Senator Scott Surovell: Breaking Down Youngkin's State of the Commonwealth Speech
As the 2023 General Assembly kicks off, Senator Scott Surovell joins Thomas and Michael to discuss Governor Glenn Youngkin's State of the Commonwealth address--covering his comments on a range of topics including inflation, education, energy, taxes, and even foreign policy.
Episode Transcript
Michael Pope
On this episode of Pod Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Glenn Youngkin
Made in Virginia cannot be a front for the Chinese Communist Party.
Michael Pope
The State of the Commonwealth.
Scott Surovell
This is like some zombie policy out of the George Allen administration.
Michael Pope
We're joined by Senator Scott Surovell.
Scott Surovell
He wants to tweak Democrats and punch at Democrats and make this partisan.
Michael Pope
Previewing the General Assembly session, and I'm Michael Pope.
Thomas Bowman
I'm Tom Bowman.
Michael Pope
And this is Pod Virginia, where the State of our podcast is strong.
Thomas Bowman
The General Assembly is back in session this week, and Governor Glenn Youngkin laid out his agenda for the coming year.
Michael Pope
We'll be listening to parts of that speech and getting reaction from one of the leading Democrats in the Senate. He represents southern Fairfax County. And he's returning to the podcast. Senator Scott Surovell. Thanks for joining us.
Scott Surovell
Happy to be with you guys.
Michael Pope
All right, I want to start our conversation by talking about one of the weirdest moments of the speech. This has a lot of Democrats buzzing. Check out what the Governor had to say about China.
Glenn Youngkin
While the national security concerns and personal privacy implications of CCP technology are well known. I believe Virginians should be wary of Chinese Communist intrusion into Virginia's economy. We welcome and encourage economic cooperation with international companies. I've said before that I want made in America to mean made in Virginia. Let me be clear, made in Virginia cannot be a front for the Chinese Communist Party. In addition, Virginians, not the CCP, should own the rich and vibrant agricultural lands God has blessed us with. That is why I'm asking this General Assembly to send me a Bill to prohibit dangerous foreign entities tied to the CCP from purchasing Virginia's farmlands.
Michael Pope
Wow, so this had a lot of people talking. I've been to a couple of these State of the Commonwealth addresses. And I don't recall a Governor ever talking about foreign policy in general or China in particular; what did you make of this part of the speech?
Scott Surovell
I heard that and I was really scratching my head. My first thought was, what does this have to do with his campaign for President? Then my next thought was I hadn't heard anybody talking like this since maybe the mid-1980s When I was in high school. I'm not really sure what he's talking about. I have some suspicion; This has something to do with the fact that Chinese investors purchased Smithfield, I think, about 15 years ago. And they've owned Smithfield and have been investing heavily in hog farming because of the Chinese demand for hog meat. But I don't know what he's talking about. It was very bizarre and seemed a little paranoid to me.
Thomas Bowman
Yeah, that's an interesting line from the Governor here. Look, I'll say I'm glad that Virginia's Governor, no matter who he or she is, is taking foreign policy into consideration. Virginia's foreign policy is the bedrock of Virginia's economy, one way or another. It's important that Richmond politicians understand the threat posed by foreign actors. Senator Surovell. You mentioned Smithfield Ham, bought by China recently, of course, represented by McGuire Woods, which is all over his administration. I'm not really sure what he's trying to get at by wanting to block China from buying agricultural land. But I wasn't really aware that that specifically was the problem. In foreign policy circles, were are more concerned about manufacturing. We're concerned about data intrusion through apps like Tik Tok and whatnot. I was just as confused by this as you were, Senator.
Scott Surovell
It's not just well; it's not just data intrusion. Virginia's number one export either is or used to be microchips. We still have the microchip facility in Manassas, where we make the Micron Facility in Manassas, we make microchips. There used to be a microchip facility in Henrico, a Dominion semiconductor, which closed down. We're making a big push right now to bring microchip manufacturing back to America, so we're not so exposed if the Chinese do something about Taiwan. I've heard a lot of talk about that lately, especially with the chips act that Senator Warner was so critical of passing. But this is the first time I've ever heard anywhere, whether it's in a speech or online or in a blog or anywhere, talking about some Chinese conspiracy to buy our farmland that to me was really odd thing to bring up, especially in the State of the Commonwealth address. It's not something I've heard anybody talking about it being a priority for state policy at all. So I was really scratching my head.
Thomas Bowman
Well, it is happening nationwide. That is a concern, China and Chinese entities are buying up American real estate, farmland, etc. It is strange that it would make its way into a State of the Commonwealth address.
Michael Pope
Another thing the Governor talked about was something he campaigned on, which was getting rid of the grocery tax. The way he did it actually prompted some murmurs among some of the Democrats who were seated at the back of the House chamber. I want to play a little bit of the audio of the Governor talking about getting rid of the grocery tax.
Glenn Youngkin
I was so pleased to see my Democratic friends join us recently in celebrating the end of this regressive tax, something Virginians came together around during the campaign. That's definitely a clear sign that there is bipartisan momentum for more tax relief this session.
Michael Pope
So I think the language there that was causing some people to stir was that the Democrats joined him. What's the backstory here in terms of the Democrats trying to get rid of the grocery tax for quite a long time, right?
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, Governor Northam proposed it. I think Senator Boysko had a Bill that she introduced that got turned into the grocery tax repeal bill. But we've been talking about this for a while, and it wasn't his idea. Some of us also had an issue with even doing it without backfilling the transportation revenue we lost. I mean, that Bill actually blew a $700 million hole in the State's six-year transportation plan. Which, by the way, would have paid for the entire mixing bowl project. It's a massive hole that we blew in our revenue. And from our perspective, we're not really done dealing with that problem. And the idea that, that that somehow indicates we're ready to cut taxes even more, it's complete nonsense. I couldn't believe he would connect the dots like that. But he has a habit of trying to build fake momentum by stringing things together that have nothing to do with each other.
Thomas Bowman
And the insistence on tax cuts is anxiety-inducing for me since I started in Virginia politics as an intern and in Delegate Scott Surovell's office. Virginia has never had a good budget year up until Ralph Northam took over and we finally were able to dig ourselves out of some holes. But we weren't dug out. It's not like we have a pot of money that nobody knows what to do with. There are a ton of things that just aren't funded in the budget that need funding education. Our current state contribution to higher education is woefully diminished from what it was at its peak in 2006 or 2007. So there's a lot of money that needs to go around and also to save it as we head into another recession. It's really strange to want to start doing tax cuts, as we know that sales are about to drop through the floor. Property values are about to drop to the floor incomes are going to be stale. There's no long-term efficacy for a plan like this. It is only short-term, a short-term sugar high that Glenn Youngkin is looking for. And the reality is the grocery tax was a Democratic plan. He joined the Democrats; Ralph Northam also championed the grocery tax repeal in his last year in office. So he's in candyland. I don't know what he's talking about.
Unknown Speaker
Let me be a little more clear. I don't think Democrats have ever proposed a grocery tax cut where we didn't hold the transportation trust fund whole because that's a huge priority for Virginia. Again we blew a $700 million hole in the transportation trust fund with the way the Governor did it. I can tell you this session; there's zero appetites in my caucus for tax cuts of any kind, zero appetites, especially with the special election results that just happened. I can tell you that.
Michael Pope
Is this why Senator Louise Lucas, the budget can go to hell?
Scott Surovell
I didn't hear her say that. But that sounds like her.
Michael Pope
She said it in a press conference.
Scott Surovell
Okay, well, I wasn't there and here, but I'll take your word for it. But that doesn't surprise me. And Senator Lucas, depending on how the election goes, could be the Chairman of the Finance Committee. So she has a lot of sway over there. But in terms of what Thomas said, a lot of us question whether we even had the capacity to afford the tax cuts we did last session; we were in a 10% inflationary environment. Right now, we have a 17% vacancy rate among our state employees, we've never had a vacancy rate that high among state employees. And it's because state salaries and benefits are not keeping up with the private sector because we haven't given them enough raises. We have the same thing going on with teachers; we have the same thing going on with cops; our public sector employees all across the Commonwealth state, local, all up and down, are quitting and moving on to other jobs because we don't have competitive salaries because we've given them 5% raises and a 10% inflationary environment, their salaries were low, to begin with. So we have a lot of needs for investment in terms of what Thomas just mentioned about higher ed. I don't think the high point was in 1996. I think the high point was in 1993 when I went to JMU from 1989 to 1993. The State paid two-thirds of my tuition. Today, the State only pays a third of tuition. And to make up that hole to get us back to where the State used to pay on tuition, it would take a billion dollars. And guess what? We just gave a billion dollars back to taxpayers last year in a refund. We could have restored our entire contribution to higher ed if we hadn't done the taxpayer refund last year. And instead, the Governor keeps bringing up the sort of mid-1990s, late 1980s policies like tax cuts and rollover tax stuff. Which in Virginia just makes no sense. I've never seen a single study that says Virginia's tax rates are anywhere close to the median in America.
Michael Pope
So Youngkin also talked about education policy, which is clearly one of the campaign issues that got him into office. And he feels like this is an issue he wants to return to because, clearly, it worked for him to campaign. So this is part of his comments in his State of the Commonwealth address on public education.
Glenn Youngkin
Every parent in Virginia is now acutely aware that years ago, the educational standards were systematically lowered. And sadly, those lowered expectations were met. Virginia's children bear the brunt of those misguided decisions. It's absolutely unacceptable by any standard, and from any perspective, we must teach our kids to read.
Michael Pope
So this setup here is really interesting. Everybody knows that education standards were lowered. Do you know that education standards were lowered? What do you make of the Governors' comments here?
Scott Surovell
You know, he's cracked the code. Our mission for the last two decades has been the lower standard, so our children learn less in schools. I'm glad he finally figured it out.
Thomas Bowman
Let's take that out of context and give it to Tucker Carlson.
Scott Surovell
Tell me about it. I mean, what he's talking about is that a lot of us, on a bipartisan basis, I want to note, have been talking about taking our foot off the throat of our teachers and telling them how to teach. One of the reasons nobody wants to teach anymore is that we try to tell them how to teach everything. And I'll tell you one of the best applause lines I've gotten when I've spoken to children from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade is they take too many SOL tests. And again, this is like some zombie policy out of the George Allen administration that we need to bring back, you know, more sort of standardized testing for our students. That's what he's really talking about. And it's bizarre to me that he's focused on all these zombie policies from the mid-90s. But that's what that references, and I haven't met anybody that thinks that the way to get our kids better educated is to reintroduce standardized testing that we just repealed like two or three or four or five years ago. We've been trying to get rid of these standardized tests and pose more of them.
Thomas Bowman
The Governor has claim that public education is a failed system isn't only untrue, but it's also harmful. Public education has been the backbone of our society for generations. It's provided opportunities for millions of Virginians to succeed. And education is a fundamental right for all children. So the Governor's statement that public education is divisive really misrepresents our shared goals of providing a high-quality education for every child in Virginia.
Michael Pope
One thing that he keeps coming back to, and you hear this a lot from Republicans, is these NAPE scores, these national scores for; fourth-grade reading, fourth-grade math, eighth-grade reading, eighth-grade math. They were lower these; these most recent scores were lower. And Republicans say, well, that's proof positive that the standards were lowered; what do you make of that?
Scott Surovell
Of course, they were lower. They were lower across the entire country because we went through a pandemic, and children weren't in schools, and they weren't in the classroom, and they weren't with their teachers. It was a nationwide trend. This isn't something that's specific to Virginia. And instead of trying to point fingers and try and say this was the pandemic education thing caused by Democrats. It's a nationwide problem. For God's sake, we ought to be talking about how we are going to deal with the learning loss. How are we going to deal with it? How are we going to get kids caught up to where they should be? So we don't have a generational problem. And if he was acting like a Governor and not some partisan running for President, that's what he would be talking about in his speech instead of trying to point fingers.
Thomas Bowman
The Governor's proposal is not really about improving education, spoiler alert. He's trying to cut funds for our schools, and that's not the way to go. We should be investing in our schools in the public education system. That's how we truly create a better future for the State and for our Commonwealth.
Michael Pope
He's trying to cut education, and he wants to give raises to teachers. He spent a significant amount of time talking about raises for teachers, right?
Scott Surovell
No, he didn't. He talked about giving bonuses to teachers, which are not raises; those are one-time expenditures that he doesn't have to pay into his budget next year. And then he will come back next year and ask us for a raise. He knows the revenues aren't going to be as well next year when we're in a recession. It's a gimmick; our teachers need a commitment that they're gonna get big raises, and they're gonna be able to rely on that going forward so they can pay their mortgage, not some one-time bonus.
Michael Pope
So another topic that the Governor talked about was inflation. And he took an opportunity to take a swipe at President Biden. Here's what the Governor had to say on that.
Glenn Youngkin
A growing economy, growing jobs, a growing population, and a growing workforce drive revenue, drive opportunity and drive our quality of life. And with the silent thief of inflation, let loose by President Biden, inflation that is stealing Virginians hard earned money, growth is more important than ever.
Michael Pope
Okay, so shout out to my friend Victoria Ross, who responded to that on Twitter, saying, "I saw that film the silent thief of inflation. It was one of the sloppiest films I ever saw." What do you make of Youngkin, blaming President Biden for inflation?
Scott Surovell
He did this throughout his speech. He would have this long wind-up where he would talk about one thing after another, and we agreed. And then he would ruin it by blaming it on Democrats. He did this like five times. And I wanted to stand up and clap for him. And I was like, Oh, my God, just ruined it was. Inflation is high across the world. And the last time I checked, President Biden doesn't control the economy in Europe, he doesn't control the economy in Africa, he doesn't control the economy in Asia. This is a global problem, for God's sake. And I don't know why he feels compelled, other than the fact that he's running for President, to try to blame Democrats for everything going on. It drives me crazy because a lot of us would really like to work with this Governor to try to find solutions to problems. But every time when he opens his mouth in public, he wants to sort of tweak Democrats or punch at Democrats or make this partisan. It makes it very difficult to try and have a conversation. Because President Biden didn't cause inflation, a worldwide pandemic did. We had a 100-year crisis that caused this problem, and we need politicians that are going to work together to try and solve it instead of pointing fingers. That's what's so maddening about things like that.
Thomas Bowman
Yeah, this is really in keeping with that theme of Glenn Youngkin. Being stuck in yesteryear. Michael, inflation has been estimated at about two and a half percent for the last five months. So the headlines of 2022, early on, are in the rearview mirror. And the reality is the Governor is trying to distract from real issues facing Virginia families. He's blaming Biden for economic challenges, but the truth is, the COVID pandemic created unprecedented economic turmoil exacerbated by Republicans who couldn't wear their goddamn mask. And it's going to take time for the country to recover. So our focus is Virginians, and Senator Surovell's focus as a Senator is going to be on creating jobs. So it's gonna take time. We got to support small businesses, and we've got to help Virginians make ends meet. It's that simple.
Michael Pope
One of the pressing issues for Virginia is the Fentanyl crisis, which of course, is a bipartisan problem with bipartisan solutions. The Governor had some interesting comments about a Bill that Governor Northam vetoed. He says he'll sign it. This is part of his speech on fentanyl.
Glenn Youngkin
Two years ago, this body passed a Bill to make the sale, manufacture, and distribution of drugs, killing our children, our friends, and our neighbors, a felony homicide. It was vetoed by the last Governor, despite the fact it could have and would have saved countless lives. Send me that Bill again. And I promise you I will sign it.
Michael Pope
Senator, what is the Governor talking about here?
Scott Surovell
Well, I've been in the legislature now for about 14; Delegate Lingenfelter tried to pass a Bill to make it a felony homicide to sell gifts or manufacture drugs that ended up causing someone to die. I think Delegate Hugo picked up the Bill right before his failed reelection in 2019. And passed the Bill through both chambers. And that was back when the Republicans controlled both chambers. It was vetoed by Governor Northam. And the Governor vetoed it for reasons I agreed with. I think his veto was sustained by the House of Delegates that didn't even get to the Senate. But the distribution of an opiate like that carries a penalty of 5 to 40 years already before you make it felony homicide. And I think a lot of people, at least on my side, think there's bipartisan feeling about this is that the over-criminalization and the over-penalization of drugs have not done a whole lot to solve the problem. It creates a lot of nice brochures, and when you tell people, hey, somebody that sold or gave drugs to somebody should be punished harshly. It makes for a nice brochure, but the reality is situations are often way more complex and nuanced than that. Opiate addiction is a very messy thing. And our existing tools are adequate. As I said, you can only get 5 to 40 years, why do we need to pile on to that? I don't think adding some new felony homicide penalty is going to result in fewer people dealing or fewer people manufacturing. The way you deter crime is in the certainty of getting caught and getting punished. It's not the quantum of punishment, it's just the certain possibility of getting caught and punished. And with opiates, what we really need to be focused on is how to get people rehabilitated and on with their lives. Opiates are such a horrible, awful addiction that people have a hard time breaking the criminal justice system. It's often a very poor way of trying to resolve the problem.
Thomas Bowman
Yeah, this is a missed opportunity. Of course, Michael, because this requires a holistic approach that includes access to treatment, recovery services, etc. And the Governor's proposal is just overly simplistic and punitive. It ignores the fact that addiction is a complex disease, and many individuals who use drugs struggle with underlying mental health issues. And what we need in the year 2023 is an evidence-based approach that includes increasing access to treatment and recovery services. Expanding harm reduction strategies, increasing education prevention initiatives. The Governor's proposal might sound tough, but it really ignores the fact that simply punishing people who use or sell drugs does not solve the problem. It doesn't address the underlying reasons why this is happening. And we should be able, you hope, to work together to address that public health crisis. It's not partisan. We need to provide that help and that support. For those not just struggling with addiction but forced into an economic situation where selling drugs like fentanyl is their best option.
Michael Pope
Did you vote against this Bill before? And what do you think its chances are this year?
Scott Surovell
I was trying to look that up. I know I voted against it repeatedly when Doug Lingenfelter carried it. I remember Senator now Congressman Wexton felt very strongly about it. And in 2018, I think it passed unanimously through Senate, and I was trying to remember exactly what happened that caused that to happen.
Michael Pope
Alright, so there is one last issue I want to talk about before we wrap up, which is don't California, my Virginia. Of all of the issues that came up in this speech, this was the loudest applause line that you heard from Republicans. This is the part of the speech where the Governor says Virginia should write its own environmental policy and not follow the dictates of the Golden State.
Glenn Youngkin
Virginia faces a mandate starting in 2024 that limits and eventually bans the buying of gas-powered cars and trucks. Unless we act, Virginia is hostage to the extreme policies of California; common sense says that the law of Virginia should be written by elected leaders here in Virginia.
Michael Pope
So, Senator, there are two standards. There's the national standard and the California standard. You can either follow the national standard, which is okay, or the California standard, which is way more strict. And that's why Northam and the Democrats wanted the California standard. That's the logical argument. But then you get people saying, don't California, my Virginia, which is a very strong message. You can communicate that to people. How are you going to combat this argument? Don't California, my Virginia.
Scott Surovell
The Governor's demagogue of this issue is just preposterous. The thing is, 15 states have joined the California Air standards. Because the Federal Government has failed to take action. The Federal Government is a calcified, frozen body, which is incapable of making real policy anymore. And because of that, it's time for states to step up and take the lead on these issues. And California and a bunch of other states have done that. And we're joining them. And the reason for that is that if you adopt these standards, you get better access to electric vehicles, so you can get better quantity and better selection. Something like two out of three electric vehicles is driven right now in Virginia. They are bought in places like Maryland because you can't get them in Virginia because we're not part of this compact right now. The idea here was never to have California dictate to us to join a collaborative of 15 other states that are banding together to do something about air pollution, which by the way, transportation is now the number one carbon emitting sector of the economy. And we have to start taking action and the federal government's inability to do anything. The states need to step up, and that's exactly what we did. We did it in a way that consumers could have a choice and affordability. That's what it's all about. The Governor trying to turn this into some political punching bag is really unfortunate. And it just sort of underscores how political he's become on just every single little tiny issue. And you would think we could find some way to work together on climate change. But no, he wants to just demagogue this to death.
Thomas Bowman
Yeah. Michael, it was bizarre to me to hear Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin support the federal government led by Joe Biden. Why is a Republican Governor saying that we should go along with Federal Government regulations and standards? I say that tongue in cheek but the reality is, we as Virginians are presently getting to be in the lead and getting to take advantage of the business and market environment of California being able to lead the way in these electric car standards. And we're gonna benefit from that. So Dominion energy, a bunch of the southeast regional electric utilities, have partnered with GM General Motors to install electric car chargers every 100 miles on interstates in the region. And that's just, of course, a first step. And this is all harmonious in stepping toward the future. So I've said this in previous podcasts, but when you hear things like this from Glenn Youngkin, the thing you need to keep in mind is that his major donors came from the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil, and Coal companies. So dirty fossil fuel companies contrast with Dominion energy, renewable utilities, endorsing Terry McAuliffe. So this was a fight against the American Petroleum Institute and renewable energy. And unfortunately, American Petroleum Institute is Glenn Youngkin's donors. He's got to pay back his big donors for API in Exxon Mobil. And by the way, none of them really create a ton of a substantial amount of jobs and Virginia, but he's going to do it anyway, truth and economics be damned. The reality is Virginians are far, far better off by getting to lead the pack in the United States. Rather than going right back to the middle or the bottom of the pack where we would be if not for adopting these California standards. So that veiled swipe, that he's got to sacrifice Virginia's ability to lead on reducing emissions; we shouldn't settle for meeting minimum standards. That's bullshit. We should strive for excellence. We should exceed them and ensure a healthier environment and a better future for all Virginians.
Michael Pope
Okay, well, that's a great place to leave it. Senator Scott Surovell of Eastern Fairfax County. Thanks for joining us on Pod Virginia.
Scott Surovell
Always good to be with you guys.
