addressing the rise in violent crimes by removing dangerous guns from our streets
- Closing gun loopholes that allow criminals and at-risk individuals from acquiring guns
- Stopping Republican efforts to roll back bipartisan life-saving gun legislation
- Supporting local law enforcement
- Increasing pay for local law enforcement agencies to address the staffing shortage and recruit and retain new officers
- Combating the deadly threat of climate change
- Protecting Virginia’s place in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- Protecting Virginia’s EV standards to reduce emissions from the largest carbon-producing sector
- Investing in the health of our families and communities by committing to a long-term mental health solution
- Keeping people out of crisis to begin with by investing in community and education-based services that meet people where they are
- Funding competitive salaries for healthcare workers to address staff shortages
- Addressing the low reimbursement rates for Medicaid
The first day of Session is on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.