1.Inflation Indexing of TANF Benefits is a Fairness Issue: Currently, a family of three in Virginia receives a fifth of the federal poverty level and has seen only one TANF increase since 1985. At $269 a month average for a family Virginia ranks 35th in TANF payments. Indexing would prevent further erosion of recipients’ ability to meet basic needs of children in their own home or in relative care and can be funded from the federal TANF block grant. Shouldn’t Virginia take steps to alleviate poverty and to protect families. Strong families are as important to Virginia’s future as schools and roads. What steps would you support to ensure a meaningful level of time-limited assistance to Virginia’s needy families? Please explain.

ANSWER: I will support indexing to help alleviate poverty for Virginia families. I will work to make use of all federalresources, especially the TANF block grant. I will work to provide adequate funds for the needed personnel in our state agencies to manage this program.

2. Tax & Budget: All Should Pay Their Fair Share. We know from local research across Virginia that the recent State budget cuts have cut into real, quality of life spending by local governments: libraries are closed, police have lost staff positions, teachers have lost their jobs, and class sizes increase for public school students. At the same time, too many (two-thirds) large corporations operating in our State get by with paying very little in corporate income tax due to tax breaks, subsidies, and clever work by their tax lawyers. How will you make sure that individuals and corporations at the upper end of our income scale pay their fair share so that we can avoid painful service cuts in the future?

ANSWER: I will work to close outdated subsidies and tax breaks for corporations and high income individuals. A minimum tax should be in place for high income people and businesses to guarantee income for Virginia. Additional funds can come from collecting sales tax from internet sales -- retail, travel, etc. The Commonwealth Institute has listed some of these as potential for increasing income.
 
3. Bring about effective change in the criminal justice system: Those who remain in contact with loved ones on the outside are less likely, studies show, to return to a life of crime after serving their time. So why does Virginia make it so hard for inmates to phone their families? SALT believes that charges should be “just and reasonable”. A small reform, perhaps, but lower rates might help prisoners go straight. What will you do to reform the justice system so communities are safer, victims are respected, and offenders are transformed?

ANSWER: I will work to help victims of crime get justice and where possible get due compensation as well as other services from the state and local communities. Court fines and fees can help pay for additional personnel.

4. Support of Operation Backpack for TANF Families-- This allowance would permit children living in poverty to acquire the needed school supplies and clothing essential for returning to school & equipping children to learn. Would you support to give children in deepest poverty an even start?

ANSWER: I will support giving children in deepest poverty an even start -- new back packs and clothing will help. We can enlist many non-profit organizations and faith communities to contribute, as they do in Fairfax County.

5. Rescind the Federal Lifetime TANF Ban for Ex-Drug Offenders: Lifting the ban eliminates for ex-offenders (whose offense was solely drug possession) the disqualification from receipt of TANF federal transitional assistance needed to care for family members, increases the chances of gainful employment of ex-offenders. To us lifting the ban is a matter of fairness, as it serves to provide basic Re-entry program services that reduce recidivism and save states money. This ban penalizes children of drug felons. Do we want to be a society that requires children to pay for the misdeed(s) of their parents? Do you support extending the eligibility of ex-offenders for food stamps to TANF benefits as well? Please explain

ANSWER: I will support extending eligibility of ex-offenders for food stamps to TANF benefits as well. It is only fair, not only to help the care of family members, but so the ex-offenders are better able to gain employment and make a good adjustment to society.

6. Refundable Virginia State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The EITC higher income is pro-work, pro-business because it results in greater productivity and job satisfaction and less worker turnover. It is pro-family as well. SALT supports a Virginia Refundable EITC to enable hard working families to escape poverty. Approximately 570,000 Virginians live below the poverty level. No one working 40 hours a week should be poor. Do you support a refundable State earned income tax credit (EITC) based on 20% of the federal EITC for Virginia low income workers and their families? Yes/No. Please explain

ANSWER: Yes -- I support such a refundable State earned income tax credit for Virginia low income workers and their families. I will determine what legislation is needed and introduce it, or sign on if someone else is doing it.

7. Transportation: The problem SALT sees with the taxes being put in place for funding our transportation needs is that they are regressive, causing low-income Virginians to pay a greater share of their income towards funding transportation. We find it bizarre to burden those with minimum resources for the purpose of making investments in Virginia’s roads. To mitigate the harm, there needs to be steps taken to assuage the pain. SALT recommends a refundable earned income credit or a targeted rebate program. Do you agree with and would you support that approach?

ANSWER: I agree with and would support such an approach. I will seek a way for those who qualify for food stamps to be exempt from paying sales tax on food, clothing, and medicine. I will work to find other ways to gain the funds needed for Virginia to care for its citizens and families.

8. Housing Trust Fund: Virginia has been identified as the 9th least affordable state in the nation according to the "2013 Out of Reach" report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. This standing is based on actual wages and rents in the Commonwealth. Last year, the General Assembly codified a state housing trust fund, joining 45 other states with similar funds, providing one time funding of $8M from the National Mortgage Settlement funds. Given the housing cost burdens faced by a substantial number of households throughout the state, would you support an ongoing source of revenue for the state housing trust fund? This fund would be used to address the significant shortage of safe, decent affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for thousands of low and moderate income families throughout the Commonwealth."

ANSWER: I support an ongoing source of revenue for the state housing trust fund. I will explore the collecting of internet sales tax, an increasing sliding scale of a tax rate on purchases of expensive, and increasing the sales tax rate on new cars -- the latter adjusted for the expected miles-per-gallon.

9. Medicaid Expansion Health Insurance: Expansion for 400,000 low income, uninsured Virginians with federal funding to pay for 100% of the cost for the first 3 years. Expanding Medicaid for a healthy Virginia is the right choice. Do you agree? Explain.

ANSWER: Expansion is the correct moral choice. It would pay for itself and people will be healthier and lower the death rate. (People without resources go the Emergency Room, but often too late.)

YOUR ISSUES: What are some issues you feel strongly about that you would like to share with your SALT constituents?

1. Women in Virginia need to be supported for their health needs and choices -- whether health screenings, or the choice of family planning options and birth control, and also have access to legal and safe abortions without intimidation or stigmatizing.

2. Public transportation needs to be enhanced -- more buses and metro cars, more routes, and kept affordable for those without their own means of transportation and of limited income.

3. Schools need to be supported with adequate pay for educators and support staff. State mandates what have costs for the local jurisdictions need extra funding.

4. Public service employees -- especially fire and police and their families -- need more support from the state. For those who risk their lives daily for others' safety and health, we need to be caring.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!