March 2, 2022 - The Virginia Star

Senate Finance Adds Contingency Clause to House Bills; House Subcommittee Recommends Killing Two Constitutional Amendments; Plexiglass Gone from the Senate

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – As the legislature approaches its March 12 adjournment, legislators are working on budget negotiations, wrapping up their consideration of other bills, and continuing to return to pre-COVID-19 operations.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced a number of bills from the House of Delegates, but at the beginning of the meeting Committee Chair Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) warned that the committee would add a financial contingency clause to several of the bills that aren’t currently funded in budget proposals. Health and Human Resources Subcommittee Chair Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta) presented the subcommittee’s report on many bills.

Addressing Howell, he said, “We had the issue that you referred to as you began the meeting where on a number of them, there was not an allocation of funds coming from the House. So, we’re going to have, obviously, resource issues as we enter conference in terms of whether or not we can support all these good ideas that we’re going to advance today with the clause.”

Biden at SOTU: Putin ‘Badly Miscalculated’ His Invasion of Ukraine, Meeting a ‘Wall of Strength’

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden opened his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night saying that COVID-19 kept America’s political leaders apart last year but now we’re “together again.”

Head Start Teachers in Ohio, Virginia, and Louisiana Suing over Biden Administration’s COVID Vaccination Mandate

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 The Center Square

Head Start teachers in Louisiana, Ohio and Virginia are suing the Biden administration over a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the federally funded program.

Elizabeth Etherton, a preschool teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court over a threatened termination Monday for failing to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

Virginia State Senate Judiciary Committee Kills Local Gun Control Repeal

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Eric Burk

The Senate Judiciary Committee killed HB 827, a bill that would remove local authority to pass gun control ordinances. In its Monday meeting, the committee also killed several other Republican gun bills. Although a few bills are still working their way through the legislature, Monday’s committee meeting largely concludes the current General Assembly session in terms of gun policy, with few gains made by either firearms advocates or opponents.

“The session looks to be a wash for both sides, except for one bill on the serial numbers, and then a switchblade bill,” Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave told The Virginia Star. “That’s not totally unexpected, but you never know.”

Commentary: Seven Major Failures of the Biden Presidency

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

With President Joe Biden set to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, it’s a good time to ask: How has Biden done as president and what is the actual state of our union?

According to the American people, things aren’t going great.

A CNN poll in early February asked Americans what they thought of Biden’s presidency and what he’s done right since entering office Jan. 20, 2021.

Oversight Organization Battling National Institute of Health in Court over Chinese Involvement in COVID-19

March 2, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

A government watchdog Tuesday took the next step in its battle to expose Chinese connections to the National Institute of Health (NIH).

“Empower Oversight filed an amended complaint today against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation for documents related to a request by Chinese researchers to remove genetic sequences related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a database controlled by NIH,” that group said in a press release.

Wyoming State Senate Passes Amendment to Defund University’s Gender and Women’s Studies Program

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The Wyoming State Senate passed an amendment to the budget Friday that would eliminate funding for the University of Wyoming’s Gender and Women’s Studies program, with those who voted in favor of defunding arguing the program is lacking in academic rigor and offers students only “biased” education.

The amendment passed, in a 16-14 vote.

Connecticut Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal’s Radical Abortion Bill Rejected by U.S. Senate

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D) radical abortion legislation that would have overridden state pro-life laws was defeated in the U.S. Senate Monday evening.

The Senate voted, 46-48, to reject a bill Democrats called the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have embedded abortion on demand, at any time during pregnancy, into federal law, making invalid most individual state pro-life laws.

Biden Approval Rating Continues to Plummet Amid Growing Economic Crisis

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Joe Biden’s approval rating has fallen even further in another mainstream poll, returning once more to the 30s in approval.

The Hill reports that Biden scored a mere 37 percent approval in the latest ABC News and Washington Post poll, with 55 percent disapproving of his performance. The remaining seven percent had no opinion one way or the other. The same poll back in November recorded a 41 percent approval rating.

25 States Line Up Against Biden Attack on Natural Gas Industry

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Half of all U.S. states penned a letter to the Biden administration, arguing against its decision to reverse a Trump-era rule allowing energy firms to transport natural gas via rail.

The 25-state coalition said that proposed prohibition of natural gas rail transport would have “devastating effects” on the economy and national security, according to the letter led by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. The Monday letter was addressed to Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Acting Administrator Tristan Brown.

Texas Primary Results: Abbott to Face Off with O’Rourke; Paxton Projected to Proceed to Runoff

March 2, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is projected to win his party’s primary nomination on Tuesday, and is expected to face Democrat Beto O’Rourke this fall.

Biden, Allies Again Tap Emergency Crude Oil Stockpiles Amid Ukraine Crisis

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden will join other Western nations in releasing a total of 60 million barrels of crude oil amid the Ukraine crisis, the coalition announced Tuesday.

Overall, 31 member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA), including the U.S., agreed to coordinate the release, according to the Paris-based group. The decision was made in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent effects on global energy security.

Georgia Elections Chief Vows to ‘Follow the Money’ in Harvesting Probe, Prosecute if Warranted

March 2, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Georgia’s election chief is vowing a full-scale investigation into allegations Democrats may have illegally harvested ballots in the 2020 election, saying his team is preparing subpoenas to “follow the money” and bring prosecutions if warranted.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sought to dispel whispers in conservative circles that he is slow-walking the probe he announced in January, explaining to Just the News that the only delays are related to administrative changes on the State Elections Board. That panel possesses the power to issue subpoenas Raffensperger says his investigators need to solve the case.

Commentary: Revitalizing K-12 Education with 10,000 New Charter Schools

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 RealClearWire

The American K-12 education system has been failing too many students for too long. And the problem has only gotten worse amid pandemic-era school closures and remote learning.

Increasingly, parents are venting their frustration at local government bureaucracies and teachers’ unions that they believe have too often failed to put the interests of kids first — and some are voting with their feet.

Throughout Covid-19, traditional public school enrollment has dropped by 3.3% (1.45 million students) while charter school enrollment has increased by 7.1% year over year (237,000 students). Families are increasingly taking advantage of other non-traditional schooling options as well: according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of homeschooling nationwide increased by 5.6 percentage points between April and October 2020.

Virginia Governor Youngkin Aims His First Veto at Arlington County Civilian Review Board

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill for the first time, he announced Tuesday. Delegate Patrick Hope’s (D-Arlington) HB 670 would have authorized counties operating under a county manager plan to hire an independent policing auditor to oversee its civilian review board; the bill passed out of the Senate along party lines, and out of the House of Delegates with some bipartisan support. Arlington County is the only Virginia county operating under the county manager plan.

“The best way to ensure that any bad actors within law enforcement are held accountable is to stand up for law enforcement, not tear them down or subject them to politically motivated inquiries,” Youngkin said in the press release.