Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Republican Governors Association chairman
Offices:
1992 to 2006 State Delegate
2006 to 2009 Attorney general
2009 to present Governor
Republican-run states with 2012 gubernatorial races:
Indiana, North Dakota, Utah
McDonnell on Obama:
“(Obama) had two years with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President — didn’t address the deficit, or the debt, or a jobs program. Here were are, three years into the administration and starting to talk about jobs.”
| Sparring on health care |
| Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley have staked out opposing sides over President Obama’s health care overhaul. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide the issue during the 2012 campaign. |
| — Under McDonnell’s watch, Virginia passed a law banning health insurance mandates and sued the Obama administration to have the reforms struck down. He said the reforms would cost the state between $1.4 billion and $2.2 billion through 2022. |
| “I have specific concerns about key facets of the law and the unfunded mandates that if implemented as written, may put serious additional strain on the commonwealth’s economy and overwhelm our health care system.” |
| — O’Malley said Obama’s health care overhaul would “save our state nearly $830 million over the next 10 years and provide coverage to nearly 400,000 Marylanders.” |
| “The court should uphold the law, and achieving certainty will be of benefit to states’ implementation efforts. In the meantime, it is the law of the land, and we will continue our work to ensure that our state is on track to have an operational health benefit exchange by 2014 and prepared to bring the full benefits of health care reform to all Marylanders.” |
