Youngkin's State of the Commonwealth and Democratic Leader's Response
Youngkin gave his second State of the Commonwealth Wednesday.
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Youngkin’s State of the Commonwealth
In case you missed it Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin gave his second State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday. Below is the full text provided by Youngkin’s office:
Mr. Speaker, Lt. Governor Earle-Sears, Attorney General Miyares, Chief Justice Goodwyn, President Lucas, members of the General Assembly, members of the Cabinet and my fellow Virginians, I’m honored to be with you again in the storied halls of Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol.
The first version of Virginia’s constitution was written in 1776, in the first Spring of the American Revolution. The second version of our state’s chartering document, and every one since, requires – with great wisdom, I believe – the Governor to communicate to the General Assembly the condition of the Commonwealth.
Now the challenges we face today are different from those our founders faced in 1776, but Virginia's spirit of grit, determination, innovation, faith, and hope remain the same. Today it is my honor to be with all of you, to laud the progress we've made, but also to call upon us all to focus on the work to be done.
Fortunately, I’m not alone in this task or on this journey. I’m joined this afternoon by two of my sons, Grant and John, and every day by the love of my life, who stands by me as a devoted partner in marriage, in parenting, and in service to this great Commonwealth; our First Lady, Suzanne Youngkin.
Suzanne, - I love you and thank you.
I know that many in this room understand what the love and devotion of a spouse means during a season of service.
That is especially true for one of our body’s newest members, Delegate Ellen Campbell, who carries the torch of service for her late husband, our friend Ronnie Campbell. Ellen, please know we’re praying for you and we welcome you in your service to the Commonwealth.
We also have other new members of this esteemed body here this afternoon. We welcome Delegate Holly Seibold and Senator Aaron Rouse.
Thank you both for your willingness to serve the Commonwealth.
Now, consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and my great honor and privilege of serving all Virginians.
I’m here this afternoon to communicate that the State of our Commonwealth is substantially better than it was a year ago and yet we are still a great distance from our destination, a destination where Virginia truly is the best place to live, work and raise a family.
I’m here this afternoon to urge us to accelerate our efforts – to get more done and get it done faster - and make Virginia even stronger. So we can compete to win economically, attract the best jobs, and unlock the dreams and rich talents of all our people.
I’m here today to remind us all that the people sent me here, and you here too, to deliver on a vision to lower costs, empower parents and restore excellence in schools, jumpstart the economy, make our communities safe again, make government work for the people, and to clear a path to opportunity and prosperity.
I’m here this afternoon to celebrate the unbreakable foundation of the Spirit of Virginia. A spirit that is alive and well, a fire burning deep inside the resourceful and kind-hearted Virginians who make our Commonwealth a better place.
And I’m here this afternoon to challenge us to build the people’s confidence in their leaders, to demonstrate to our children the best of representative government, not just by what we accomplish, but even more so by how we conduct ourselves, and to bring us closer together as brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors.
A year ago, I stood here as a newcomer, energized by the perspective of having spent a year listening every day to Virginians and then able to echo their clarion call for change.
Virginians spoke loudly that they were ready for a new day – a new path forward.
Virginians were tired of the cold halls of government being disconnected from the cold realities that they were facing every day.
They were tired of rising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump.
They were tired of politics as usual.
They wanted their elected leaders to deliver results, not a divided impasse.
They wanted Virginia to soar, not stall.
Today, I still carry with me the stories, concerns and ideas from the millions of Virginians that we all serve – and once again, I’m here to carry not my message, but theirs.
In the year we’ve worked together, we have made substantial progress. We’re on the right path. And Virginians know it; they see the transformation underway, and they want more progress, faster.
We provided historic tax relief on a bipartisan basis, including eliminating the state’s grocery tax.
I was so pleased to see my democratic friends join us recently in celebrating the end of this regressive tax, something Virginians came together around during our election.
That’s definitely a clear sign that there is bipartisan momentum for more tax relief this session.
I look forward to giving those on both sides of the aisle more opportunities to celebrate tax breaks in the coming weeks.
We raised teacher pay and made record investments in K-12 education. We empowered parents, because they matter, giving them the choice on whether their child wears a mask to school again, on a bipartisan basis.
We finally started being honest about the state of education in the Commonwealth, that Virginia’s children were falling further and further behind, and we took necessary steps to get our children back on track.
We embraced through the Virginia Literacy Act – again on a bipartisan basis – the science of reading.
We are launching lab schools and re-establishing Virginia’s standards from last to first.
We froze tuition at every public college and university.
We backed the blue with historic investments in salaries, training and equipment.
We reopened the Commonwealth for business recruiting iconic companies like Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, welcoming Lego’s first ever American manufacturing facility and we watched companies like Plenty, RocketLabs, and DroneUp launch nextgen ag tech, rockets, and drones right here in Virginia.
We changed the way our government works the Virginia Employment Commission worked through 900,000 backlogged claims, and the DMV made life simpler, not harder and we saved OVER $1.2 billion dollars in taxpayer money.
Through sheer force of will, we gave the children of our foster care system warm beds to sleep in, instead of cold office floors.
We started the work of modernizing our outdated regulatory process.
Most importantly – we stood together in times of trial and tribulation – devastating floods in Southwest Virginia and terrible acts of violence in Bridgewater, Charlottesville, Chesapeake and most recently in Newport News.
In each case, we’ve seen the love, the compassion, the fortitude, and the courage of our fellow Virginians on display.
And we began working with cities that were falling further and further behind.
We launched a comprehensive Partnership for Petersburg with state and local government, businesses, non-profit organizations, and faith leaders bringing more than 75 stakeholders together, and we are implementing over 40 initiatives to address – head-on – the challenges in this community by keeping our neighborhoods safe, fostering business and economic growth, improving access to healthcare, preparing Petersburg Students for Life, keeping People Moving with enhanced transportation and bringing together Community and Faith Leaders
Our “Partnership for Petersburg” is demonstrating what we can accomplish with comprehensive commitment and cooperation.
The goal is to transform Petersburg’s future because Petersburg Matters.
This partnership is the catalyst for this city’s renewal, and a template for other struggling cities.
Two of the central partners in that effort have been Mayor Sam Parham and Police Chief Travis Christian, who are here today as not only my guests, but also as a guest of Delegate Kim Taylor and Senator Joe Morrissey.
The Mayor and the Chief embody the Spirit of Virginia. They represent the millions of Virginians who desperately want their leaders to set aside politics and focus on delivering results.
Mayor Parham and Chief Christian - please stand and let us recognize you for your commitment and leadership.
Yes, Virginia, we are on the right path. But, this is no time to set the cruise control, because we have a long way to go and a short time to get there. It’s time to press the accelerator.
For the Commonwealth, accelerating means getting more done and doing it faster, and Virginians don’t have time for political posturing or foot dragging.
They want results now. Not next year, but now.
Throughout my career in business and now as your governor, I’ve maintained a simple rule that I will apply here, today. Don’t sidestep problems, clearly understand them and identify solutions.
As I’ve traveled the commonwealth and listened closely to the stories of Virginians, we truly are on a path to a better future – but we’re nowhere near done.
Virginia’s strengths are clear, an unrivaled location, extraordinary workforce, top ranked higher education, a leading port, and our right to work status…to name a few but there are some concerning signs.
Today, we need to be clear about the challenges we face.
At the heart of our economic challenge is growth.
A growing economy, growing jobs, growing population and a growing workforce drive revenue, drive opportunity and drive our quality of life.
And with the silent thief of inflation – let loose by President Biden – inflation that’s stealing Virginian’s hard earned money growth is more important than ever.
This endeavor is different because our success is not gained in isolation - we face relentless competition from surrounding states.
We have to compete to win.
Despite the progress we have made over the past year, our path forward is directed by an undeniable set of disturbing facts.
Since the start of the pandemic, Virginia has been in the bottom ten for net OUT migration in the country.
The states we compete against for jobs and investment are on the opposite end of that spectrum. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Texas are all in the top ten for net IN migration.
These states have grown by more than 1.7 million people while Virginia has lost over 32,000.
Make no mistake, this trend started before the pandemic. Virginia has seen out migration for nine straight years.
2013 was when the states we compete with for people, talent, and jobs started lowering tax rates for businesses or for families, or both and started moving aggressively to make their business climates more competitive.
Virginia fell behind.
When I took office, Virginia was 47th in the nation for job recovery from the pandemic. Since then, more than 85,000 more Virginians are working – placing Virginia now in the top 20 of states for job growth since the turn of the year.
But we still have 125,000 fewer Virginians working than before the pandemic.
Democrats respond to Youngkin’s State of the Commonwealth
Below are the full remarks of House Democratic Leader Don Scott and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke in response to Youngkin’s State of the Commonwealth:
Leader Don Scott’s Remarks:
I’m Don Scott, the Democratic Leader of the House of Delegates.
Allow me to get right to the chase on what we Democrats are for: solving problems for Virginia families.
Lowering costs for hardworking Virginians. Delivering a world class education to kids.
Protecting freedoms of all Virginians. Making every community safer.
And as House Democrats - we’re ready to get things done on all these fronts for Virginia families.
And it’s in our plan. The Vision for Virginia. A vision that meets the real problems Virginia faces with real solutions.
It’s what the people of Virginia deserve, and it’s what they’re gonna get from us.
We’re ready to work with anyone to get our Commonwealth back on track. I earnestly hope the Republican Party joins us.
Now let’s get to the speech we just heard.
We heard from a Governor focused on running for president and appeasing the MAGA movement – not looking out for families.
A Governor who wants to give handouts in tax breaks to the wealthiest…
House Democrats want to cut taxes for working families and small businesses.
A Governor wants to take freedoms away from Virginia…
House Democrats will always protect women’s right to choose.
A Governor who’s reckless on climate change and wants to take us backward…
House Democrats believe in science and acting to mitigate climate change.
A Governor who refuses to use all the necessary tools to improve public safety…
House Democrats believe in strengthening gun laws and funding law enforcement to make our communities safer.
Look, Governor Youngkin seems to get his inspiration from the MAGA movement.
The House Democratic caucus takes our inspiration from the people – our friends, families, neighbors, constituents – who know how to come together to solve problems.
Now, we Democrats are prepared to come together the way all Virginians do… by rising above the partisan noise and MAGA culture wars to focus on what really matters.
We’re going to spend this session looking to deliver on real issues: common sense gun reforms, a world class education, and building an economy that works more for hardworking Virginians.
It’s what the people deserve, and it’s what they’ll get from Democrats this session.
Chair Mamie Locke’s Remarks:
Good evening Virginia.
My name is Senator Mamie Locke and I am the Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Tonight we heard Governor Youngkin tout his plan to help the wealthy and massive corporations, but nothing to help hardworking Virginians and their families.
We see it differently.
Democrats have a vision for Virginia, a Vision for an economy that works for everyone, not just a select few.
We have a Vision that our freedoms, from reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, to voting rights remain protected.
We have a vision of delivering a world class education for every child, no matter their zip code.
And we have a vision for keeping our communities safe and healthy, so Virginia can be the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
And in 2023 Democrats will not stop fighting for our VISION.
This session we are getting to work on day 1 ready to work for YOU.
Democrats are going to make a more affordable Virginia by passing bills that address skyrocketing prescription drug costs, the affordable housing crisis, and energy costs.
We are going to fight to ensure we fully fund our public schools and stop efforts to funnel money away, address the crumbling infrastructure of our public schools, and invest in our children's’ future.
We will stop efforts to politicize our schools, attack our students, teachers, even our own history and get back to our schools being schools.
And lastly we’re going to fight for a safe and healthy Virginia by addressing the recent tragedies of mass shootings, stopping republican efforts to roll back critical environmental protections, and rise to the challenge of the mental health care crisis with long term solutions and investments.
Our vision is inclusive to all, not just a select few.
Democrats will not stop fighting for you, your families, and Virginia.
Thank you.