GO Virginia Statement On State Budget Shortfall

The GO Virginia Coalition issued the following statement to the media today after Governor McAuliffe announced a significant budget shortfall:

“As Governor McAuliffe announced today, Virginia’s current fiscal situation which includes a projected $1.5 Billion shortfall is the direct result of falling tax revenues and the decline in high paying jobs from continued reduction in federal spending in the Commonwealth. GO Virginia is the solution to that problem because of its singular focus on increasing collaboration among localities, higher education, and the business community to create high-paying jobs. Thanks to strong bipartisan support from the legislature and the Governor, the GO Virginia program helps to provide a path forward in these uncertain times. In just the few months since the passage of the GO Virginia legislative and budget package, we are already seeing discussions occur in regions around the state about how to fundamentally transform the Virginia economy and to reverse these disturbing trends. As the Governor stated in his speech about the shortfall, “We must move forward with our blueprint to develop a skilled workforce, redesign our high school education system and construct the world-class infrastructure that will put Virginia at the top of every CEO’s wish list. It would be counterproductive to set those types of initiatives aside until a more prosperous day arrives. Those initiatives are our pathway to prosperity. ” Over the coming months, as the Virginia Growth and Opportunities Board starts to meet and the various regions of Virginia are organized around their shared challenges, we need to maintain and build on what GO Virginia has already started to accomplish to build the new Virginia economy.”