Virginia Senate Republican Caucus

Today, the Health Care Freedom Act passed by an 8-7 vote in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee.  The Act was contained in three identical bills: SB 311 (Martin), SB 283 (Quayle), and SB 417 (Vogel).

See the release below issued by RPV:

Three identical bills put forward by Sens. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Upperville, Sen. Stephen Martin, R-Chesterfield , and Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Suffolk were all voted out of the Democrat-controlled Committee on Commerce and Labor with a bi-partisan majority.

The bills, which you can see at this link to Senate Bill 417, hold that no resident of the Commonwealth will be required to purchase health insurance. A personal mandate is a major part of the Democratic plans being negotiated on Capitol Hill right now.

The bills passed on 8-7 votes, with Democratic Sens. Phil Puckett, D-Russell County, and Chuck Colgan, D-Prince William County, voting with the Republicans. Just last week, Democrats increased their majority on that panel to two seats, making it all the more unlikely that any Republican legislation would be voted out to the Senate floor.

Krystal Slivinski over at the Tertium Quids blog has a pretty good blow-by-blow account of what happened.

All three patrons said they were pleased with the remarkable display of bipartisanship.

“This is an important piece of legislation because it demonstrates that Virginia remains committed to individual rights and freedoms,” said Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Suffolk.  “There are limits to what government can force on citizens and requiring them to maintain health insurance crosses that line.  With the bipartisan show of support the bill received today, I am confident that it will succeed going forward.”

"[Republicans and Democrats on the committee] were willing to pass a bill that is responding to the overwhelming tide of people who are filling our offices to talk about not state legislation, but federal legislation," said Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Upperville. "Anyone will concede that health care has issues. Health care is broken. This really comes down to Federalism, and honoring that there are some issues best left to the states."

“Across party lines, the Senate showed today that Virginians will not stand for any federal mandate to purchase health insurance,” said Sen. Steve Martin, R-Chesterfield.  “Voters are sending messages in elections across the country that they do not want these government mandates.  I am pleased to see that Virginia legislators are heeding the message, as today’s vote clearly demonstrates.”

Bottom line:

If an effort to stop the Democratic effort to take over health care can pass out of Majority Leader Dick Saslaw's committee — with enough crossover votes for passage in the full Senate —just how unpopular is this thing with the people back home?

General Assembly issues!

Defeated Bill a Commonsense Approach to
Ensuring the Continued Integrity of Elections

RICHMOND—Today, Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) questioned the partisan effort of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to act to ensure the continued integrity of the electoral process in Virginia. “Voter identification requirements are a commonsense way to ensure that elections are free and fair,” said Obenshain, whose Senate Bill 134 was passed by indefinitely in committee on a 6-5 party line vote. “Fraudulent or erroneously counted ballots reduce the impact of legitimately-cast votes and are unfair to everyone involved.”

“Opponents of this measure like to counter voter identification requirements by pointing out how few people are prosecuted for voter fraud, but this misses the point,” said Obenshain. “Firstly, because we currently allow people to vote without showing any form of identification, we have no way to even detect voter fraud. Secondly, how many fraudulently cast ballots must there be for us to take simple steps to ensure the integrity of our elections?”

“Some like to insist that there isn't a problem,” said Obenshain, “but that's naïve. A John Hopkins University Study identified 1,500 deceased Marylanders who had ‘voted' in recent elections, and one county in New Mexico found seventy-five registrants at a single address. Right here in Virginia, campaign headquarters, vacant lots, and non-existent addresses have all been listed on many registration forms.”

Obenshain's voter identification bill would require voters to show some form of identification at the polls, and expands the list of identifying documents to include utility bills, bank statements, paychecks, and government checks. Currently, individuals who fail to bring identification may vote by signing a statement in lieu of showing identification.

“Right now, even if the registrar somehow discovered that a voter wasn't who he claimed on Election Day, there's nothing they could do; there would be no way to find and remove a ballot even if it was later determined to be fraudulently cast,” said Obenshain. “Had my bill passed, those who arrived at their polling place without any form of identification could cast a provisional ballot, which would be counted if they were able to demonstrate their identification before the certification of election results.”

The Supreme Court has upheld similar laws in other states, and by adding alternative forms of identification, Obenshain's bill ensures that no eligible voter is disenfranchised by the inability to produce the forms of identification required under current law. In 2005, the bipartisan Carter-Baker Panel, headed by former president Jimmy Carter and former secretary of State James Baker, recommended identification requirements stricter than the ones contained in this legislation.

“This is not about making it harder to vote or keeping anyone from voting,” Obenshain added. “It's about making sure that every legitimate vote counts, and that those votes are not diluted by voter fraud.”

“I was disappointed by the partisan nature of the opposition to this initiative, but not surprised,” said Obenshain. “Whether they wish to admit it or not, though, voter fraud is an issue, and simple, commonsense safeguards like these will go a long way to ensure that our elections remain above reproach.”

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate. The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).