Posts tagged ‘Democratic Party of Virginia’
DPVA on McDonnell: “Misplaced priorities have struck again – and this time it’s our environment that is at risk”
The Democratic Party of Virginia released the following earlier today.
Governor McDonnell: Drilling at any cost
Meets with oil execs while Obama administration takes prudent steps to prevent future tragedies.
The Democratic Party of Virginia is calling on Governor McDonnell to support President Obama’s call to delay any new offshore drilling projects until a full understanding of the causes of this most recent disaster can be determined. Both of Virginia’s United States Senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner, have made it clear that they support the President’s decision, and expect any lessons learned from the Gulf tragedy to be incorporated into federal regulations that would govern offshore energy production off Virginia’s coast. Yet Governor McDonnell continues to declare unrealistic goals for when drilling should begin and he appears to ignore the safety and environmental considerations that the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has brought to light.
“Some Virginia leaders are reconsidering their support for drilling off the state’s coast after a fatal well accident in the Gulf of Mexico, even as Gov. Robert F. McDonnell continues to lobby aggressively to drill for oil and natural gas without delay,” the Washington Post reported today. “McDonnell (R), who has made drilling off Virginia’s coast one of his administration’s top priorities, flew to Houston on Monday to tout the benefits of offshore drilling at an industry-sponsored conference.” [Va. officials reconsider support for drilling after gulf oil accident, Washington Post, Tuesday, May 4, 2010; A10]And in an interview on WTOP Radio on April 27, Governor McDonnell stated, “”This is certainly a setback, but I certainly continue to be dedicated to making us first to drill, 2012 at the latest, and over the next couple years these safety and environmental issues will be addressed.”
“Governor McDonnell’s misplaced priorities have struck again – and this time it’s our environment that is at risk,” said David Mills, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia. “When responsible leaders learn of relevant new information, they adapt their positions. Senator Webb and Senator Warner have agreed that the President’s call for a delay on new projects is the responsible course of action until the cause of the tragedy in the Gulf is determined — yet Governor McDonnell continues to push for unrealistic timetables.”
Mills further stated, “Just last night, Governor McDonnell was in Texas rubbing elbows with oil industry executives as they discussed the profits to be had from offshore drilling. A spill of this magnitude off Virginia’s coast would devastate our coastal economy and endanger the effectiveness of the world’s largest navy base at Norfolk. A responsible leader with the right priorities for Virginia would join Senators Webb and Warner in their commonsense approach. “
Very well said by the DPVA!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Priorities Bob, Priorities. The responsible thing to do is take a step back and pause. Throughout this debate, we’ve been repeatedly told how safe offshore drilling was and how any fear was unfounded. Clearly this is a huge issue now and the safety of such rigs must be looked at more carefully.
McDonnell is more concerned in assisting the oil industry fat cats than Virginia businesses and workers who rely on a strong coastal economy. Imagine what kind of hit a spill like this would be to Virginia’s tourism industry that relies so heavily on state beaches ($19.2 billion industry, 210,620 jobs) or its fishing industry ($1.23 billion in output sales, $717.4 million in value-added income and 13,015 jobs). This doesn’t even take into consideration the negative environmental impact to our wetlands, wildlife and aquatic life or water quality. Oh yeah, the U.S. Navy is also deeply opposed to drilling.
Could you imagine the impact that a spill would have on our economy?! I cannot even begin to imagine.
Given the immense risk of drilling, one has to wonder is it worth it? The Virginia Conservation Network’s data clearly suggests no.
The Atlantic OCS has significantly less recoverable oil and gas reserves than any other OCS region, with an estimated 3.82 billion barrels of oil and 36.99 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. At current rates of consumption, the entire Atlantic OCS would supply the U.S. with only 6 months worth of oil and 18 months worth of natural gas; Virginia’s offshore supply of oil and gas would last less than 7 and 18 days, respectively.
Meanwhile, four times more gas and oil is available in areas already open to drilling than in waters protected by the moratorium, and the industry is using only a fraction (18-20%) of what it already has access to. These unused areas could produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day, nearly double current domestic oil production.
Weighing the effect such a spill would have on our economy against any potential benefit, I would have to say that drilling doesn’t seem worth it to me. Regardless, the only course of action right now should be to pause and reassess. This decision is far too important to be made rashly and the consequences too great. McDonnell should follow the lead of Senators Warner and Webb and put commonsense above ideology.
DPVA: It’s time for Cuccinelli to “Come Clean” on Cost of Frivolous Health Care Lawsuit to Taxpayers
I’m not sure what is more troubling: the fact that Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is choosing to waste taxpayer money on a frivolous lawsuit challenging the recently passed federal health care reform law or the fact that he won’t come clean on what the actual costs are to the taxpayer?
In a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Virginia Democrats, Cuccinelli chose to hide information on the cost of the lawsuit versus coming clean with Virginians. Well it’s time for Cuccinelli to come clean and stop using the resources of the Attorney General’s office as a slush fund to further his political agenda.
As DPVA Political Director Don Mark rightfully noted, in email earlier today, “as we all know, a lawyers greatest asset is his time and Cuccinelli has still refused to divulge how much time his office is spending on this ideological lawsuit.”
The Democratic Party of Virginia today chose to call him out on his evasiveness and filed a second FOIA request. Nice job, but I’m not holding my breath on the Cooch “coming clean!”
Virginia Democrats File Additional FOIA, After Cuccinelli Refuses to Answer Taxpayer Questions
DPVA: ‘Virginia’s Attorney General appears to have gone rogue’
RICHMOND – Virginia Democrats filed a second Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Tuesday, after his initial response avoided answering any questions on the resources expended on a federal health care lawsuit.
Democratic Party of Virginia Executive Director David Mills asked Tuesday for Cuccinelli to come clean with Virginia taxpayers about how much taxpayer-funded staff time was going into Virginia v. Sebelius, Cuccinelli’s health care lawsuit against the federal government. The DPVA’s second FOIA included requests for:
The schedules of Ken Cuccinelli, Solicitor General Duncan Getchell and Deputy Attorney General Wesley Russell for the month of March; a log of communication between Cuccinelli and national Republican political organizations about the lawsuit; a log of communication between Cuccinelli and 13 other state attorneys general who filed suit; communication between Cuccinelli and Governor Bob McDonnell regarding the health care legislation; a list of current Office of Attorney General staff and their salaries.
The full FOIA filed Tuesday is below. In an initial FOIA response issued last week, Cuccinelli’s office had refused to give any information about the resources used on lawsuit preparation. That response is available here: http://www.vademocrats.org/page/-/FOIAresponse033110.pdf.Mills released the following statement Tuesday on the DPVA’s second FOIA:
“Virginia’s Attorney General appears to have gone rogue. Ken Cuccinelli refuses to provide any information to Virginia taxpayers about how much taxpayer-funded attorney time and office resources he’s wasting on a frivolous health care lawsuit against the federal government. In an attempt to find these answers, we have filed another FOIA request with the Office of the Attorney General.
“Based on his response to our initial FOIA request, Ken Cuccinelli has clearly chosen the path of hiding information rather than openness. Furthermore, we have serious questions about his use of the working paper exemption to cover up political communication with parties outside of Virginia.
“We will continue to respectfully ask the Attorney General to be accountable to the taxpayers who pay his salary. While Mr. Cuccinelli has been focused on scoring political points, he has shown little interest in openness with Virginia taxpayers. He has tried to obfuscate at every turn, while thousands of Virginians demand answers.
“Attorney General Cuccinelli has personally said that he believes this lawsuit is about ‘defending the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.’ [RTD, 3/27]. And yet he also claims that this purported all-important battle for the integrity of the Constitution is only going to cost the Commonwealth $350.
“Based on his office’s statements and response to our initial FOIA request, it seems Ken Cuccinelli wants Virginians to believe that attorneys in his office have devoted no staff time, held no meetings, and diverted no resources of any kind despite the priority he claims to have placed on this lawsuit. Ken Cuccinelli can’t have it both ways: You can’t claim something is a priority in your office and try to pretend it comes cheap.
“We will continue asking the Attorney General for answers through the formal FOIA process. But we ask that Mr. Cuccinelli choose the simpler route: stop ducking answers and come clean with Virginia taxpayers about exactly what resources he is using on this lawsuit.”
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Cooch Denies Existence of Health Care Lawsuit Records, Pushes Forward With Frivolous Lawsuit
In case you somehow missed it, Virginia Attorney General (AG) Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) recently filed a lawsuit (Virginia v. Sebelius) that challenges the legality of the health care reform legislation signed into law by President Obama last week.
Cuccinelli is certainly no stranger to controversy. From the moment he assumed office in January, he has made a point of using the Attorney General’s office to push his right-wing social agenda. This includes arguing in a letter to the state’s public colleges and universities that “sexual orientation” could not and should not be included in any anti-discrimination policies.
So his latest push to mount a legal challenge to the recently passed health care reform legislation should come as no surprise? This is simply another attempt to use the AGs office to further his political agenda – and that of Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA).
As Virginia is facing a severe budget crisis that will affect so many folks throughout the state, Cuccinelli and McDonnell file a frivolous lawsuit that is politically motivated. Not to mention that this lawsuit comes at a cost to taxpayers, right? You’re darn right!
As Blue Virginia reported on Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Virginia formally filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) formally requesting records of:
hours spent by Cuccinelli and Office of the Attorney General staff preparing Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius; cost to taxpayers of staff work on the suit; a list of conference calls or written correspondence that the Office of the Attorney General had with other states’ attorneys general or national conservative groups in planning the lawsuit; any outside firms contracted to assist on the lawsuit; and, the Attorney General’s full schedule since taking office, including any scheduled television interviews in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
David Mills, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia summed up things best when he said that
the Attorney General is acting like taxpayer funds are just a piggy bank for his personal political agenda. More than 10,000 Virginians [(in a petition launched by the DPVA)] have demanded that Ken Cuccinelli come clean about his use of taxpayer-funded state resources. This week, we’ll find out if Ken Cuccinelli still believes he’s accountable to the taxpayers of Virginia. We’re looking forward to his response.
Drum roll please. In response to the FOIA request, Stephen R. McCullough, senior appellate counsel for AG Ken Cuccinelli has responded by saying that “No such record exists” listing any attorney’s, both inside or outside the AGs office, that worked on producing the legal filing and any hours that they may have billed to the state to prepare it.
McCullough did acknowledge that existence of “correspondence between Cuccinelli’s office and the offices of 13 other state attorneys general who have also filed suit against the federal government, as well as Cuccinelli’s schedule since his took office Jan. 16.”
There were a total of 40 records related to correspondence between the Virginia AGs office and the offices of 13 other state attorneys general; and 170 pages that would provide insight into Cucinelli’s schedule, since he took office in January. McCullough said that the AGs office would not be releasing them, since the office considered them “working papers of the attorney general that are entitled to remain confidential.”
In a release yesterday, Cucinelli actually made the claim that all work “was being done in-house and said costs would be minimal beyond the $350 fee to file the suit in U.S. District Court.”
Color me skeptical, so much for government transparency. Taxpayers deserve to know the cost that is being accrued to fund Cucinelli’s personal political agenda, especially when the health care lawsuit has zero chance of being won. That’s right, ZERO!
Nevada’s Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto provided a good analysis in a letter to Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons on why joining Cuccinelli’s health care lawsuit was essentially pointless and “would not come without a cost.” When looking at Supreme Court precedence, AG Masto writes:
One theory to consider is that Congress lacks authority under the Constitution’s Commerce and Spending Clauses. However, the authority give to Congress is extensive and appears strong enough to support the Act. Health care costs affect our nation’s economy, and the Act is Congress’ answer to alleviating those costs. The United States Supreme Court long ago determined that insurance is commerce and is therefore subject to federal regulation. United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Ass’n, 322 U.S. 533 (1944). Since the 1930s and the “long-rejected Louchner-era precedents,” MeadWestvaco Corp. ex rel. Mead Corp. v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue, 553 U.S. 16, 128 S.Ct. 1948, 1510 (2008) (Thomas, J. concuring), Congress’ broad authority has been acknowledge to, among other things, uphold mandatory contributions to the Social Security Act system, Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619 (1937), and legislate many other federal programs.
So while Cuccinelli and McDonnell defund our public education system (and make several other extreme cuts) they have no problems wasting taxpayer dollars to further their radical political agendas. Hey while national Republicans plan to “sweep problems under the rug,” Virginia Republicans have become masters at creating problems. Where’s the TEA Party when you need them!
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