AFP-VA Reacts to Gov. Northam’s Proposed Budget

Mar 21, 2018 by AFP

Gov. Northam doubles down on holding budget hostage over Obamacare Medicaid expansion

RICHMOND, Va. – Americans for Prosperity-Virginia (AFP-VA) issued the following statement in response to Governor Northam’s hyper-partisan special session budget proposal that includes a Medicaid expansion plan that has already been rejected by the Senate. The legislature adjourned regular session after failing to pass a budget because the two chambers were gridlocked over the controversial inclusion of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, putting Virginia on course for a government shutdown.

“This is what we warned Virginians about last year. Governor Northam is playing a dangerous game of chicken with the legislature by insisting on a Medicaid expansion that has already been rejected by the Senate and will likely fare no better this time,” said AFP-VA State Director JC Hernandez. “With this budget, Northam has caved to the most out-of-touch proponents of Obamacare who will do anything to pass it – even shut down Virginia’s government.”

Hernandez concluded, “It is a dark day for our teachers, firefighters, policemen, counties, and the eight million Virginians who rely on them as a few lawmakers and their extreme political ideologies hold our budget hostage. Lawmakers need to end this childish gridlock now and demand a clean budget for the special session in April.”

Background:

AFP-VA and its base of more than 100,000 grassroots activists has been at the forefront of the fight against Medicaid expansion.

Since before the start of the 2018 session, the group has orchestrated a sweeping, multilayered effort to mobilize its activists to engage with lawmakers and coalition partners statewide to urge the General Assembly to reject the Obamacare Medicaid expansion.

AFP-VA has hosted, and plans to host in the coming weeks town halls and tele-town halls with state lawmakers and other conservative thought leaders to drive the message that Medicaid expansion, including the version the state House lawmakers currently support as part of the state budget, is not conservative.

The effort has also included a robust phone banking and radio and digital advertisement campaign that has enabled activists to make thousands of phone calls and send more than 10,000 letters to urge lawmakers to oppose Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.

The group has already scheduled multiple phonebanks and rallies throughout the state in the coming weeks and will continue to plan more until Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is pulled from the budget.

For further information or an interview, reach Lorenz Isidro at LIsidro@afphq.org or (703) 887-7724.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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