BREAKING: VA House Democrats Pass Winning Budget for Working Families
May 13, 2024
Richmond, VA – Today the General Assembly reconvened for a special session to vote for the biennial budget. After rejecting the Governor’s failed attempt to rewrite the budget with his proposed amendments last month, House Democrats forced Governor Youngkin to come back to the table to support our priorities – providing record investment in our education and health care systems, helping all working families to keep Virginia moving forward. Voters made their choice loud and clear last election and they demanded a budget that invests in our future.
“All the issues we prioritized in March are still in this budget,” said Speaker Don Scott. “This is essentially the same budget that the Governor called ‘backwards’ and now he will be signing it into law. We have historic funding for education, healthcare, coastal resiliency, and gun violence prevention. We are being consistent with our values and putting our money where our mouth is.”
“The most important thing is that we were able to address and fund all of our priorities,” said Delegate Torian, Chair of the Appropriations Committee. “We prioritized K-12 funding, we prioritized higher education – when the Governor didn’t include anything for higher education. The Governor only included a 1% raise for teachers – we included a 3% salary increase for teachers and state employees in the first and the second year. Every fundamental thing that needed to be done was funded in this budget.”
Majority Leader Charniele Herring said, “We have an obligation to the people we serve to make sure that their needs are met. We have included historic funding for pre-k as well as community safety programs that will reduce gun violence. This budget impacts each family in the Commonwealth ensuring that working families, parents and children, are able to thrive in safer communities.
“This budget has record spending for our intellectual and developmentally disabled citizens. We are building community services and improving mental health crisis response every year,” said Delegate Sickles. “I’m also extremely proud of the investment we’re making to clean up our waterways and protect our natural resources. These are issues that are often overlooked and are finally getting the attention they deserve.”
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