Political blame game intensifies after Senate fails to pass VMSDEP-related bill

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The political blame game is intensifying after the Virginia Senate failed to reach a consensus on how to repeal recently made changes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP).

“We are living a political nightmare. Groundhog Day right now,” Kayla Owen, founder of the advocacy group Friends of VMSDEP told 8News.

Senate Democrats said they had a solution that could have been voted on Monday if Republicans were willing to play along. However, Republicans said because that solution wasn’t a full repeal, they couldn’t support it.

“If you ask the folks in the gallery if we are at war right now, I’m sure they would tell you, yes we are,” Sen. Bryce Reeves, (R-Orange), said on the Senate Floor.

In May, lawmakers made the program, which waives college tuition for the kids and spouses of qualified disabled military veterans, harder for families to access.

On Monday, Senate Democrats put forward a plan to repeal the changes, while still requiring students to show satisfactory academic progress. However, the bill hit a snag on the Senate Floor after Republicans decided against waiving Senate rules to allow the bill to proceed to final passage.

“We have a bill that would solve everyone’s problems, would answer all the questions,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, (D- Fairfax), said. “It would repeal all the changes, but instead, we are not going to vote on it today because of a procedural objection that could have easily been waived.”

Why did Republicans object? They wanted to instead vote on a bill passed by the House of Delegates unanimously that would have fully repealed the changes and not added language requiring students to show academic progress.

“The bill [which] has been put forward, madam president, is not a full repeal, — is not the full fix that has been asked for and advocated for. It’s not the full fix that a majority of the General Assembly would support,” Sen. Glen Sturtevant, (R- Colonial Heights), said.

Now there’s also a debate over how the issue even started. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Good Morning Richmond on Tuesday that changes to the program were “tucked into the budget.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Delegate Luke Torian (D-Prince William) told 8News that wasn’t the case and that “it is the responsibility of the Governor and his staff to read the entire budget so that they understand what’s in the budget.”

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