Virginia Democrats vowed to block passage of a state budget for the third time when the General Assembly returns to Richmond on Tuesday, even though they willingly admit the latest two-year, $85 billion spending proposal would achieve many of their funding goals.
Senate Democrats have for the past week been organizing opposition to the budget because it doesn’t include extra money for the Metrorail line to Washington Dulles International Airport.
Behind the scenes, Democrats have been lobbying Sen. Chuck Colgan, D-Manassas, who struck a deal on a comprise budget with Republicans during Senate negotiations. The longtime lawmaker has had multiple conference calls and private conversations with fellow Democrats, whose goal is to have all 20 Democratic senators vote against the budget, effectively killing it in an evenly divided chamber.
Colgan has not said how he will vote, but his reluctance to reject the compromise budget is fueled by the belief that it already accomplishes much of what Democrats sought.
Democratic opposition to previous budget proposals forced the Senate to adjourn last month without a budget and required senior lawmakers to work out a compromise in the weeks that followed. In the process, Democrats secured $214 million more for education, including $40 million for Northern Virginia school districts to competitively recruit staff, an extra $45 million for social programs and additional aid for local governments.
Democrats are mindful of what they gained in negotiations but still refuse to support the compromise budget. If Colgan sides with Republicans, however, it won’t matter — they’ll have the 21 votes needed to pass it.
“As a Senate negotiator, I am proud of the many improvements we made over the introduced budget,” Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, told constituents in an email. “So why am I voting against the budget I worked so hard to improve? Because no funding is included for Phase 2 of Rail to Dulles.”
The state pledged $150 million for the rail line, but Democrats want to add as much as $300 million more. Gov. Bob McDonnell objects to the additional funding and threatened to withhold the original $150 million unless the project’s organizers drop plans to encourage the use of union labor.
Republicans from outside Northern Virginia, who don’t support the rail line funding, insist the compromise on the table is the best Democrats will get.
“If you’re a Democratic senator from Richmond, from Tidewater, from southwest Virginia, I don’t see how you vote against it,” House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Fredericksburg, said. “It’s something both sides can live with except for this one issue.”
