Issues

Phillips signed the "No New Tax" pledge.

Virginia's budget has more than doubled in 10 years, while the population has increased only 12%. Phillips will fight to keep government focused on core responsibilities - roads, schools, and public safety. Phillips will work diligently to limit spending and limit taxes.

Herring is using our current transportation crisis to push forward his own fiscal agenda. He continues to say we need a "dedicated source" for roads. Instead of prioritizing current funds, Herring's solution is to increase taxes. A 10 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax yields only a half billion dollars. A half cent increase in the state sales tax yields about the same. To meet our transportation needs of $1 billion extra each year we would need to implement both.

In the last budget cycle, the General Fund (un-earmarked money) increased by $5.5 billion. This was discretionary money the General Assembly could allocate without "taking away money" from any program. Yet, only 5% of that surplus was spent on roads. Why should we agree to Herring's tax increase and send Richmond an additional $1 billion when the General Assembly is unable to adequately prioritize the $5.5 billion bonus the state has just received?