Bob Hull's Richmond Report

Our Long Nightmare is Over

On May 7, 51 days after going into Special Session called by the Governor, the Virginia General Assembly approved a new two-year budget.

It occurred 114 days after the regular session convened on January 14, a session that was dominated by taxes and spending.

That became the first General Assembly session in history to adjourn without approving a new two-year budget.

The final vote came 10 days after the House of Delegates passed a bill, already approved by the Senate, to raise taxes by about $1.4 billion over the next two years.

That was an historic vote in which the outcome was far from clear when the motion was made to pass the bill.

Mavericks Make the Difference

The original bill was sponsored by two moderate House Republicans who led a group of 17 Maverick Republicans who broke ranks with their House GOP colleagues.

They faced tremendous criticism from within the 62-member House Republican Caucus, which is dominated by anti-tax sentiment.

Just before that April 27 vote, two of the 17 Mavericks – Delegates Vince Callahan and Gary Reese of Fairfax – announced that they could not support the final bill.

But, then another moderate Republican decided to support it, thereby providing 16 Republican votes.

Their votes combined with those of 36 of the 37 House Democrats produced a 52 to 45 victory for the bill.

Nervous to the End

I was so nervous about it that I kept my hand on the green “AYE” voting button for about an hour before we actually voted on the bill.

I did not want to make a mistake! I looked up to make sure that my vote registered, then looked down and prayed for a winning margin.

This revenue bill and the resulting two-year budget bill provides a record amount of money to public education and programs for the mentally disabled.

I believe that our actions will have a far reaching positive impact in this Commonwealth, while still keeping us a low tax state overall.

Commemorations

Millions of Americans served in the uniformed forces during the four years we fought that war which ended 59 years ago.

Their sacrifices brought about an unparalleled era of general peace and prosperity, and I join with you in saluting this greatest of generations.

Also keep in mind that June 6 marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied liberation of Europe, the largest military action in history.

Brown. May 17 marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

A milestone in American history, it was fought for years in Virginia and other Southern states. But, ultimately, their resistance failed because it was the law of the land.

This single judicial decision improved the lives and insured the educational achievement of millions of Americans, including me.

The fact that racial integration exists today in America is a living legacy of Thurgood Marshall, Lake Barcroft resident, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Thank you.

Vietnam. May 11 marked Vietnam Human Rights Day, first observed nationally on May 11, 1994, to honor the resistance of dissidents in Vietnam.

In a time when democracy is spreading throughout the world, the communist government of Vietnam continues to harass and arrest those who criticize its policies.

Today, there are still hundreds, if not thousands, of prisoners of conscience – doctors, priests, professors, reporters – in Vietnam who need to be freed.

As corporations vie to sell the fruit of their intellectual property in that communist country, they need to remember that intellectual thought is repressed in Vietnam.