The Democrat-majority Virginia state Senate voted to up their salary significantly even as Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has claimed she is working to make her state more affordable.
State senators may see their salary nearly triple if a provision in their final budget makes it to the governor’s desk, Fox News reported on Friday:
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Updated salaries for the senators would be $50,000, the outlet said.
In a social media post on Friday, the Virginia GOP blasted Democrats for the move, telling voters, “Virginia Democrats are cashing in… with YOUR tax dollars! They promised affordability and instead voted to give themselves a 3x raise.”
Meanwhile, Spanberger and her fellow Democrats have been working to inject leftism into their policies.
On her first day in office, Spanberger signed several executive orders with progressive goals, per Breitbart News. The report noted, “She also endorsed multiple tax hikes on Virginians in the beginning of her tenure, including rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and creating a statewide paid family and medical leave program that increases childcare subsidies.”
During the Democrat Party’s official response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, Spanberger argued he and Republicans have made “life more expensive,” then claimed she was working to lower costs, according to Breitbart News.
Virginia Democrats have been working to gain more power through redistricting as the highly important midterms approach. They have also targeted the Second Amendment, and one Democrat introduced a bill to bar the state from verifying eligibility to receive federal taxpayer benefits, per Breitbart News.
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