Lt. Governor Bill Bolling...

STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BOLLING ON PASSAGE OF SENATE BUDGET

RICHMOND – Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling today issued the following statement in response to Senate’s passage of the state budget:

“Needless to say, this has been a challenging budget year, with the Commonwealth facing a deficit of $3.7 billion. To address this shortfall we were facing significant spending reductions for most state programs. It appears as though the infusion of some $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds will enable us to restore many of these budget cuts, at least in the short term.

“Given the significant infusion of funds provided by the federal stimulus package, I think the Senate did a good job crafting amendments to restore many of the budget cuts that had been made in the Executive Budget. However, I fear that this is a short term solution to a long term problem. By relying on one time federal funds to balance the budget we are not addressing the fundamental structural problem in the budget. Simply put, we are spending more money than we are taking in and we cannot continue to do that. Unless we see significant economic growth over the next 18 months, we will once again face massive budget shortfalls when the federal stimulus dollars expire.

“Going forward, our full attention must be directed toward effective proposals to get out economy moving again. We can do that by reducing taxes for families and businesses, eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens, directing more resources to aggressively recruit new business and industry to Virginia and empowering the private sector to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of America. That is what will ultimately get our economy moving again, not continual financial bail outs from Washington.”

Energy & Stimulus for Virginia...

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Local Virginia State Delegate Chris Saxman (R) introduced house bill
HB1633: Offshore Drilling royalties bill which would allow the royalties from drilling off of the Virgina coast to be used to solve Virginia transportation and budget problems...

There is an incredible amount of potential energy sources off our coast including oil, natural gas, and wind power. Developing these energy sources could solve many energy and budget problems that we now face and know will increase if we do not take action soon…

According to an ICF International study
commissioned by API, developing America’s
vast domestic oil and natural gas resources
that were kept off-limits by Congress for
decades could generate more than $1.7
trillion in government revenue, including

$1.3 trillion in revenues from offshore
development alone. These revenues would
be earned over the life of the resource.

Increased federal leasing could bring
additional high paying jobs to Americans.
Our industry directly employs 1.8 million
Americans, with another four million jobs
supported by the industry.3
• Oil and natural gas industry exploration
and production wages in 2006 were more
than double the national average.
• New manufacturing jobs would be created
to develop and install the infrastructure to
bring new resources to market.
• Local employment also would benefit with
the addition of construction jobs as well
as service and support positions.
• In 2030, 160,000 jobs would be created.

This has already produced revenue for States to use...

According to the Department of the
Interior, in fiscal year 2008, the agency
distributed a record $23.4 billion to the
federal government, states and American
Indian tribes from onshore and offshore
energy production.
• A part of this revenue included $10 billion
in bonus bids paid by companies to lease
tracts for offshore energy exploration on
the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of
Mexico and Alaska.
• A total of 35 states received $2.6 billion
from these revenues.1

Source info...

Boy Scouts coming to Goshen, VA...

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Delegate Ben Cline
(540) 461-0534
DelBCline@house.state.va.us

DELEGATE CLINE COMMENTS ON BOY SCOUT ANNOUNCEMENT
OF JAMBOREE RELOCATION TO ROCKBRIDGE

RICHMOND, Virginia – February 11, 2009 — Delegate Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge) made the following comment regarding the announcement of the National Boy Scout Council of their selection of Rockbridge County as the location for the National Boyscout Jamboree beginning in 2013:

"I am pleased to learn that the Boy Scouts have chosen Goshen as the tentative site for the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2013. Rockbridge County has the perfect combination of natural beauty, outdoor excitement, and economic development for the Jamboree, and we have worked hard to convince the Council that Goshen is the best location for them to continue their successful event. I look forward to working at the state and local level to ensure a smooth and successful transition for the Jamboree to the Rockbridge area."

Cline represents the 24th House District, including Rockbridge County and the Cities of Lexington and Buena Vista, and parts of Amherst and Augusta Counties. He was elected in 2002, and re-elected to his fourth term in 2007. Cline is a member of the House Commerce Committee, Public Safety Committee, Finance Committee, and Courts Committee.