Close the Coverage Gap Clips
June 24, 2014
NEWS Virginia lawmakers finalize budget, averting a shutdown as GOP thwarts McAuliffe veto The Virginia General Assembly completed work late Monday on a two-year, $96 billion state budget, averting a government shutdown and at least temporarily thwarting Gov. Terry McAuliffe's key priority of expanding health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. (Laura Vozzella and Jenna Portnoy, The Washington Post) House again blocks McAuliffe on Medicaid Gov. Terry McAuliffe faces another roadblock erected by the House of Delegates in his quest to use federal funds to expand health coverage for uninsured Virginians. The question is: Will the governor run through it? (Michael Martz, Richmond Times-Dispatch) Va. House tosses out McAuliffe's Medicaid veto The GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates tossed out a pair of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's line-item budget vetoes Monday while a new Republican majority took control of the state Senate. House Speaker William J. Howell ruled during a legislative veto session that two of McAuliffe's attempted vetoes were outside the scope of the governor's authority. Howell's ruling effectively dismissed the governor's vetoes without the General Assembly voting to override them. (Alan Suderman, Associated Press) Court likely to decide McAuliffe's Medicaid authority The question of whether Gov. Terry McAuliffe has the authority to expand Medicaid on his own is likely to end up in court, leaders of both political parties said Monday after a McAuliffe veto on the issue was ruled out of order in the House of Delegates. (Bill Sizemore, The Virginian-Pilot) OPINIONS Our view: McAuliffe and Medicaid: Beware the precedent The last royal governor of Virginia was the high-handed Lord Dunmore, one of whose chief political sins was his persistent refusal to consult with the elected House of Burgesses. This history lesson could be useful in contemplating the upcoming Independence Day holiday - or Gov. Terry McAuliffe's announcement last week that he intends to bypass a recalcitrant General Assembly and figure out a way to expand Medicaid through executive action alone. (The Roanoke Times) Stay within the law Gov. Terry McAuliffe looks frustrated and sounds angry. He promised to expand Medicaid but found Republicans, particularly in the Virginia House, stridently opposed. He won election to strike deals but found good-faith negotiations hard to come by in Richmond. Losing a slim Democratic advantage in the Senate was the last straw. (Daily Press)
Kommentit