BY STEFANIE BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post
Dozens of protesters holding up signs criticizing President Donald Trump and Rep. Jen Kiggans lined the sidewalks of Wachapreague on Thursday, April 3, ahead of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce semiannual Eggs and Issues breakfast, a forum with local and state representatives at the Island House restaurant.
Kiggans had been invited to speak at the event, but she was unable to attend, as Congress was in session. Nolan Bursch, a representative of Kiggans’ office, was on hand to answer questions on her behalf after the event.
State Sen. Bill DeSteph and Del. Rob Bloxom offered their perspectives as members of the Virginia General Assembly on the potential effects of present and future cuts to federal spending.
While responding to a question about the possible elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bloxom noted that within the Virginia House of Delegates, he is the vice chair of the Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions.
The impacts of federal cutbacks are yet unknown and could be “as small as a bread box or as big as a dump truck,” Bloxom said.
Bypassing a federal agency like FEMA will not necessarily affect “direct revenue” to the state, he said.
Bloxom said Virginia’s budget states that if federal tax policy or withholding affect state revenues at a certain level, the chairmen of the state appropriations and finance committees will be called back to address the issue.
“There’s a lot of fear and anxiety, but there’s also a lot of conjecture and a lot of fear-mongering and a lot of things that just aren’t helpful to the discussion,” Bloxom said.
He noted that Virginia legislators provided an extra $200 million in funding to help Southwestern Virginia recover from flooding due to Hurricane Helene.
Bloxom also noted that in their proposed budget, Virginia legislators removed the support cap for K-12 public schools, which had been put in place in 2008 during the Great Recession.
Virginia currently has 15% of its budget in rainy day and reserve funds and is AAA bond-rated, “and we’ve got cash in the bank. So right now, our program should be solid and secure,” he said.
If revenues change, then adjustments will be made to Virginia’s budget, as mandated by the state constitution, he said.
DeSteph addressed a question about potential federal cuts to Medicaid and said Virginia legislators this year had provided nearly $1 billion more in funding for that program.
“We plan on absorbing any hit to Medicaid,” he said.
Bloxom noted that Medicaid is 22% of the state budget and is controlled by funding formulas that may or may not change along with any federal spending cuts.
“I can’t guarantee you that it’s not going to hurt. … But we are paying attention to it,” he said.
Bloxom also reviewed his state budget requests for the Eastern Shore:
n Funding for a new roof, windows, and air conditioning system at the former Hare Valley Elementary School in Exmore, which houses the community-based nonprofit Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging/Community Action Agency, which supports programs including Head Start and Meals on Wheels.
n Funding of approximately $8 million to $10 million to transport rockets from Maryland to Rocket Lab’s Wallops Island location. The plan is to dredge around and “rejuvenate” a former ferry dock and bring the rockets to the mainland by barge.
n Funding for detailed engineering and a cost analysis to build a natural gas pipeline in northern Accomack County, to be used by Virginia Space and Perdue Farms, which is currently trucking in propane.
