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NEWSLETTER

September 5, 2024

Neighbors, 

I hope the school year has gotten off to a wonderful start for all of the kids and families in our community!

I hope that you will be able to join me at my 4th Veterans and Military Families Town Hall on Thursday, September 12 at the American Legion Post 176.

Also, the November General Election is fast approaching, and it’s time to make a plan to vote! 

I’ve included more details about my Town Hall and the November General Election below as well as information about the following:

  • Veterans and Military Families Town Hall

  • November General Election 

  • House of Delegates and State Senate Page Programs

  • Community Updates

    • American Legion Post 176 Bridge Walk

    • Network NOVA’s Women’s Summit

    • NCSL National Meeting of State Health and Human Services Chairs

  • Legislative Updates

    • Legislative Meetings

    • Joint Briefing for House Appropriations, House Finance, and Senate Finance Committees

    • House Health and Human Services Committee Bootcamp

    • House Bill 1355 Update

    • Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1018 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 

Best, Kathy

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate

Veterans and Military Families Town Hall

4th Veterans and Military Families Town Hall

Thursday, September 12 at 6:30pm

American Legion Post 176

6520 Amherst Ave, Springfield, VA 22150

I hope to see you at my 4th Veterans and Military Families Town Hall - I’ll be joined by Congressman Gerry Connolly and Commissioner Chuck Zingler of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services!

November General Election

The November General Election is fast approaching. It’s time to make a plan to vote!

Early voting for this year’s election begins in a little over two weeks on Friday, September 20. You can find a full list of early voting locations here.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, there’s still time. You can register or update an existing registration at this link. The deadline to register to vote is October 15, 2024 — although you register after that day through Election Day and vote using a provisional ballot.

If you plan on voting by mail, you must request a mail-in ballot by October 25. Click here to request an absentee ballot. After receiving your ballot, it must be postmarked and sent by Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.

If you have questions about how or where to vote, reach out to my office. We are always happy to help!

House of Delegates and State Senate Page program

Applications are now open for the state Senate Page Program and House of Delegates Page Program - Please share this information with interested students!

The prestigious Page Programs are meant to give Virginia students an opportunity to learn about civics, the lawmaking process, and leadership firsthand. Since 1847, pages have worked with the House Clerk and Senate Clerk’s offices to provide support to staff, legislators, and constituents.

The program is open to 13- and 14-year-olds. Learn more about the programs here. You can apply for the Senate Page Program here. You can apply for the House of Delegates Page Program here. 

For the House of Delegates Page Program, applicants must have a letter of recommendation from their delegate. To receive a letter of recommendation from me, students must reach out to my office and interview with me before October 1. You can reach out to my office at delktran@house.virginia.gov.

Community Updates

American Legion Post 176 Bridge Walk

I joined Delegate Mark Sickles, Supervisor Rodney Lusk, Supervisor Dan Storck, Fort Belvoir garrison commander Colonel David Stewart, American Legion Post 176 Commander Gaddis and neighbors for the Springfield Bridge Walk. 

The Bridge Walk, which celebrates its 20th occasion this year, is a renewal of the strong partnership between the Springfield community and Fort Belvoir. I was proud to sign the Community Covenant and affirm our joint commitment to supporting our veterans and military families.

Network NOVA’s Women’s Summit

There was terrific grassroots energy at the 2024 Women’s Summit hosted by Network NOVA. I was grateful to see so many wonderful activists working hard to make Virginia a better place to live!

NCSL National Meeting of State Health and Human Services Chairs

I’m proud to serve as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and appreciated hearing from national experts and state legislators at the National Conference of State Legislators’ 2024 National Meeting of State Health and Human Services Chairs. I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Mark Sickles to expand affordable high quality healthcare and social services in Virginia.

Legislative Updates

Legislative Meetings

My staff and I are busy preparing for the 2025 General Assembly session, which will begin in January 2025. I value knowing your priorities for our community and hope you call, email, or join me at one of my town halls.

I am also meeting with advocacy groups, associations, and other stakeholders, and my staff and I have recently met with the following organizations: 

  • Hope for the Warriors

  • Virginia Interfaith Power and Light

  • Virginia Sierra Club

  • Speech Language Hearing Association of Virginia

  • Sun Tribe Development

  • Goodwill Industries

  • Fairfax Humane Society

Joint Briefing for House Appropriations, House Finance, and Senate Finance Committees

I attended a joint meeting of the House Appropriations, House Finance, and Senate Finance Committees. We received an economic update from the Governor and Secretary of Finance, and you can view the presentation that was presented to the committees here.

I am pleased to share that Virginia’s economy continues to outperform expectations, and Fiscal Year 2024 general funds were $1.2 billion higher than anticipated revenue. Through the biennial budget that we approved and amended, we have committed about $1.1 billion to improve Interstate 81, shore up the Water Quality Improvement Fund, contribute to the state’s rainy day fund, and provide temporary assistance to higher education institutions to pay for VMSDEP (see below for more information).

House Health and Human Services Committee Bootcamp

I attended the House Health Health and Human Services Committee “Bootcamp,” which included updates on different aspects of Virginia’s Medicaid program such as the waiver programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, long-term care, and crisis response and behavioral health care services.

House Bill 1355 Update 

Technology is ubiquitous in our lives, from how we learn to how we receive government services to how we perform our jobs. For several years, I have worked with the National Federation for the Blind, the Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partnership, and other stakeholders to improve the availability of accessible technology throughout our state and local governments, higher education institutions, and public K-12 schools. 

During the 2024 legislative session, my bill to expand accessible technology, House Bill 1355 was referred to further study by the Public Body Procurement Workgroup. I appreciated the opportunity to present House Bill 1355 to the Workgroup for its consideration, and I look forward to hearing their ideas for improving accessible technology for our constituents.

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program

The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP) was created in the 1930s to provide free higher education to children of WWI soldiers on active duty who were killed in action or permanently disabled during their service. 

The program has been expanded over the years. For example, in 2019, the General Assembly updated program eligibility to include dependents of veterans killed or disabled due to any service-related injury. In 2022, the General Assembly included stepchildren of qualifying veterans in the program.

According to staff from the House Appropriations Committee, the number of students that used a VMSDEP waiver between 2018-2023 grew from 1,387 students to 6,125, a nearly 450 percent increase. The Committee estimates that the cost of VMSDEP waivers increased 545 percent, from just under $12 million per year to over $65 million.

During the regular legislative session, several actions took place that were intended to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program given its recent growth. For example, the state Senate passed Senate Bill 347, which would have required state agencies to assess VMSDEP and recommend legislative actions to improve stability of the program and ensure its long-term viability.

While this bill did not advance out of the House Appropriations Committee, the House and Senate agreed to the following changes to VMSDEP for students who have not formally committed to a college or university by May 15, 2024 and included these changes in our biennial budget:

  • Students must be a Virginia resident or have domicile in Virginia

  • Awards are limited to the first undergraduate degree

  • Students must maintain satisfactory academic standing

  • Students must complete the FAFSA

  • For any aid awarded to a student (e.g. Pell Grant), it creates a proportional application.

    • The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the coordinating agency among colleges and universities in Virginia, would determine a proportional application of estimated family contributions.

  • Any existing student would be grandfathered into the full waiver.

Additionally, the biennial budget includes $20 million in state funding each year of the budget ($40 million total) to colleges and universities to offset the implementation costs of the waiver. The Governor signed the biennial budget and it took effect July 1.

However, after hearing how the changes would impact military and first responder families, I supported repealing the eligibility changes to VSMDEP and to provide time to study and obtain public input on recommendations to sustain VMSDEP.

On July 18, the House and state Senate unanimously agreed to repeal the eligibility changes to VMSDEP that were in the biennial budget and included an additional $90 million, totaling $130 million, to assist institutions of higher education cover the costs of the waivers. 

Also, the House of Delegates and state Senate jointly requested the Joint Legislative Audit and and Review Committee (JLARC) to complete an independent study and make recommendations by this fall on how we can ensure that VMSDEP is sustainable to provide financial support to eligible participants as intended. In addition, the Governor and state Senate formed separate taskforces that will also be making recommendations about VMSDEP.