Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The Virginia lawmaker introduced the measure on Earth Day, saying the fee would reduce littering and encourage use of reusable bags.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) on Monday introduced a measure that would impose a 5-cent fee on plastic and paper bags at grocery and retail stores in the commonwealth. The fees would go toward supporting the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Trash Reduction Act of 2013 is modeled after a policy implemented in 2009 in Washington, DC. Montgomery County, Md., also has a similar policy. The number of single-use plastic bags in DC dropped from the 2009 monthly average of 22.5 million to just 3 million per month by the end of 2010, according to a news release from the lawmaker's office. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Program provides matching grants to states and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The March 1 deadline for sequestration passed, and another deadline could come and go March 27.
Northern Virginia Congressmen Gerry Connolly (D-11th) called Congress "dysfunctional," as the midnight deadline on sequestration steadily approached. "It's a dysfunctional Congress," agreed Jim Moran (D-8th), who spoke with Patch at a ribbon-cutting Friday in Lorton. "I think it ill-serves the people of the United States today. It's very frustrating, very disappointing. It's an institution that is not serving its functions." Connolly didn't expect a last-minute compromise on $1.2 trillion in debt reduction, and he was right. The U.S. military will be forced to cut $46 billion and domestic defense spending will be cut by $85 billion this year alone, he said. "It is the consequence of a dysfunctional Congress," he said. "It's the …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
High Court ruled 5-4 today to uphold what some call 'Obamacare.'
Area leaders were quick to react today to the news that the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health reform law. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R): "Today's Supreme Court ruling is extremely disappointing for Virginia and for America. The PPACA will create a costly and cumbersome system that will impair our country's ability to recover from these challenging economic times, infringes on our citizen's liberties, will harm small businesses, and will impose dramatic unfunded mandates on Virginia and all states. Simply put, this is a blow to freedom. America needs market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less." (For the governor's full statement, visit his Web site.) On his Twitter feed, the governor wrote: "Simply …
Sunday, June 3, 2012
State party convention drew more than 2,000 to the city of Fairfax this weekend.
FAIRFAX — Perhaps U.S. Sen. Mark Warner put it best: "In 2008, we changed the guard. In 2012, we need to guard the change." More than 2,000 Democrats from across the commonwealth descended on George Mason University this weekend for the Democratic Party of Virginia's State Convention. The gathering served as part pep rally, part organizational meeting as activists mobilize for November. Party leaders had similar messages, previewing what they will try to hammer home while Virginia is in the national spotlight as a battleground state for the U.S. presidency. That message, they say, is that the right-wing takeover of the Republican Party has made this country, and this state, unrecognizable and infringes on the rights of gays, women and …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Moran’s business summit gives budding entrepreneurs tools to survive down economy
With larger businesses still trying to rebound from years of a slow economy, Congressman Jim Moran held a small business summit Tuesday in Falls Church to expose entrepreneurs to the global market. Moran said small business owners should expand outside the American economy and into the Asian market. With the U.S. recently signing a trade agreement with South Korea, Moran (D-8th District) said the opportunity to expand into markets overseas is now. "If the federal government cuts back spending, it will affect the small-business owners," Moran said after the summit. "I want them to be able to develop trade ties overseas." Several business support groups including the Virginia Small Development Center Network and the Asian American Chamber of…
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Political newcomer making bid in Virginia's 8th Congressional District.
Jason Howell has no previous government experience, but that hasn’t stopped him from aiming high in his political aspirations. Howell, who is running as an independent for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, the seat currently held by Democrat Jim Moran, said Congress is where the problem lies. “When there’s a fire in the kitchen, you don’t go to the bedroom to put it out,” Howell said. “That’s where the biggest challenge is. There are zero independents right now in the House of Representatives, and that’s part and parcel [to] that sort of gridlock that we have. ... In the mix, the issues that are really important, the ones that matter, kind of get lost, and the people that you’re supposed to be representing aren’t represented as much …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Democrat throws support behind challenger Bruce Shuttleworth.
Franconia Democrat Will Radle has ended his bid for a congressional seat and thrown his support behind former competitor Bruce Shuttleworth. Radle was running in the Democratic primary for the seat currently held by Democrat Rep. Jim Moran in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. In a telephone interview Wednesday, he said he was putting the needs of the community ahead of his personal ambitions. “I don’t want to divide the opposition to the incumbent,” Radle said. Radle commended Shuttleworth, a Democrat, on his “commitment to service, past and present.” He also said he admired his “approach to listening to people (and) his general interest in helping to create solutions to challenges.” Radle said in an email Wednesday announcing his …
Monday, March 19, 2012
Congressman visited Afghanistan-Pakistan region in February.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., called for the accelerated withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan on Monday from the House floor. "Ultimately, Afghanistan's future will be determined by Afghans, not Americans," Moran said. Moran traveled to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region Feb. 18 to 26 as part of the bipartisan House Democracy Partnership, according to a news release. "During the visit, the delegation worked with counterparts in the respective parliaments to deepen bilateral relations with a focus on strengthening democratic institutions in the Middle East region," the release states.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Congressman introduced legislation with Rep. Wolf to alleviate suffering in Sudan.
Congressman Jim Moran, who represents Northern Virginia's 8th District, was arrested Friday morning for crossing a police line along with actor George Clooney and several civil rights leaders at a protest on the steps of the Embassy of Sudan in D.C. "We are not here for any economic or partisan political agenda, but there is a moral imperative involved here," Moran said. "We who benefit every day from being born into lives of prosperity have some obligation to speak out for those who suffer every day for the accident of their birth." The group was taken to the District 2 Police Station and were expected to be released soon. "They probably have pretty good lawyers, so we shouldn't hold them for more than a couple hours," said a D.C. police …
David Salzberg
6:51 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
The real problem is the gerrymandered congressional districts that are no longer competitive. The districts are drawn in a manner to give one party the edge (53% of Americans voted for a democratic house, but the house remains republican). Worse than that, the gerrymandering results in extremism on both sides. The republicans and democrats have to worry about challenges from the extremes of the … more ›