O'Quinn - Reminding Richmond that SWVA's Economy is Vital to Virginia's Economy

The delegate from Washington, delegate O'Quinn. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Speaking to the bill, delegate O'Quinn, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So yesterday I listened very carefully to the debate that was had on the floor, because it was a little different from the debate that we had in the committee. I heard a lot of goals, a lot of aspirations, heard promises of jobs and also heard some admonishment to just go ahead and get rid of certain jobs that we have in South West Virginia. But what I came away from that debate with and what I sincerely feel is that there's somewhat of just a general disregard for what's going on in our part of the state. We have been absolutely hammered since the Great Recession and we've really never pulled out of that. We have schools that are in bad need of repair, we have hundreds if not thousands of miles of unpaved state roads, and we have areas with exactly zero broadband capabilities. And we've tried to bring sensible legislation to address all of those things. But while I'm saying that, let me stop and be clear: with the promise of the green energy jobs that are purportedly coming, we will take those if and when they materialize. We're a little skeptical about that, as these are promises that have been made for a long time and have never ever come to fruition. And if and when they do come to fruition, there is no guarantee whatsoever that the areas that have been pillaged the hardest will actually get any of these jobs. I've sat through discussions time and again, and I've heard, 'You people in Southwest Virginia need to just diversify your economy and move on with it.' If only it were that simple. You know, you try looking someone in the eye with a straight face and saying you need to give up your $90,000 blue collar job for a $15 an hour job that you don't want to do. It's a little more difficult than you might think. And that's a real-world scenario that many of us deal with on a regular basis. Oddly enough, in that vein, Southwest Virginia this seems to work the hardest. That economic diversification, our delegation, our entire region, our local governments, our economic developers have taken this on head-on to try to make things better for the people that we represent. Just take a look at the legislation that we bring every single year, because we all come from an area that's closer to seven or eight other state capitals than we are to our own. And you might figure out that people feel a little disconnected from what's going on in Richmond at times. But we come with that spirit of cooperation and problem-solving because we want to find real solutions to these tough issues. And I would contend that squashing Southwest Virginia has ramifications that we haven't even taken into account yet. We are in the process of spending $350 million, and it may actually be more than that—I just got it off the Port of Virginia's website—to expand the port. And for what? Because the top export commodities in Virginia, in large part, come from Southwest Virginia. And they are ten times that of the second largest export, and over half of the entire export volume. So the Port of Virginia also needs Southwest Virginia. And the port is one of those crown jewels that we talked about repeatedly that separates us from a lot of other states. And that's absolutely true. But in reality, yesterday Delegate Kilgore hit the nail on the head by barreling forward at a hundred miles per hour, or maybe just 85 miles per hour now, but barreling forward, you put entire localities on the verge of bankruptcy. One locality in particular that will be affected by this—this is not hypothetical; they will be affected by this—stands to lose $8 million from about a $50 million budget. So what's that mean? It means that our schools are going to suffer mightily. Schools have managed to be the very best in the entire state even though we do not fund them in an equitable manner. So before you throw an entire region under the bus, please stop and think about this. You know, I've had the good fortune of visiting every locality in Virginia at some point with various jobs. And I don't expect anybody to go that far, but I'll tell you what: it'd be nice if you take the time to come and look at the region, look the people in the eye that you're getting ready to affect, listen to the stories, and see firsthand the drastic hardships that could be caused with ruinous ideas for which we have no recourse. I'm asking for your understanding and your cooperation. This is a bad move for rural Virginia, and subsequently a bad move for Virginia at large. Virginia only works correctly and justly if every region is lifted up. And we need to have a situation where all parties come together and truly think this through and come up with a solution that works for everyone. I ask for your help in doing that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.