DPVA Ask You To Take Action To Protect Every Virginians Right To Vote

Dear Friends – There’s something happening in Richmond that I think you should know about. Right now,Republican legislators are going out of their way to make it harder for Virginians across this Commonwealth to vote. Republicans are pushing legislation to prevent thousands of Virginians who do not have government-sponsored identification from casting a regular ballot on election day. They want to make people who register to vote wait five days before casting an absentee ballot. They are also trying to make it illegal to help more than two people with an absentee ballot application in the same election year.  Taken together this agenda has one clear purpose: to hinder and discourage participation in our democracy. They know that the only way they can win this year’s elections is to keep turnout low and they are trying to rig them before they even happen.   That’s why, this Tuesday, January 31 at 9:30AM, The Democratic Party of Virginia is joining forces with the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the progressive community for theProtect Our Vote Rally at the Bell Tower on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol in Richmond.  Click here for details about how you can be a part of this important event and help send Bob McDonnell and the Republicans a message that they work for you and any attempt to suppress your vote will not be tolerated. Whether or not you can attend the rally, please also take a minute to make your voice heard by signing this petition opposing these anti-voter bills. Bob McDonnell and the rest of the Virginia Republican Party should drop this campaign against voting rights and get to work on the problems Virginians elected them to solve, but they won’t unless we show up and demand it.    I hope to see you Tuesday. Thanks, Brian Moran Chairman

In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today people all around the world honor the life of service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy.  This day is a living memorial to his spirit and should inspire every American to action as we work to build our nation together and keep fighting for the promise of an America for everyone.

Obama Administration Agenda Includes Helping US Businesses Make It In America

DPVA’s 2012 JJ Dinner Scheduled For February 11th

The Democratic Party of VirginiaInvites You to Virginia’s Premier Political Event   2012 Jefferson Jackson Dinner Saturday, February 11, 2012 Greater Richmond Convention Center Richmond, Virginia  *Special Committee Table Rate: 10 for $1750 Make Checks Payable to: Democratic Party of Virginia 1710 E. Franklin Street Richmond, VA 23223   *Please email Allison Lawrence-Jones for information on this package and the 2012 JJ Dinner at allison@vademocrats.org.

Merry Christmas – Sretan Bozic – Feliz Navidad

Our President and First Lady Extend Holiday Greetings

Senator Webb Commemorates 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Congressman Jim Moran Updates Virginians On Mark Center Issues

By January 1st, the Mark Center is slated to house 5,000 Defense Department employees, a move that has been determined in multiple studies and reports will cause gridlock at I-395 and Seminary Road in Alexandria, negatively affecting the travel of some 200,000 daily commuters.

Last week, as reported by the Washington Post, the latest, most damning report was released. This time by the Department of Defense’s own Inspector General (IG). The IG report revealed serious, galling flaws in the Army’s Transportation Management Plan. It makes clear, once-and-for-all, that the decisions that went into planning for the Mark Center were grossly inadequate and the full relocation of employees needs to be slowed in order to construct the necessary transportation improvements.

The report revealed many deeply troubling findings including:

• The Army used incorrect information, conducting traffic counts on the roads during federal holidays when traffic is dramatically lower (35 percent less than normal);
• The Army ignored national standards and failed to properly study the entire roadway network surrounding the Mark Center;
• The Army focused only on 6 key intersections; a normal study following national standards would have looked at a 2 mile radius; the result would have been 63 intersections affected;
• No assessment of traffic safety was completed;
• No assessment of emergency response needs was completed;
• No assessment of the effect the construction of transportation mitigation measures would have on traffic;
• The Army failed to consult with local transportation professionals from VDOT, Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria.

We are not just at the eleventh hour, it’s 11:59. I have joined Senators Jim Webb, Mark Warner, and Representative Gerry Connolly to repeat our call for a cap to be placed on the number of parking spaces being used at the building until sufficient transportation infrastructure is put in place. The recommendations made by the IG must also be implemented expeditiously. I will keep you updated as any new developments arise in the coming days.

Sincerely,

James P. Moran

GOP Wants To Change Conversation About Occupy Wall Street and Economic Inequality

Tim Geithner Remarks About Changes In Our Financial System

Note:  The following are from the remarks Secretary Tim Geithner “The Macroprudential Toolkit: Measurement and Analysis” Conference … you can read the complete text here

We are working to put in place stronger protections for the broader financial markets, the derivatives markets, mortgage markets, repo and securities lending markets, to help protect the economy from the damage caused by financial shocks and to reduce the risk of contagion from weaker institutions to stronger ones.

We now have better tools to resolve large, complex financial institutions, so that when they make mistakes in the future, we can protect the broader economy from the damage they cause when they fail, without putting taxpayers’ money at risk.

We are making the largest financial institutions pay more for the costs of maintaining a more stable financial system.

We now have limits on the size and concentration of banks in our financial system so that businesses and individuals are less vulnerable to the mistakes they may make in the future. These limits are much tougher than exist in any other major economy.

We are changing the structure of compensation in the financial system, by giving shareholders more power, improving disclosure, and limiting the ability of firms to pay their senior executives in a way that insulates them from the losses that can come from taking too much risk.

We are improving the quality of disclosure around the risks banks face, and leading a global effort to improve the design of stress tests.

We are bringing the shadow financial system out of the dark, and extending the reach of constraints on leverage to firms that could threaten the stability of the financial system.

We are working to reduce the degree of moral hazard in the financial system, while strengthening its resilience against financial panics.

We are working to give the financial regulators the greater resources they need to enforce stronger protections for investors and consumers.

We are redesigning consumer protection in the United States, so that we provide better safeguards against predation and fraud and better disclosure so that consumers can make better decisions about how to borrow responsibly.

As a result of these reforms and those still ahead, our financial system is already in much stronger shape than before the crisis. We closed down the weakest parts, and forced the survivors to meet a tough market test of viability.