The 2023 General Assembly session will begin on January 11th, and MPs from the region are expected to make a fuss at the next session.
We invited Congressmen Tara Durant, Nick Freitas, Bobby Oroch, Philip Scott, and state Senators Bryce Reeves and Richard Stewart to discuss their priorities. Orrock, Reeves, and Scott accepted.
Here are the highlights from Wednesday.
Reeves’ failure to win the Republican primary in District 7 last year has not dampened his zeal to serve our community. His plate is full, but two issues take up a lot of his time.
The first is a veteran. Last year, the governor signed a bill that gives tax breaks to veterans over the age of 55. This year, Reeves is looking to lower that age threshold to keep veterans from leaving the state.
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“In Virginia, before COVID, the veterans population was growing 1% to 2% a year,” says Reeves. “After COVID, they started moving to tax-free states like Tennessee, Texas, and Florida.” We attributed this to an increase in remote work policies that allowed us to move to tax-exempt states because we didn’t need to.
He’s also trying to win with the Veterans’ Promise to the Higher Education Bill. This allows active-duty Virginia military personnel automatic admission to the University of Virginia if they meet all admission requirements.
Another of his focus is the gaming industry. Reeves is working with Rep. Paul Krizek of D-Fairfax to create a new commission to deal with problem gambling. Calls to the gambling problem hotline run by the Virginia Council have surged 143% over the past three years, and that number will only increase as gambling continues to grow.
Other issues involving Reeves include:
In his 33rd year in the House of Commons, Orrock’s main concern is health care.
His big push is to establish staff ratios for nursing homes. “This problem has been with him for over a decade,” he says. “One staff member per resident would be ideal, but that’s not economically possible.” But that’s not the biggest challenge. “We don’t have the manpower or the training,” he says, right now to meet demand.
Orrock hopes to work with regulators through the Ministry of Health so they can set appropriate staffing guidelines. Regulators can take the time necessary to bring together the right stakeholders and implement the right policies, he notes.
Once established, substandard homes work with the health department to identify where they are struggling and find suitable solutions.
He works with Democrat George Barker on the Senate side.
Another health issue that Orrock is interested in is trying to give hospitals more flexibility in the care they provide when paramedics are on duty. It’s one way he’s trying to address the acute shortage of health care providers.
Other areas of interest include: Developing statewide book review policies for school districts, combating Medicare fraud, and finding ways to stop unsolicited text messages to cell phones.
First elected in 2021, Scott’s focus this year will be primarily in the area of education.
His concern, he says, is to ensure “access to quality education” for all students. Working with Republican Glenn Davis in the House, Scott hopes to reallocate education funding sources to “level the playing field” for students and their parents. is to set up an “educational success account,” he believes.
According to Policy Circle, the ESA “allows parents to ‘withdraw their children from public schools and deposit public funds into government-approved savings accounts for limited but multiple use.’ Parents use the funds to purchase approved educational services for their children.
To make up for the teacher shortage, Scott wants to encourage military personnel to pursue teaching as a second career by allowing them to take up to four years into retirement.
Another area of concern for him is the growing number of mental health workers.
