Sunday, February 3, 2013
What will it mean for the Northern Virginia economy?
Sequestration — $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts to defense and civilian programs over the next decade — will likely happen, and it will mean thousands of layoffs, program eliminations and near-certain economic devastation for Northern Virginia, said Virginia Congressmen Jim Moran (D-8th) and Gerry Connolly (D-11th) on Saturday at a town hall meeting in Mount Vernon. "You need to be aware that this is probably going to happen," said Moran, who spoke at an annual meeting conducted by Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland. "It's a democracy and things will ultimately play themselves out, but things are not going well right now (in Congress)." Congress averted the fiscal cliff crisis at the beginning of the year, and …
Friday, January 4, 2013
Virginia's 11th District congressman surrounded by family and friends at ceremony on first day of 113th Congress.
Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th) was sworn in for a third term on Thursday by Speaker of the House John Boehner. Connolly was re-elected Nov. 6, beating out Republican Chris Perkins. Connolly was surrounded Thursday by family and friends at his swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill. The oath of office officiated by the speaker is ceremonial, conducted after an official swearing-in of the entire Congress at noon on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The first day of the 113th Congress Thursday came on the heels of a tumultuous debate over the "fiscal cliff," voted on by the House on New Year's Day. Though he had reservations, Congressman Connolly was the only House member in Virginia to vote for the bill, siding with…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Virginia Democrat says he's "holding his nose," but wants to avoid fiscal cliff, sequestration and extend middle class tax cuts.
Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th) said Tuesday afternoon that while he is "holding his nose," he is urging his colleagues to vote for a fiscal cliff deal that the Senate passed in the early hours of the new year. “This is not a perfect package, but it is something that gets us by until we can tackle the larger issues in the next Congress,” Connolly said. “I pray God that the next Congress is more willing to compromise than this one.” It was not certain Tuesday when the House, controlled by Republicans, would take up the fiscal cliff legislation. The Virginia Democrat said the Senate-passed measure provides an opportunity to: “There is a lot of good in this package," Connolly said. "But there is also a lot that is not addressed …
Connolly says he planned to vote while "holding my nose."
The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday night passed HR 8, the Tax Relief Extension Act, a permanent extension of many Bush-era tax cuts by a vote of 257 to 167. The late-night vote was taken at 10:57 p.m. Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th), whose district includes part of Fairfax Station, voted for the measure but did so "holding my nose," he said Tuesday before the vote, in a news release. Congressman Frank Wolf (R-10th), whose district includes part of Fairfax Station and all of Clifton, voted "no." The legislation keeps the Bush era tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 and couples making less that $450,000. It also makes permanent the fixes for the Alternative Minimum Tax and delays government spending cuts for two …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Forty House members sign letter backing proposed program added to any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal.
A letter co-written by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th), and signed by 40 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urges Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to support an immediate $200 million gun buyback program in any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal. Connolly, whose district includes the national headquarters for the NRA, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, authored the letter to the House leaders. “Gun buybacks have proven successful in communities across the nation,” Connolly and Deutch said in a “Dear Colleague” message to House members. “Adding $200 million to the final compromise on the fiscal cliff could remove as many as one million guns from our streets.” Including the gun …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Jack Faulconer was a machine gunner under U.S. Army General George S. Patton.
On Nov. 28, 1944, U.S. Army Pvt. John "Jack" Faulconer was charging up a hill in the Saar Valley in Germany. In an instant, the 19-year-old machine gunner was hit in the arm by German machine gun fire. Faulconer was badly injured, and crawled to a German trench, where he hid for hours until the enemy pulled back. His two ammunition carriers were killed. The machine gunner's life would forever be altered by the experience, and, on Friday, he was finally awarded the Bronze Star for Heroism by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th District). "What an honor to get this. It's very nice," said Faulconer, 88, who was accompanied by his wife, Joyce. The war "was terrible. All those young men in the prime of life losing their lives." Connolly …
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Independent Green candidate for Virginia's 11th congressional District seat talks about why he's running, and how the U.S. government should work.
(Editor's note: One of the greatest powers Americans have is their right to vote. Patch respects that, and wants our readership to be as informed as possible before walking into that voting booth on Tuesday. With that in mind, this is the sixth and final in a series of in-depth interviews with candidates vying for Virginia’s 11th congressional District seat.) Disgust with Congress, ridding America of it's dependence on foreign oil and the importance of third-party candidacies were just a few of the topics discussed recently between Patch and Peter Marchetti, the Independent Green candidate for Virginia's 11th congressional District seat. Marchetti spoke with Patch from the Starbucks coffee shop at the Bradlick Shopping Center in Annandale…
Saturday, November 3, 2012
The Independent candidate for Virginia's 11th congressional District seat raps with Patch about taking money out of politics.
(Editor's note: One of the greatest powers Americans have is their right to vote. Patch respects that, and wants our readership to be as informed as possible before walking into that voting booth on Tuesday. With that in mind, this is the fourth in a series of in-depth interviews with candidates vying for Virginia’s 11th congressional District seat.) Taking money out of political campaigning, hoping to rid the U.S. political system of corruption and promising to run in a political election every year were all touched on in a recent in-depth interview with Chris DeCarlo, the Independent candidate for Virginia's 11th congressional District seat. DeCarlo spoke with Patch this week from Fairfax Propane, his business along Lee Highway in …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Economist discusses why he’s running as an Independent for Virginia’s 11th congressional District seat.
(Editor's note: One of the greatest powers Americans have is their right to vote. Patch respects that, and wants our readership to be as informed as possible before walking into that voting booth on Nov. 6. This is the third in a series of in-depth interviews with candidates vying for Virginia’s 11th congressional District seat.) Reforming the U.S. government and economy, the effectiveness of Congress and ending partisan gridlock were a few of the topics discussed this week in an interview with Mark Gibson, the Independent candidate for Virginia's 11th congressional District seat. Gibson candidly spoke with Patch from the Starbucks in Springfield Plaza in Springfield. Gibson has $258 cash on-hand for his campaign, compared to $1.5 million …
Friday, October 19, 2012
Former military man, Republican talks about why he's running in Virginia's 11th congressional District
(Editor's note: One of the greatest powers Americans have is their right to vote. Patch respects that, and wants our readership to be as informed as possible before walking into that voting booth on Nov. 6. This is the second in a series of in-depth interviews with candidates vying for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District seat.) Sequestration, the role of government and ending partisan gridlock in Congress were a few of the topics discussed this week between Patch and Chris Perkins, Republican candidate for Virginia’s 11th District seat. Perkins spoke with Patch from Panera Bread in Springfield. Perkins has $56,026 cash on-hand, versus the $1.5 million war chest of his rival, Democratic incumbent Rep. Gerry Connolly. He also faces …
Richie Rich
11:12 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
I was being sarcastic..... my point is for four years Republicans and Tea Party folks have been crying about spending and as soon as spending gets cut they are crying about job loses. There are two ways to balance the budget. Cut spending or raise revenue. Do one or the other or stop bitching! more ›