Delegate Phillip Scott: Weekly Newsletter, Edition LX

Friends, as you may have heard, California's 2035 ban on new gas-powered cars is set to apply to Virginia. How is this possible, you may ask? How could California regulate policy in Virginia? Well, we have Virginia Democrats to thank for this. Virginia is one of 14 states that have allowed California emissions policy to control their emissions policies. In 2021, under Democrat control of the House and Senate, the General Assembly passed a bill that Gov. Northam signed into law that linked Virginia vehicle emissions standards to California as part of efforts to combat climate change. To decouple Virginia from California, it would require an amendment to the existing law or a full repeal. House Republicans tried to repeal it in 2022 but Senate Democrats killed the bill in Senate Committee. You can be sure I will push for Virginia to be responsible for our own emissions policies.   I met with Rappahannock Electric Cooperative this past week. Our electrical grid is not ready for the demand that electric vehicles will place on the system. In order to get one circuit upgraded for the demand, it will cost almost $2 million. For all of the area that REC covers, it will take close to $1 billion. This does not include substations, transformers, or other needed infrastructure. And that's just one of the electrical companies that provide service to Virginians. The democrats have put the cart before the horse. They have tied us to California's standards without regard to what this will mean for Virginians. If electric companies have to upgrade their systems rapidly to meet this demand, who will pay? You and me! There will be large rate increases to cover the cost of a total system upgrade.

This pats week, President Biden acted outside of the Constitution when he announced his student loan forgiveness program. There have been snarky comments and remarks about mortgages and car loans identifying as student loans. While these can help ease the frustration, the government should not be bailing anyone out for their financial decisions, individual or corporate. Yes, this also means I am opposed to government bailouts for businesses and industries. But, many of those other bailouts were done through acts of congress, by elected representatives of the people. This one was done by the president. The president has no constitutional authority over the federal purse. This should be enough for an impeachment. Without the House and the Senate, nothing can be done. We must win the US House and the US Senate this year. This is why it is so important to support Yesli Vega in the 7th, and Hung Cao in the 10th. Yesli has a big fundraiser coming up in September. See the flyer at the bottom of the email for more information. If you cannot make it, please consider donating to her campaign. It takes three things to win with a great candidate. First, it takes prayer. I know many of you are praying for her and our nation. Second, it takes an army of volunteers and supporters. There was a huge turnout at the Spotsy HQ grand opening. Third, it takes money. Please consider donating $50 today.

School Choice

School Choice will be another top issue for me this upcoming year. While at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce's First Responders Appreciation Breakfast, I had the pleasure of listening to Lieutenant Gov. Sears give the keynote. In her speech, she quoted Marcus Aurelius. "Poverty is the mother of crime." Later Jean de La Bruyere added to this and said, "If poverty is the mother of all crimes, lack of intelligence is their father." Winsome boldly added yet again to the statement.  "If poverty is the mother of all crimes and a lack of intelligence is their father, then a child being denied a good education is darkness," Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears.  We must fight for our children to have access to a good education. This is where my school choice bill meets the needs of the children. Education is not about systems. It is about children. We must support parents so they can ensure their child or children have the education they need.