terry mcauliffe's platform for virginia - putting jobs first

7/27/2019 Terry McAuliffe's Platform for Virginia - Putting Jobs First

1/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com

Paid for by Terry McAuliffe for Governor. Printed in house. Labor donated.

To be the best state or business we have to ocus on building on the Commonwealths strengths while diversiying our

economy. Were aced with serious challenges as our ederal government learns to live within its means, but these

challenges also represent an opportunity to grow a strong and diverse 21st century economy.

Getting the Basics RightVirginia has traditionally been one o the best states or business and its because members o both parties have accepted a

ew straightorward principles.

Continuing Virginias tradition o ewer, smarter regulations. Here in Virginia our regulatory structure has always been

one that maintained our standards without imposing burdens on our businesses. We need to continue down that

path, emphasizing the need to oversee our current regulations eciently rather than constantly creating new ones.

Investing in Transportation and Education. Our transportation and education systems are the building blocks that

allow the private sector to fourish. We must make strategic investments in these sectors so that we can have as

strong an economy as possible.

Honoring Veterans service and respecting their training. Returning veterans shouldnt have to jump through hoops or

take classes on skills they already have trained to do to be certied or a new proession. As Governor, Terry will have

a ull-time sta member dedicated to creating automatic trade and proessional certications or returning veterans.

This high-level sta person will work with the Department o Deense, lawmakers, and licensure bodies to help

ensure that our veterans have an easy and sensible transition into the workorce.

Giving everyone in our economy a seat at the table. When the state makes rules that aect peoples livelihoods, they

should be a part o the conversation. Virginia should ensure proper representation o both workers and management

on regulatory boards and licensing panels.

Ensuring that employment laws are ollowed. People should be paid or the time they work. Women and minoritiesshould not be discriminated against. Workplaces should be sae and well maintained. These and other basic

workplace rules need to be properly enorced.

1

PUTTING JOBS FIRST

TERRYMcAULIFFE

KEEPING VIRGINIA COMPETITIVE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY

FOR GOVERNOR


2/24

Workorce DevelopmentVirginia competes with hundreds o nations and 49 other states or the jobs o the 21st century. Having a trained and ready

workorce is critically important. As Governor, Terry will ocus on making sure Virginians have the skills they need to grow

our economy and provide or their amilies.

Focusing on our Community Colleges. Virginias community college system is an incredible asset and should be

treated as such. Terry will ocus on supporting our community college system as the centerpiece o our workorce

development system.

nGiving Community Colleges the tools to succeed. Every dollar spent on Community College workorce training

creates many more in economic development. Its time to invest where we get the greatest return. Helping our

community colleges grow acilities and aculties will grow the number o career-ready Virginians.

nIncreased support or workorce-development programs. Ensuring that our community colleges are providing

every student with the sot skills those basic job readiness skills that will allow them to transition into

on the job training necessary to succeed in their careers along with specialized training options or specic

industries will ensure that our workorce can meet the needs o our industries.

n Challenge Grants. By providing some state support through challenge grants we can improve communitycollege undraising and bring more private dollars into our system.

n Broadening access or veterans to include all programs. Currently our veterans only have ederal benets or

degree granting programs. We should create state scholarships or those veterans that want to pursue

career certications.

n Increased exibility and authority. We need to ree our Community Colleges up rom old-ashioned

purchasing, work order, and hiring restrictions let presidents and department heads run their schools

so they can be more ecient and spend their resources on their core mission o educating and

training Virginians.

n Increased collaboration with local high schools. We should do everything we can to get students in career

training the best education and amiliarize them with their community college.

n Incentives or increasing partnerships with local businesses. Our community colleges are going to partner

with local industry to provide, where possible, tailored training programs to give our students the tools they

need to succeed.

n Additional sta and program support or continuing education. In todays job market people are going to need

to upgrade their skills periodically and we need to make sure that our system is available.

Investing in Pre-K through 12 Education. Without a strong start our students arent going to be able to launch intocareers or continue their education. A strong economy demands a well educated workorce.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


2

2


3/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


n Reorming the SOL Tests. We must have a strong system o student achievement and teacher evaluation.

Unortunately our current system isnt working or parents, students, or teachers. The current Standards o

Learning tests have created an environment with an over-emphasis on drilling students to take one-time,

multiple-choice tests. There is no question that teachers must be held accountable through air, multi-

dimensional means, and that we need to ensure that students are learning what we want them to know,

but we can do a better job.

n

Innovation in Education. Quality educational systems need to think more creatively. Partnerships withbusinesses and Community Colleges to give our students rm credentials and skills training, emphasis on

STEM and Computer Science, and increased fexibility or our school districts will all help bring our schools

into the 21st century.

n Supporting our Schools. Over time, the Commonwealth has reduced state investment in our schools, reducing

the resources o our schools and shiting the burden to local school districts. Its time to restore unding and

give our school systems the tools they need to provide world class educations or our kids.

n Growing support or career training. Our schools need to partner with community colleges and businesses to

provide valuable and useul career training.

nLetting Teachers Teach. Our teachers need to be relieved o the growing amount o paperwork and

administrative tasks so they can ocus on the job they signed up or: educating our kids.

Traditional 4-year Colleges and Universities. We have one o the proudest traditions o higher education in the coun-

try, but it must remain aordable to parents and students. Our universities and colleges are challenged to

stay current and absorb more students while their unding has been cut dramatically.

nControlling costs and ees to keep our kids out o debt. Every student in Virginia deserves the opportunity to

get a quality education and start their working lives without the burden o heavy debt.

n

Emphasize fnancial aid. We must ensure that, in this era o rising costs, all students have a air shot atgetting a college education.

nSupporting returning veterans. As our veterans return home, many o them will seek education in our colleges

and universities. We need to ensure that these are welcoming places or them and understand their needs

and talents.

nMaking employment data available. Virginia should do more to ensure that students, parents, and colleges and

universities all know about and can easily access state data on what jobs are going to be available and

in which elds.

nIncreased support or research and development. In addition to creating new products and industries,supporting requests or unding rom our schools research departments will bring revenues back to the

schools and attract new aculty. Helping our schools to become more entrepreneurial will bring more

resources and talent to our higher education system.

Supporting and encouraging the growth o apprenticeship programs. These critically important training programs

give apprentices the tools they need to join lucrative and in-demand trades, and give employers the security o

knowing that their hires can do the job.


4/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


4

Business Incentive ProgramsVirginians can get a return on investment on their tax dollars through targeted incentives.

Cutting red tape and solving problems or business. As Governor, Terry will empower the chie jobs creation ocer to

be a single point o contact and authority or all incentive and business acquisition or growth activity. This persons

entire ocus will be solving problems and helping businesspeople grow Virginias economy.

Making sure our incentive programs actually work. We must streamline our programs and ensure that theyre beingadministered as eectively and eciently as possible.

Stronger accounting and accountability. By requiring strong rules or data collection and verication we can ensure

that Virginias business incentives and assistance are actually working or Virginias economy.

Supporting struggling economies. By increasing ocus on Southside and Southwest Virginia and partnering with the

Tobacco Commission, we can help diversiy and strengthen these economies.

Building on Our StrengthsVirginia has been a top state or business or many years. We should continue our support o key assets that helped make

it so.

Supporting our nations deense. Virginia has always had a unique role in our nations deense and we should

continue to be the best hosts or our armed orces possible. As Governor, Terry will work tirelessly to ensure that our

military has all it needs here in the Commonwealth.

Building on success. Virginia must increase the eorts to diversiy those businesses engaged in deense and

government contracting, and better support the commercialization o their products beyond governmental customers.

By broadening their customer bases these businesses become stronger and more resilient.

Building Virginias markets and trade around the world. Governor McDonnell and other recent Governors have madestrong gains in international trade thanks to our top-notch global air and seaport acilities. We must continue to

pursue overseas trade.

Supporting our Port. The publicly owned Port o Virginia is one o the largest assets the Commonwealth has, and it

provides tens o thousands o jobs. We must renew our commitment to supporting the ports operations and making it

easier or those industries that make use o our port to get their goods in and out o port acilities.

3

4


5/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


Diversiying our EconomyVirginia needs to broaden the areas in which our economy perorms well i were going to weather uture downturns and

ederal spending reductions. Growing new sectors o our economy will provide jobs or thousands o Virginians and ensure

our prosperity or generations.

21st Century technology creating 21st Century jobs. Virginia should build on our success in IT to grow our cyber

security industry a key new ederal priority to become a national and global leader.

Virginia is or Lovers and tourists. Tourism is already a $20.4 billion industry in Virginia. We need to commit

greater resources toward expanding this asset.

Building our energy uture. Clean energy jobs are a small but growing portion o Virginias economy. By setting

standards that encourage new industry and are competitive with our neighbor states we can create thousands o

jobs and do the critical work o cleaning up our air and water and combat climate change.

Increasing advanced manuacturing. Advanced manuacturing jobs are the heart o a strong and growing economy

and we need to do more to attract these high-skill, high-salary jobs and ensure that weve got the workorce to

ll them.

Working on Education. Virginias education sector will have to expand to train the utures workorce, deal with a

growing population, and replace the many educators nearing retirement. We must work quickly to attract and retain

the best educator workorce.

Creating opportunities in healthcare. When Terry is Governor expansion o Medicaid will create over 33,000 new jobs

and we must ensure that were poised to ll them.

Exporting our Agricultural and Forestry products. The agriculture and orestry industries are $79 billion industries.

The Commonwealth should work to encourage and support these growth industries moving their products to cities

around the state, nation, and globe.

5


6/24

TRANSPORTATION: A MODERN, EFFICIENT SYSTEM

Virginia has just seen passage o the rst signicant bipartisan compromise on transportation unding in 27 years. This was

a response to an impending unding crisis that would have made Virginia ineligible or ederal highway matching unds.

Having now secured these resources, the next Governor will begin the equally important task o ensuring that theyre spent

wisely and with the goal o building a more prosperous uture or all Virginians.

Pick the Right Projects; Build the Best OnesFor too long Virginias road and transit construction planning has been a laundry list o projects and programs, some o

which still make sense and some o which no longer t the need or which they were designed. We need to strategically

prioritize what were building and where. We should look at our current and proposed transportation expenditures rom top

to bottom and support those which should move orward and pull the plug when they dont make sense. Since Virginias

economy relies on a strong transportation network, job retention, job expansion and job growth will be a key actor in

prioritizing precious transportation dollars.

Protecting Progress on Transportation FundingVirginias recent transportation unding bill was a compromise. It wasnt perect, but it was the rst step orward in

decades. We need to build on that success by protecting the current transportation revenues and ensuring that Virginias

transportation system supports the ongoing economic recovery in Virginia.

A transportation lockbox. Funds that support our transportations system and by extension, our economy must

be protected.

Pushing Congress to do its job. Our leaders in the U.S. House should be pushed to enact the Marketplace

Fairness Act, applying the same rules to Internet retailers that main street retailers have to work with. This

revenue is a critically important part o the recent transportation compromise and without it gas taxes will rise

or Virginia citizens.

Strengthen the Virginia Department o TransportationThe Virginia Department o Transportation is a huge organization, managing the third largest highway system in the U.S.,

with signicant strengths and weaknesses. In addition to protecting the public saety, VDOT must ocus on its core

priorities, including its role in supporting state and local job growth.

Fix it frst. You dont put a new wing on your house when youve got a leak in your roo. For entirely too long Virginia

has allowed our roads and bridges to deteriorate, making repairs more costly down the road. Its time to establish and

achieve clear standards or ALL our roads and bridges.

Getting the best deal or Virginia. Public/private partnerships are a critically important tool or Virginias transportation

uture. Projects like the HOT lanes represent win-win deals or the public and or our private partners. However,

public/private partnership projects are only as good as the deal that gets made. It is time to review some current

agreements and renegotiate those where the Commonwealth or the public wound up with a raw deal. Moving orward

we will insist on partnerships that meet clear standards o transparency, accountability, and public benet.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


6

1

2

3


7/24

Separate planning rom delivery. Project selection and long term planning should be a collaboration among

transportation experts, Virginias elected leaders, and local and regional leaders. Transportation planning in Virginia

needs to support local communities as well as local, regional and statewide economic growth. VDOT must be a part

o that process, but may not be best suited to understanding local land use or broad economic trends. VDOT should

be in the business o managing maintenance and construction o transportation inrastructure, not setting the

Commonwealths agenda. This approach to 21st century planning will:

nEnsure a good return on investment

nBuild livable and sustainable communities

nFind the least intrusive solution. For example, a turn lane at a tenth o the cost o an interchange

nAdapt inrastructure to community needs rather than a community being orced to adapt to one particular

inrastructure solution

nConsider all transportation options, including pedestrian, bike, barge, rail, bus, erry, demand management,

and technology solutions

Use 21st century technology to solve 21st century problems. We can incorporate modern trac management and

saety systems to improve our transportation system and save commuters and businesses time and money without

major new construction.

Stop Toll EscalationToo many Virginia residents and businesses will be seeing their hard earned money lost to rising tolls. It should not cost

thousands o dollars or our citizens to get rom home to work, or or small businesses to be unairly penalized or trying

to conduct daily business. Virginias leaders need to nd air solutions to our rising toll burdens. Major toll increases are

currently planned or early in 2014, and we now have the resources to address this critical issue.

Modern Land Use Planning or a Modern VirginiaWorking with local and regional partners in government, the Commonwealth should be doing much more to incentivize

smart growth and modern land use planning.

Getting a good return on our investment. Our transportation networks top priority should be to maximize the growth

o our economy. People should be able to reely move around their communities and goods should be able to quickly

and easily make it to market. Projects should increase land value and drive economic growth.

Building livable and sustainable communities. By encouraging use o best practices by developers and local

planners, like interconnectivity and modern development strategies, we can reduce the burdens on our

transportation inrastructure.

Dont use bulldozers when shovels will work. We should make sure that were targeting our projects to the specic

problems theyre designed to x. Sometimes a turn lane or a wider ramp can do as much good as added lanes or

entirely new roads.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


7

4

5


8/24

Look at the whole impact o our projects and plans. We should evaluate projects based on all o the benets theyll

bring to our communities: economic impact, congestion relie, open space preservation, and all o the other actors

that go into building vibrant, livable communities.

Working with local partners. Richmond doesnt know the needs and special circumstances o every community in

Virginia and it shouldnt pretend to. When a problem arises in our transportation system we should work together to

explore all o the possible alternatives.

Giving commuter options. We should ocus on the investments that give Virginians choices about how they want to

get around: transit systems, walking, biking, and a well maintained and uncongested system o roads.

Supporting a Rail System that Supports VirginiaVirginia has remarkable assets in our network o reight and passenger rail. These systems support Virginias economy and

help connect Virginias businesses and marketplace to the rest o the country.

Continuing to support Virginias reight rail inrastructure. The Commonwealth should continue to partner with

Norolk Southern, CSX, and all other rail operators or reight rail improvements to support Port o Virginia

operations, distribution, manuacturing, and all other aspects o Virginias economy that rely on rail service.

Moving Trucks to Trains. Our rail policy should be making it easier to partner with private rail companies to make

our highways saer and get trucks o the road.

Increasing support or inter-city passenger rail. Virginias cities and citizens need to be connected to other markets.

We should continue to invest in those lines that make economic sense to ensure that our passenger rail service is

ast, requent, reliable, and aordable:

nSupporting passenger rail to Roanoke.

nContinued support or the Lynchburg and Charlottesville line.

nStudying and implementing improvements on Richmond to DC rail line.

nMarketing and supporting Norolk passenger rail.

Improving connectivity across our network. We should make sure that our rails ully connect distribution and delivery

centers along with providing passenger access to our airports.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


8

6


9/24

Supporting Our Local and Regional Transit SystemsVirginians deserve choices. Transit systems provide choices while increasing property values and commercial activity.

Increasing support or transit. We must continue to invest in our local and regional transit systems.

Tying together local communities and economies. The Commonwealth should encourage local governments and

transit systems to work together to connect our workorce to jobs.

Discourage duplication o services. Where multiple systems exist and overlap the Commonwealth should

encourage consolidation.

Prioritize connecting our light rail and subway systems or economic development. In those parts o the

Commonwealth that have a need or light rail or subway systems, we should support those systems and make

expansions when they will support economic development. O critical importance to that mission are projects like:

nBringing Metro Rail all the way to Dulles Airport and into Loudoun County.

nCreating a seamless Hampton Roads transit system rom the Naval base to the waterront.

Keeping the Port o Virginia or VirginiansVirginias port is one o the most valuable assets we possess, and provides billions o dollars in economic development and

tens o thousands o jobs. It is critically important that we dont turn this resource over to outside corporations with

incentives to limit competition.

Transportation Beyond, and Above, Our BordersJust as Virginia supports its seaports and airports, we must continue to look to the uture and provide strong support to our

spaceport at Wallops Island. There will be a ew states that capture the emerging commercial space industry, and we must

ensure that the Commonwealth helps lead the way on this new industry.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


9

7

8

9


10/24

PRE-K THROUGH 12: EDUCATING VIRGINIA FOR TOMORROWS JOBS

Education is the single most important thing we can do to build a strong Virginia and what our kids need to build

successul lives. Whether theyre going to invent a product, start a business, or get the job o their dreams, it all starts with

the basic skills and condence that only a good education can provide, and right now were not doing enough.

Reorming the SOL TestsWe must have a strong system o student achievement and teacher evaluation. Unortunately our current system isnt

working or parents, students, or teachers. The current Standards o Learning tests have created an environment with an

over-emphasis on drilling students to take one-time, multiple-choice tests. There is no question that teachers must be held

accountable through air, multi-dimensional means, and that we need to ensure that students are learning what we want

them to know, but we can do a better job. Improvements include:

Focusing on progress through pre-testing. I a 5th grade teacher gets a child reading at a 1st grade level and, by the

end o the year, has that child reading at a 4th grade level, the current system calls that teacher a ailure. We must

move toward progress-based data instead o simplistic grade level requirements.

Permitting exible test timing and ormats. I school districts want to break up the SOL into smaller portions,

administer it closer to the end o the school year, or administer the test dierently or children with dierent learning

styles, we should support that.

A blue ribbon commission to study the content being tested and the ormat o tests. Teachers and students both

report that the acts ocused on in SOL tests dont always line up with the most important concepts rom each

subject and that theyre oten poorly presented. Tests are only as good as the questions they ask.

Moving to essay or short answer-based testing where possible. Multiple-choice tests drive teachers to drill individual

acts rather than broad understanding. Its good i a child knows when we landed on the moon, but its much better

i the child knows about the space race, NASA, and the Apollo program. Essay and short answer tests let our kidsdemonstrate knowledge and our teachers teach.

Innovation in EducationQuality educational systems need to think more creatively. Partnerships with businesses and Community Colleges,

emphasis on STEM and Computer Science, and increased fexibility or our school districts will all help bring our schools

into the 21st century.

Robust pursuit o public private partnership and awarding credit or certifcation and credentialing. When kids get

certied in IT, or as mechanics, or as EMTs, we need to support and give credit or those accomplishments. Our goal

should be students graduating rom high school with career or college ready skills.

Incentivizing creation o laboratory schools at all schools o education. Lab schools allow institutions o higher

learning to partner with local schools to improve education or both sets o students.

Partnering high schools with local community colleges or workorce training. Combining high school and Community

College career training will improve outcomes, preserve resources, and get a higher quality education or all o

our students.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


10

1

2


11/24

TerryMcAuliffe.comPaid for by Terry McAuliffe for Governor. Printed in house. Labor donated.

11

Comprehensive digital student records. By ensuring that we have compatible systems or student data we can track

progress, nd problems, and discover new trends in student perormance. These records will be implemented using

the best privacy protection standards available.

Promoting STEM and computer science education as early as possible. The jobs o the 21st century require the skills

o the 21st century. We need to set up our students to succeed.

Teaching our students to write. Nearly every job or pursuit o higher education will eventually require that our kids

express themselves through writing.

Supporting Our SchoolsOver time, the Commonwealth has reduced state investment in our schools, reducing the resources o our schools and

shiting the burden to local school districts.

Restoring the Standards o Quality and ully unding them. In recent years, economic hardship orced our leaders

in Richmond to look or budget balancing strategies that led them to undermine the standards o quality, our

curriculum, and standards or school services. Its time to restore those standards and make sure our schools have

the tools they need to get the job done.

Attracting and retaining the best teachers. Our teachers have seen their salaries and benets decline signicantly, in

real terms, over the past several years. Paying our teachers properly is the only proven way to attract and retain the

highest quality educators.

Pursuing savings through efciencies at the local and state level. The state needs to be a good steward o taxpayer

dollars. Increased resources will need to be paired with improved eciency at the local level. Where services are

being paid or separately between local governments and school administrations they should be combined.

Letting Teachers Teach

Our teachers need to be relieved o the growing amount o paperwork and administrative tasks so they can ocus on the jobthey signed up or: educating our kids.

Task orce to reduce administrative and non-instructional workload or teachers. By reducing the time teachers spend

doing something other than teaching or preparing to teach, we increase the time they spend ocused on education.

Targeted and improved proessional development. By supporting teacher in pursuing proessional development in

the areas they actually want to improve their skills we can get better educators without wasting their time and the

states resources.

Increasing Support or Pre-K and Early Childhood Education

Every young Virginian deserves access to the benets o an early childhood education.

Broaden the reach o the Preschool Initiative. Virginia should change the distribution requirements to ensure eligible

preschoolers in every community can participate in Virginias Preschool Initiative.

3

4

5


12/24

Improve skill levels in our early childcare workorce. We can up-skill the early care and education workorce through

targeted, aordable training in partnership with Virginias community college system.

Bring public and private resources to bear to improve early childhood education. Leverage partnerships with small

business to ensure amilies access to high quality early education.

HIGHER EDUCATION: A SKILLED WORKFORCE FOR 21ST CENTURY JOBS

Education is the single most important thing we can do to build a strong Virginia and what our kids need to build

successul lives. Whether theyre going to invent a product, start a business, or get the job o their dreams, it all starts

with the basic skills and condence that only a good education can provide, and right now were not doing enough.

Community CollegesCommunity colleges provide tremendous resources to their local communities. But tremendous growth in student

enrollments combined with decreasing state support over the past decade has stretched their ability to meet demands or

classes and act as the drivers o workorce development.

Giving Community Colleges the tools to succeed. Every dollar spent on Community College workorce training creates

many more in economic development. Its time to invest where we get the greatest return.

Challenge Grants. By providing some state support through challenge grants we can improve community college

undraising and bring more private dollars into our system.

Increased exibility and authority. We need to ree our Community Colleges up rom old-ashioned purchasing and

hiring restrictions let presidents and department heads run their schools so they can be more ecient and spend

their resources on what matters.

Increased support or workorce-development programs. Ensuring that our community colleges are providing everystudent with the sot skills those basic job readiness skills that will allow them to transition into on the job train-

ing necessary to succeed in their careers along with specialized training options or specic industries will ensure

that our workorce can meet the needs o our industries.

Increased collaboration with local high schools. We should do everything we can to get students in career training the

best education and amiliarize them with their community college.

Provide support or career coaches in high schools. Giving our community colleges the opportunity to place career

coaches in high schools to help guide students toward career readiness will keep our kids in the pipeline to college

or a career.

Four-year SchoolsWe have one o the proudest traditions o higher education in the country, but they must remain aordable to parents and

students. Our universities and colleges are challenged to stay current and absorb more students while their unding has

been cut dramatically.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


12

1

2


13/24

Public Four Year Schools

n Controlling costs and ees to keep our kids out o debt. Every student in Virginia deserves the opportunity to get a

quality education and start their working lives without the burden o heavy debt.

nEmphasize fnancial aid. We must ensure that, in this era o rising costs, all students have a air shot at getting a

college education.

n Ensuring proper representation on governing boards. It is critically important that alumni, sta, students, and other

members o college and university communities are involved in the selection o their governing boards. The Governor

should solicit and respect slates o nominees rom college and university communities when lling board slots.

n Making employment data available. Virginia should do more to ensure that students, parents, and colleges and

universities all know about and can easily access state data on what jobs are going to be available and in

which elds.

nFocus on expansion o those schools interested in expansion. Virginia absolutely needs more space in our colleges

and universities, but we should ocus on those institutions with growth in enrollment as part o the plan. Every

school shouldnt have tens o thousands o students.

nRenewed commitment by the state to academic reedom or proessors. Only by assuring our researchers that they

can study ree o ear that theyll be subpoenaed or prosecuted can we attract and retain the brightest minds.

nSupporting returning veterans. As our veterans return home, many o them will seek education in our colleges and

universities. We need to ensure that these are welcoming places or them and understand their needs and talents.

nPursuing online and virtual education. We cannot aord to sacrice quality, but where possible we must embrace

online education.

nModern management systems. College and universities need to adopt modern methods o management and

administration to control costs and improve eciency.

nSupporting our Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These institutions play a critical educational, cultural,

and commercial role in our system and should continue to get our support.

n Increased support or research and development. In addition to creating new products and industries, supporting

requests or unding rom our schools research departments will bring revenues back to the schools and attract

new aculty.

Private Four Year Schools

n Protect the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grants. These grants help keep private schools a critical part o

Virginias higher education system aordable and available or Virginia students.

n Increase community college articulation agreements. Our community colleges already have agreements with

our public schools to permit high achieving students to transer ater two years and we should ensure that a

similar option exists or private schools as well.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


13


14/24

Changes in healthcare present a tremendous opportunity to create jobs as we transition toward 1) a modern and

eciently-managed health delivery system, 2) implement the Aordable Care Act, and 3) transition toward more

home- and community-based care. Terrys goals in addressing these transitions will be to create jobs, save patients money,improve the quality o care, save the taxpayers money and grow our economy.

Making Healthcare Management More Modern and Efcient

n A Chie Operating Ofcer or state health systems efciency. By reorganizing the way state health plans and

delivery systems are managed, we can save time and money while delivering better value or our tax dollars.

Critical to this reorganization will be the creation o a high-skill managerial position that will ocus on eciency

and modernization o Virginias management o state health services.

n Virginias Healthcare Industry. Virginia is home to some o the nest institutions, personnel and health companies

in the world. We should continue to work with our remarkable providers, insurers and associated industries that

contribute to our economy and wellbeing.

nFocus workorce training. We know that Medicaid Expansion will create over 30,000 jobs, and were going to

need people to ll them. We need to ensure that this growing segment o our economy has the talent it needs.

Virginias Community College System will be our primary ocus as we expand workorce training.

nIntegrate the system. As a Commonwealth, we must do all we can to ensure coordination o high-quality

care. By giving guidance and incentives or providers to coordinate all health proessionals and para-

proessionals into more integrated systems o care, where appropriate, we can improve outcomes or

patients and lower costs.

nStick with Virginias current ramework on tort reorm. The recent tort reorm agreement between lawyers and

doctors was a model or civil dialogue in public policy in the best Virginia tradition.

n Tackle tough healthcare challenges directly. Virginia should work with healthcare providers to help deal with the

changes coming in our healthcare system.

nKeep more o our Virginia-trained doctors. As a Commonwealth, we need to work with our hospitals and the

ederal government to increase residency slots and keep Virginia-trained doctors in Virginia.

nAddress chronic conditions through better coordination o patient-centered care. Virginia must ocus

our eorts on cost-eective strategies at managing chronic conditions (heart disease, diabetes, asthma,

hypertension, and obesity) and preventing avoidable expense in our healthcare system.

nContinue and improve disaster and emergency planning coordination. Our medical acilities do an excellent

job coordinating with state emergency management ocials, but continuing and improving that state o

readiness requires consistent training and planning.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


14

1

A HEALTHIER, STRONGER VIRGINIA


15/24

nAttract and retain our health care workers. EMTs, home healthcare workers, and the medical supply industry

should all be able to earn a good wage and work in decent conditions.

nContinue and expand veterans services. I veterans cant get their VA healthcare in a timely ashion, its up to

the state government to be their advocate and give them access to existing state programs to ll the gap.

nContinue to support eorts to expand rural health delivery. By encouraging the ederal government to expandresidency slots and by supporting state programs that aid in loan repayments or rural health proessionals, we

can ensure that all Virginians get access to quality care.

nIncrease support or home and community-based services through the Area Agencies on Aging. The Area

Agencies on Aging are essential to keeping older adults and people with disabilities in their homes and

communities.

nAdequately und nursing home and long-term care. Virginia should ensure adequate training and resources are

available or nursing home and long-term care to ensure quality care.

n Medicaid Reorm. Medicaid is a critical program or hundreds o thousands o Virginia amilies, people with

disabilities and older adults, including a majority o our senior population in long-term care. However, the system

can be improved in signicant ways to make it more ecient or patients, healthcare providers and Virginia

taxpayers. Reorms to payment and delivery systems and the inclusion o a system-wide COO will save money and

create eciencies that improve outcomes.

nContinue eorts to reorm the delivery and payment systems. The reorms pursued by the Reorm Commission

are a good start, but we can continue to build on those reorms to make improvements beyond those goals.

nPayment and delivery system improvements. The systems we use to deliver Medicaid treatments can be

improved to save taxpayer dollars while delivering better care or our citizens. By ocusing on outcomes, not

procedures, the Commonwealth can move toward a system o care that rewards quality, not the volume o

services.

nUsing modern metrics and outcome tracking. By applying modern industry best practices and

demanding that we track our successes and ailures through registries, we can improve our delivery

systems, identiy strengths and weaknesses, and provide timely eedback to improve care.

nUse modern technology. Updating our technology will allow us to improve care through new solutions

like telemedicine.

nApply innovative cost-reduction strategies and systems. Virginia should test proven, innovative methods

o care through pilots using Accountable Care Organizations, bundled payments, the patient-centered

medical home, etc. as a way to better coordinate care, improve the quality o care, improve outcomes,

and lower costs.

nDevelop more case managers or care. Coordination o services and making sure that dierent providers

know all the details o patients healthcare can save money and time while providing better outcomes.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


15


16/24

nCreate savings and efciencies by ocusing on long-term and community care or our senior citizens. The

Commonwealth can be much more innovative when it comes to strategies that help our seniors stay healthier

and stay in their homes longer. We should encourage more regular and preventive interactions with healthcare

proessionals. This will improve quality o lie even as it bolsters our communities and conserves valuable

healthcare resources.

nHealth IT. The revolution in inormation technology is poised to dramatically improve healthcare, but its criticallyimportant that we get this right. A huge volume o the worlds internet trac fows through Northern Virginia,

and across the Commonwealth weve got some o the brightest minds in both healthcare and computer science.

We can increase our citizens saety as they use multiple medical acilities. Additionally, this transition will save

patients, providers, and the Commonwealth money and resources.

nVirginia hospital systems are already making great strides. Virginia should continue to support our healthcare

providers in adopting electronic medical records and other health IT systems, and should act as a convener to

assist others in the transition away rom non-digital operations.

nTelemedicine. Not every Virginian can get to see specialists in every eld, and in 2013, you shouldnt have

to drive or hours just to have a quick conversation and evaluation. By increasing the use o telemedicine, we

can bring expertise to every corner o the Commonwealth and improve care while saving money.

nHealth IT exchange. The creation o an exchange that aggregates and makes shareable health data will

provide tremendous benets to consumers, doctors, and researchers.

Making the Aordable Care Act Work or Virginia

nVirginias Responses to the Aordable Care Act. The next Governor is going to need to work hard to ensure

that, as the Aordable Care Act is implemented, we get the best result possible or Virginia. Well-intentioned

policymakers supported and opposed that legislation, but that debate is over and its time to implement the lawin the way that creates jobs and brings about savings and better outcomes or Virginia patients, doctors, and

businesses.

nRapid response team. We know that there are going to be bumps in the road as Virginia and other states

set about implementing the Aordable Care Act. Individuals and business will need help navigating the

marketplace, understanding eligibility or certain tax credits, choosing a plan, etc. By creating a team o

business and healthcare specialists to help us navigate our way, we can provide businesses and individuals a

simple place to go to answer questions, solve problems and get enrolled in the plan that is right or them.

nSeek exibility rom the ederal government. The Obama Administration has already delayed the business

mandate, which will allow Virginia employers concerns to be heard. Some parts o the ACA law simplyarent going to work or all Virginians. As Governor, Terry will work with ederal regulators to get fexibility or

Virginias citizens, providers and businesses to incorporate new models o care across the Commonwealth that

have proven to improve quality, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


16

2


17/24

nLearn rom other states. The Governor must have a team ready and able to talk to their counterparts in other

states, to see whats working and what isnt. During his administration, Terrys health team will conduct

ormal reviews o implementation successes and ailures with a specic eye toward models that have been

more successul in other states.

nMedicaid Expansion. Both morally and economically, expanding Medicaid is right or Virginia. Implemented

properly, the Medicaid expansion can create jobs, reduce costs, and provide liesaving coverage to hundreds othousands. Additionally, Virginia can expect over $500 million in net General Fund savings by reducing indigent

care costs and creating other eciencies under an expanded Medicaid. Terry will include Medicaid expansion in

every budget he submits to the General Assembly.

nAccept the ederal Medicaid expansion. Expanding Medicaid will:

nBring over $21 billion o Virginia ederal tax dollars back to the Commonwealth according to the

Richmond Times-Dispatch

nProvide health care coverage or over 400,000 Virginians, according to state projections

nCreate approximately 33,000 jobs, according to the Senate Finance Committee

nCreate high quality jobs in areas where the economy is struggling

nKeep rural hospitals and clinics open, creating jobs and investing in high-quality, lie-saving technologies

to provide optimal care or all Virginians.

nSupport the eorts o the Bipartisan Medicaid Reorm Commission. The Medicaid Reorm Commission

created by the General Assembly during the 2013 session is pursuing important improvements in our

Medicaid system.

nWork with the ederal government to implement reorms. By having the Governors oce engage aggressively

with the ederal government, Virginia can get the fexibility it needs to implement any needed reorms to the

Medicaid system.

nHealth Benefts Marketplace. One o the most important aspects o the Aordable Care Act is the creation

o health insurance marketplaces, called Health Benets Exchanges. I allowed to unction properly, these

marketplaces will lower costs through participation rom individuals and business and through increased

competition while making it easier or people to comparison shop.

n

A Virginia exchange. Terry believes that we should have implemented a state run exchange when we had thechance. Now that a plan or a modied version o a ederally-administered exchange is being developed,

Virginia should continue to move incrementally toward Virginia control while learning rom our peer states

implementation eorts.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


17


18/24

nStrong consumer protections and diverse viewpoints. As the exchange is implemented, Virginia should ensure

that the voices o medical proessionals, health plans, hospital systems, consumer advocates and patients are

all heard.

nBuild on the VHRI recommendations. The Virginia Health Reorm Initiative was a successul example o

bringing together many stakeholders to design complex policy.

Improving Care in Our Communities

nMental Health. Mental health services are a critical part o Virginias healthcare and public saety services, and

recent events in Newtown, Aurora, Oak Creek and Virginia Tech have all shown us that we need to take serious

steps to continue to improve our mental health services. Beyond preventing violence, improvements in our menta

health saety net can save us money and improve the quality o lie or thousands o Virginians and their riends

and amily. Our mental health system should be able to support a ull continuum o care rom a sucient crisis

response, to intense community services, and ultimately to a recovery-ocused care leading to independence. By

keeping mental health patients in their homes and jobs, and out o institutions or the legal system, we can save

money and improve lives.

nIncrease resources or Crisis Intervention Training or public saety ofcers. Making sure that all o our law

enorcement agencies have enough personnel trained to deal with mental health emergencies just makes

sense. These programs can be completed quickly and at a low cost, and they allow our rst responders to

even better serve the public.

nIncentivize the creation o more and higher-capacity crisis stabilization units. Once a public saety ocer has

de-escalated a mental health crisis, they need to be able to transport the citizen in crisis to a nearby crisis

stabilization unit. Ensuring that we have adequate numbers o these acilities will guarantee medical care or

all citizens in crisis.

nIncrease resources or and personnel perorming intensive case management particularly or children. Our

dedicated case managers deserve our gratitude or handling as many cases per person as they do, but its

simply too much to ensure that every citizen needing their support gets it.

nImprove the quantity and quality o long-term supportive housing or severely mentally ill and homeless

citizens. Housing services and supports are integral components in the community-based systems o care

or individuals with serious mental illness and there is a direct correlation between psychiatric stability and

stable housing. This orm o treatment is less expensive than mental health institutions or imprisonment,

and leads to dramatically improved outcomes. Increasing our support or these programs actually saves the

Commonwealth money while providing better care to our citizens.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


18

3


19/24

nImprove accountability and eectiveness within the system. These measures can help to control the growth

o Medicaid-unded mental health services and also will ensure that adults and children receive only the

most eective types o services, and that providers and the system as a whole is held to high standards o

accountability. With limited and precious resources, it is extremely important that all dollars are spent wisely.

To ensure that Medicaid-unded mental health services or adults and children are eective and that there is

adequate accountability in the system, it is extremely important to ensure that:

nLicensure and regulatory standards dene the minimum eligibility criteria or Medicaid-unded mental

health services, provider credentialing requirements, and acceptable services activities.

nBest practice models are articulated or Medicaid-unded mental health services. Currently there is a

lack o clear practice models, which is something that should be addressed. A lack o clear practice

models explains why some Medicaid-unded mental health services are being provided in very dierent

ways across Virginia.

nDepartment o Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has adequate stafng capacity or

licensing, administering audits and otherwise ensuring that services are delivered eciently and

eectively. This will help save taxpayers money and improve care.

nFilling the gap or veterans mental health. Many o our service members returning rom Iraq or Aghanistan join a

population o older veterans, which experience signs o combat stress, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder

or a traumatic brain injury. Suicide has claimed the lives o more veterans than have been killed in action during

recent wars. We have a duty to our veterans and we must do more. As Governor, Terry will ensure that Virginia

does aggressive outreach to our veterans who might be struggling with mental illness.

nPromotion. Mental health programs must be widely promoted and made accessible in ways that are easy

and avoid stigma or veterans.

nAccess. Virginia needs to provide access to transition services and supportive housing or veterans

struggling with homelessness, substance abuse or mental illness.

nFunding. Virginia needs to properly und crisis intervention training, counseling and acilities, so that

veterans and other Virginians in crisis can get the treatment they need.

nCounseling. Virginia needs to ensure that outreach, treatment and resources are available or those

veterans who have been victims o sexual violence.

nEnsuring people with disabilities receive quality care and services. I we are going to have a Commonwealth

that works or all o us, we must work to create a system that advances opportunities or independent living,

personal decision-making and robust participation in community lie or Virginians with developmental and other

disabilities. Disabled Virginians should be able to get the care they need in the setting they desire.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


19


20/24

nIncrease access to quality community care. As disabled Virginians transition rom institutional to

community care, we must ensure that systems are in place to guarantee quality o care in all settings.

nWork to get our citizens o o waiting lists and in ront o health care providers. Entirely too many

Virginia amilies spend entirely too long hoping to get access to a limited number o slots in our

healthcare system or disabled Virginians. As Governor, Terry will work with legislators o both parties

and the disability community to improve the system.

nEnsure smooth transition rom institutional care to home and community-based care. With the recent

agreement with the DOJ to close institutions or people with intellectual disabilities, we need to ensure

adequate resources are in place to guarantee the quality o care is as good in the community as it was in

the institution.

TerryMcAuliffe.com


20


21/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


2

PROTECTING VIRGINIAS AIR, WATER, AND OPEN SPACES

Conservation o our Commonwealths natural resources is a core responsibility o all Virginians and supports economic

growth. Our Constitution obligates the Governor and the General Assembly to act as responsible stewards o Virginias

environment. By protecting our natural resources, we deend the oundation o uture economic growth and the long-term

health o Virginians. As Governor, Terry will act in a responsible, bipartisan way to protect the Commonwealths precious

resources or uture generations o Virginians.

Restore Virginias Streams, Rivers, and the Chesapeake BayThanks to the bipartisan work o lawmakers and non-prot organizations, a rigorous, science-based, multi-state program

to truly clean up the Chesapeake Bay has been put together. The next our years are a crucial period or The Bay, which

needs the support, advocacy, and leadership o the Commonwealth o Virginia i it is going to return to the economic,

environmental, and recreational asset it can be.

Support localities water clean up plans.The Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) are the centerpiece o the plan

to save the Bay. They are plans drawn up by localities in Virginia and other states to regulate the fow o pollutants

into surrounding rivers and tributaries. Terry will direct the Department o Environmental Quality to engage and workside by side with these Virginia localities and representatives rom the business community to help them implement

their WIPs in an ecient and cost-eective way.

n Indentiy and promulgate best storm water management practices. Storm water run o is one o the most

dicult and expensive parts o the Bays ecosystem to manage. Terrys Administration will coordinate with

localities to identiy the most ecient and cost-eective methods o dealing with storm water.

Protect the Bays living resources. Fish and other living creatures o the Chesapeake are central to the economy and

the livelihood o aquaculturists, watermen and recreational anglers. Virginia must enact innovative, science-driven

strategies to manage these resources in a way that will sustain their populations or uture generations. Successulbipartisan eorts to save the striped bass and blue crab populations are a good example o what we can accomplish

when we work together.

Work with armers to reduce agricultural run o. Farmers are the backbone o Virginias economy. As Governor,

Terry will support armers in continuing, rening and expanding their eorts to make meaningul contributions to

protecting the Commonwealths rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

1


22/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


22

Act Decisively to Fight the Effects of Climate Change and Protect our Coastal CommunitiesIt is a scientic reality that man-made climate change is causing sea levels to rise. It is a daily act o lie or Virginians

living up and down the coast and it will have major impacts on billions o dollars worth o public and private inrastructure

We must act now to prevent decades o increasingly severe foods and natural disasters.

Convene a Climate Change Adaptation Commission. Terry will bring together a bipartisan commission o scientists,

policy makers, conservationists, and industry representatives to proactively develop a comprehensive plan to protect

Virginias communities rom rising sea levels.

Draw on the expertise o Virginias university and college aculty.As Governor, Terry will encourage Virginias

renowned network o universities and colleges to conduct research into the causes o and mitigation strategies or

climate change.

Empower coastal localities. Mitigating the eects o climate change cannot be a one-size-ts all eort. As Governor,

Terry will work with localities to give them the appropriate legal authority and nd unding opportunities to enact

local mitigation strategies.

Implement cutting edge surveying techniques. Part o mitigating sea level rise is having accurate data. The stategovernment should take a lead role in identiying, prioritizing, and analyzing at-risk areas.

Coordinate with sister states. Recurrent fooding rom sea level rise aects every coastal state. We should coordinate

our eorts with our regional partners to identiy best practices and share costs.

Preserve Open SpaceVirginias natural beauty and open spaces are a crucial part o our identity. In order to preserve the natural and rural

character o our Commonwealth, we need to continue the work o past administrations to protect open space.

Protect the land preservation tax credit. Virginias program o land preservation is routinely ranked as the best in thenation. As Governor, Terry will protect and promote the outstanding Land Preservation Tax Credit.

Preserve at least 400,000 acres of open space over four years. This pledge is the centerpiece o a bold, bipartisan

agenda. Begun by Governor Kaine and continued by Governor McDonnell, this aggressive preservation o open land

secures our environmental uture or generations.

Prioritize publically accessible land. Where appropriate, land preserved by tax dollars should be publicly accessible.

This may include innovative public/private partnerships to open new parks around the state.

Target preservation of environmentally sensitive areas. As Governor, Terry will seek to identiy and prioritize theprotection o Virginias most environmentally valuable ecosystems, such as the wetlands.

3

2


23/24

TerryMcAuliffe.com


23

Ensure Adequate Water Supply and Air QualityIn order to ensure uture economic growth, Virginia must guarantee a clean and stable source o water groundwater and

surace water to businesses, armers, and residents. Today, aquiers in many parts o the state are being drained aster

than they are being relled. We must work cooperatively with sister states to address this looming problem.

Engage localities in water planning.Terry will direct the Department o Environmental Quality to respond to dwindling

aquiers by engaging localities in a comprehensive statewide process o water and drought planning.

Renew cooperation in interstate water use organizations. Water supply management is not a problem or Virginia

alone. Any eective plan must involve the cooperation o our sister states through organizations like the Interstate

Commission on the Potomac River Basin.

Implement water reuse strategies or industrial sites.As water becomes more scarce, industrial sites should be

encouraged and incentivized, where appropriate, to make use o aggressive water recycling and treatment plans.

Work to protect air quality.Air quality is a national issue that by necessity has a national solution. Virginia should

work cooperatively and proactively with sister states and ederal regulators to do our part in solving this problem.

Sustainably Manage Virginias Mineral ResourcesVirginia is blessed with an abundance o mineral resources. A core responsibility o government is the careul management

o these resources on behal o all Virginians.

Ensure local control o racking and horizontal drilling regulation.Localities that will deal with whatever costs and

benets may result rom racking and horizontal drilling should be encouraged to examine the issue and enact those

rules that they believe will best serve their citizens. Terry will protect localities rights to make their own decisions

about land use activities within their jurisdictions.

n

Oppose racking and horizontal drilling in the George Washington Forest.The Commonwealth o Virginiais committed to protecting and managing the George Washington National Forest. Allowing racking and

horizontal drilling in this protected area is inconsistent with this commitment.

nProtect mineral rights o landowners. We have a responsibility to vigorously deend the rights o Virginias

landowners. Terry will ensure that landowners are represented on the Virginia Gas and Oil Board.

Continue the moratorium on Uranium mining.A study by the National Academy o Sciences states Virginia would

have to overcome steep hurdles beore allowing mining and milling o the ore to ensure the saety o workers, the

public, and the environment. Unless these hurdles can be cleared and there has been no indication that they can

be the moratorium banning uranium mining should remain in place.

5

4


24/24

Preserve Historic ResourcesVirginias rich and storied history gives us our unique place in the nation, orms part o our identity and draws tourists rom

around the world. We should take an active and cooperative approach to preserving these important monuments to our

collective past.

Administer state and ederal incentives or historic preservation. The Department o Historic Resources, with the

cooperation o the ederal government and local non-prots, has helped spur billions o dollars o private investment

in historic preservation with strategic use o tax credits.

Ensure historic battlefelds are protected. Signicant portions o Virginias historic battleelds remain unprotected.

The state should act in cooperation with localities and non-prots to coordinate their preservation.

Protect Virginias diverse heritage. The history o Virginia is the story o men and women rom all walks o lie and

backgrounds. Our Commonwealth must celebrate their hard-won contributions.

6

terry mcauliffe's platform for virginia - putting jobs first

Documents