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Tag: Cabinet

Tax cuts are the way to grow

Virginia’s finances are in excellent shape, paving the way for the General Assembly to agree with Gov. Glenn Youngkin that it’s time to cut taxes in the commonwealth. It’s your money, not the government’s, and the government has collected too much of it over the last few years.

In a snapshot, Virginia’s coffers are full. The commonwealth ended fiscal year 2022 with a $3.2 billion cash surplus and is poised to end fiscal year 2023 with a $3.6 billion surplus. Our revenue reserves are set to reach nearly $4.3 billion by the end of the 2023-24 biennium, more than the constitutionally targeted 15% of revenues. These numbers show that Virginia is extraordinarily well-positioned to deliver both necessary investments in critical services and badly needed tax cuts for Virginia’s families, individuals and local businesses.

A surplus in government happens by collecting more taxes than appropriated expenses. As part of the formulation of the governor’s current budget proposal, long-serving and highly experienced budget experts prepared five-year projections of revenues and expenditures that anticipate a recession beginning this year and incorporate inflation and ongoing growth in critical education and health care programs. Plainly put, Virginians are overtaxed, and it’s time our leaders take a good look at bringing down taxes to make the commonwealth competitive with our neighbors.

Last year, the governor and General Assembly funded a record $3.1 billion in new investment for public education, including double-digit raises for schoolteachers and funding for school infrastructure across Virginia. Law enforcement agencies across the commonwealth saw $400 million in new funding for training, equipment and recruitment. Landmark commitments to economic site development were included to make the commonwealth more attractive to large-scale investments from global companies like Lego, which selected Chesterfield County for its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility.

Under prudent assumptions — which include an economic recession this year — ongoing state tax revenue is expected to exceed ongoing spending by $1.8 billion and more in future budget cycles, well beyond what is required to support the proposed tax relief package.

Overtaxed Virginians are voting with their feet and their wallets, moving to states with lower taxes and a lower cost of living. The Wall Street Journal ranked our targeted competitor states (Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia) first through sixth for net population growth from domestic migration from July 2021 to July 2022. Meanwhile, Virginia ranked 42nd in the nation, losing nearly 24,000 people to domestic migration in that year alone.

Census data shows that every year for the past nine years more Virginians have moved to other states than have moved from other states into Virginia, totaling 132,000 in net domestic out-migration. Over that same time period, net domestic migration increased Florida’s population by 1.8 million. North Carolina’s population grew by 671,000.

When Virginians relocate, they take their livelihoods with them, at the expense of the commonwealth. IRS data show that, since 2013, Virginia has lost $9 billion in income due to the net loss of Virginians. The same IRS data shows that North Carolina, our closest competitor, gained $17.6 billion in income from former residents of other states.

Three of our competitor states have no income taxes and the other three have been strategically lowering tax rates and have attracted people to them.

Gov. Youngkin has proposed reducing tax rates for both individuals and businesses to enhance our competitive position and grow the economy. All taxpayers in Virginia will benefit from the $5 billion package. The proposed reduction in the top individual income tax rate will benefit 86% of Virginia taxpayers. Paired with an increase in the standard deduction to $18,000 for married taxpayers ($9,000 for singles), 47,000 Virginians will be removed from the income tax rolls. This plan also reduces taxes on a veteran’s military pension regardless of age, increasing the after-tax income of 152,000 Virginia veterans that will stay in Virginia to retire or start their second careers.

Reduction in the tax rate on businesses in Virginia from 6% to 5% will catapult Virginia to the second lowest rate among competitor states. Other proposed business tax changes, such as the Qualified Business Income deduction, will reduce the tax bill for 450,000 small business owners.

Our unprecedented financial strength allows us to reduce taxes while providing resources for additional spending priorities. The governor’s proposed budget also provides $2.6 billion for spending that complements our economic development strategy and enhances Virginia’s quality of life. This includes $450 million for additional business site development, research to drive innovation in small modular nuclear reactors, $230 million to transform our behavioral health system, retention and performance bonuses for our teachers, recruiting bonuses to encourage more men and women to enter law enforcement, resources to allow more nurses to be trained and ready to serve in our health care facilities, and $537 million to preserve the treasure that is the Chesapeake Bay.

We must reverse the trends of the past decade in Virginia to create a more prosperous commonwealth. By creating a more competitive tax code, Virginia is sending a clear message to individuals, families and companies: We are competing to win.

Virginia Secretary of Finance Stephen E. Cummings took his oath of office on Jan. 15, 2022. He oversees the state Department of Accounts; Department of Planning and Budget; Department of Taxation; and Department of the Treasury along with the Virginia Resources Authority and Virginia Board of Accountancy. He previously served as president and CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) in the Americas.

Va. Senate rejects former EPA chief for Cabinet

The Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to reject Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointment for state secretary of natural and historic resources, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement, “It’s clear Mr. Wheeler is extraordinarily qualified to be secretary of natural and historic resources and admirably served for decades in the highest levels of government. The governor is disappointed in today’s vote because he was looking forward to Mr. Wheeler accomplishing great things on behalf of Virginians.  Pursuant to the constitution, he will continue to serve as secretary of natural and historic resources until the General Assembly adjourns. In the meantime, we hope the Senate will reconsider.”

On a 21-19 vote along party lines, the Senate confirmed the Privileges and Elections Committee’s amendment to remove Wheeler from the resolution to confirm Youngkin’s Cabinet appointments.

The last Cabinet nominee to be rejected by the Virginia legislature was then-Gov. Tim Kaine’s pick for secretary of the commonwealth, former Virginia AFL-CIO president Daniel G. LeBlanc, in 2006.

Wheeler served in the Trump administration as the 15th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021. He started at the EPA as a special assistant in its Pollution Prevention and Toxics office during the George H.W. Bush administration and became the agency’s deputy administrator in 2018. Wheeler’s EPA tenure was marked with some controversy, including an attempt to prohibit the EPA from utilizing research studies without publicly available raw data. The proposal was opposed by 69 leading scientific and medical organizations, editors of major scientific journals and a bipartisan group of former EPA administrators. Under his administration, the EPA also diminished mercury cleanup regulations and decided against increasing standards for fine soot pollution.

His nomination has drawn widespread attention, with the Virginia Senate receiving two warring letters from former EPA employees in January. On Jan. 14, 158 former EPA employees wrote urging legislators to oppose Wheeler’s nomination, The Associated Press reported. Over the last weekend in January, 125 former EPA employees and others who had worked directly with Wheeler wrote urging legislators to approve him, The AP also reported.

“Good government requires good stewardship of Virginia’s resources, including our natural resources,” said Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke in a statement. “But Mr. Wheeler’s track record on the environment and energy indicates he will unravel the progress we have achieved to address climate change, mitigate the effects of sea level rise and protect the natural beauty of our commonwealth. After hearing grave concerns from our communities, stakeholders and organizations — as well as Mr. Wheeler’s former colleagues at the EPA — we cannot in good conscience confirm such an alarming choice.”

The Senate will hold a final vote on the Cabinet appointments resolution (SJ 84) on Wednesday.

Va. Senate committee rejects former EPA chief for Cabinet

The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 9-6 Tuesday against confirming former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointment for state secretary of natural and historic resources. The vote does not eliminate Wheeler’s chances of confirmation.

Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement, “Andrew Wheeler is a highly qualified individual with an extensive background on natural resources and issues critically important to Virginians. The governor is disappointed that the committee put partisan politics over the selection of an experienced public servant who would prioritize cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and James River.”

The committee vote removed Wheeler from the resolution (SJ 84) to confirm Youngkin’s Cabinet appointments.

“The economy of the future requires a transition to wind, solar and other renewable energy jobs and technologies that will be a part of the commonwealth’s prosperity for decades to come,” Virginia Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw said in a statement. “Virginia must continue its future-forward economic agenda. Gov. Youngkin’s nominee is a step in the wrong direction.”

When the legislation reaches the full Senate, a floor amendment could put him back on the list. The amendment would need only one Democrat to cross party lines, as Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is the tiebreaker vote.

After a hearing last week, Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, told The Washington Post he was “very much open to approving [Wheeler’s] nomination.”

Wheeler served in the Trump administration as the 15th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021. He started at the EPA as a special assistant in its Pollution Prevention and Toxics office during the George H.W. Bush administration and became the agency’s deputy administrator in 2018. Wheeler’s EPA tenure was marked with some controversy, including an attempt to prohibit the EPA from utilizing research studies without publicly available raw data. The proposal was opposed by 69 leading scientific and medical organizations, editors of major scientific journals and a bipartisan group of former EPA administrators. Under his administration, the EPA also diminished mercury cleanup regulations and decided against increasing standards for fine soot pollution.

The Virginia Senate has received two warring letters from former EPA employees.

On Jan. 14, The Associated Press reported, 158 former EPA employees wrote urging legislators to oppose Wheeler’s nomination: “As EPA Administrator, Mr. Wheeler pursued an extremist approach, methodically weakening EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment, instead favoring polluters. Mr. Wheeler also sidelined science at the agency, ignored both agency and outside experts, rolled back rules to cut greenhouse gases and protect the climate and took steps to hamstring EPA and slow efforts to set the agency back on course after he left office,” the letter stated.

Over the weekend, 125 former EPA employees and others who had worked directly with Wheeler wrote to the Virginia Senate urging legislators to approve him, The AP also reported. The letter called Wheeler a “strong supporter of Clean Air Act” programs, like the first greenhouse gas emissions standards for aircraft, finalized in 2020. Additionally, Wheeler worked to improve the national recycling rate, the letter said. “All told, over the course of Mr. Wheeler’s career, he has improved the lives of millions of Americans through his steadfast commitments to a better, healthier environment,” the letter states. “He has worked collaboratively across the aisle and with the diverse range of environmental stakeholders to create these positive outcomes.”

Virginia League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Michael Town put out a statement in favor of the committee’s action to reject Wheeler, saying, “Andrew Wheeler is unfit to lead Virginia’s environmental agencies. Today, senators in the Privileges and Elections Committee made the right call by removing him from consideration. We hope the Youngkin administration can find a replacement secretary who actually has a demonstrable record of caring about environmental protection.”

Youngkin appoints agriculture secretary, department commissioner

Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that he had selected Matthew “Matt” Lohr as state secretary of agriculture and forestry and Joseph “Joe” Guthrie as commissioner of the Virginia Agriculture and Consumer Services Department.

“Agriculture … plays a crucial role in Virginia’s economy and communities. Matt and Joseph bring decades worth of hands-on experience that will give Virginia a competitive advantage in the agriculture industry,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Lohr served as the chief of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service agency, which has an operating budget of more than $4.5 billion and more than 10,000 employees across 3,000 offices.

He previously was the commissioner of the state Agriculture and Consumer Services Department, and before that served in the House of Delegates from 2006 to 2010.

Lohr has also served as director of the Farm Credit of the Virginias Knowledge Center, a middle school agriscience teacher, head of his leadership development company and president of his family’s farming operation, Valley Pike Farm Inc. He is a fifth-generation farmer.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and worked as a state and national officer for the FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America).

Guthrie served on the state’s Agriculture and Consumer Services Department’s Virginia Cattle Industry Board by appointment from former Gov. Bob McDonnell and on the USDA’s Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board by appointment from department secretary Tom Vilsack.

He is a senior instructor at Virginia Tech. Since 2007, he has taught courses in its Agricultural Technology Program. He also owns and has operated a beef cattle and hay farm in Pulaski County.

Guthrie was chair of the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors in 2020 and 2021. He first won election to the board in 2015. Prior to that, he served a four-year term on the county’s School Board.

Guthrie has served as president of Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Association, president to Pulaski County Farm Bureau and president of Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in agricultural economics and international trade from Massey University in New Zealand, where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar. In 2007, he won the Eisenhower Fellowship in Agriculture to research international beef trade from Australia and New Zealand.