Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Kaine weighs in on unemployment
Kaine weighs in on unemployment
By Tara Slate Donaldson
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
Gov. Tim Kaine (D) weighed in on the General Assembly's veto session Friday, calling the legislators' rejection of federal funds for unemployment a tremendous missed opportunity to help hard-hit Virginians.
Kaine had amended an unemployment bill to pull in $125 million in federal stimulus money for laid-off workers in Virginia. Those funds would have been used to expand unemployment benefits to part-time workers and to laid-off workers undergoing job training.
The state Senate approved that plan but House Republicans blocked the measure so Virginia will not get those federal unemployment funds. Republicans who rejected the money had said they did so in part because they didn't want to accept federal funds with strings attached.
The governor on Friday lambasted those legislators, saying they were less interested in doing their jobs than in getting involved in a petty squabble with Washington.
"I think it was a huge mistake, he said. I think it was a case of people trying to wage an ideological battle rather than focusing on the needs of their constituents.The only way for Virginia to get that stimulus money now, he said, is for the General Assembly to reverse course.
"I think that over time, the legislators will realize it was a mistake, he said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.