Neil Simon, Media General New Service
Rep. Virgil Goode, R-5th, laughs with staffers Bryan Wood and Joan Adams.
By Mark Young/Media General News Service
By Mark Young/Media General News Service
Email to a Friend
Stumble It!
Related
Most Popular Stories
WASHINGTON-- Before President Bush delivered the State of the Union address Monday night, before Virginia Tech shooting survivor Kevin Sterne took his seat in the First Lady's gallery, Virginia's congressional delegation joined college leaders from Richmond and Blacksburg for a pre-speech reception on Capitol Hill.
Some of the 80 people rode a bus to the capital and back south before the speech. Their short stay in a House committee room still came with a legislative mission.
To Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani, that mission starts with student loans.
"Federal grants and federal loans. That's important to us," he said. "It's the funding of our students."
While most observers anticipate the second session of this Congress to be overshadowed by presidential campaigning, VCU's top brass say they need to keep a close eye on the lawmaking process.
"For an academic medical center safety net hospital, you can get decimated very quickly by changes in Medicaid and Medicare rates," said Don Gerhing, vice president of government relations for the university and its medical center.
The VCU Medical Center receives at least 70 percent of its revenue from government-run insurance programs. Even in a year when no major health care policy is expected to pass Congress, VCU officials were here to guard against any declines in medical reimbursement rates.
Hearing talk about budget-tightening and federal spending reforms, VCU Health System CEO Dr. Sheldon Retchin said there is a lot to watch for this session.
"There could be cuts; we need to be very vigilant," Retchin said. "Medicaid could be a real target."
Other lobbyists were appreciative of federal help received last year.
Ralph Byers of Virginia Tech said he was surprised by the speed of congressional action in the wake of his school's deadly shooting rampage.
Within six weeks, Congress passed a bill allowing families who received money from the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to receive that money tax-free.
"The government was especially good to Virginia Tech last year," Byers said. "President Bush was there on April 17th, and the White House has followed up and showed a lot of concern."
Virginia Tech graduate student Kevin Sterne, who very likely saved his own life the day of the shooting by tying a makeshift tourniquet around his wounded leg, did not attend the college reception.
For nurses, there was talk of the nursing shortage; among women VCU's decreased funding for women leadership programs was a concern.
In 2003, Dr. Susan Kornstein was proud to see the Medical Center named one of 20 National Centers of Excellence for Women, recognizing its work in clinical care, medical research, community outreach and leadership training. This past October, four years into what they were told was going to be eight years of funding, the federal dollars were pulled without warning.
"It's affected us deeply," Kornstein said. The annual $160,000, matched by the university, had been the Center's core infrastructure, she said. Now they still have the national distinction, but no federal funds to keep up a program that had become a national model.
Among the younger congressional staffers, some planned to head home to watch the president with some popcorn.
Whitney Stocket said she expected Bush to reframe the Iraq war how he wants it to be framed for future generations.
"I'm really interested in how he rounds out his presidency," she said.
Some of the 80 people rode a bus to the capital and back south before the speech. Their short stay in a House committee room still came with a legislative mission.
To Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani, that mission starts with student loans.
"Federal grants and federal loans. That's important to us," he said. "It's the funding of our students."
While most observers anticipate the second session of this Congress to be overshadowed by presidential campaigning, VCU's top brass say they need to keep a close eye on the lawmaking process.
"For an academic medical center safety net hospital, you can get decimated very quickly by changes in Medicaid and Medicare rates," said Don Gerhing, vice president of government relations for the university and its medical center.
The VCU Medical Center receives at least 70 percent of its revenue from government-run insurance programs. Even in a year when no major health care policy is expected to pass Congress, VCU officials were here to guard against any declines in medical reimbursement rates.
Hearing talk about budget-tightening and federal spending reforms, VCU Health System CEO Dr. Sheldon Retchin said there is a lot to watch for this session.
"There could be cuts; we need to be very vigilant," Retchin said. "Medicaid could be a real target."
Other lobbyists were appreciative of federal help received last year.
Ralph Byers of Virginia Tech said he was surprised by the speed of congressional action in the wake of his school's deadly shooting rampage.
Within six weeks, Congress passed a bill allowing families who received money from the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to receive that money tax-free.
"The government was especially good to Virginia Tech last year," Byers said. "President Bush was there on April 17th, and the White House has followed up and showed a lot of concern."
Virginia Tech graduate student Kevin Sterne, who very likely saved his own life the day of the shooting by tying a makeshift tourniquet around his wounded leg, did not attend the college reception.
For nurses, there was talk of the nursing shortage; among women VCU's decreased funding for women leadership programs was a concern.
In 2003, Dr. Susan Kornstein was proud to see the Medical Center named one of 20 National Centers of Excellence for Women, recognizing its work in clinical care, medical research, community outreach and leadership training. This past October, four years into what they were told was going to be eight years of funding, the federal dollars were pulled without warning.
"It's affected us deeply," Kornstein said. The annual $160,000, matched by the university, had been the Center's core infrastructure, she said. Now they still have the national distinction, but no federal funds to keep up a program that had become a national model.
Among the younger congressional staffers, some planned to head home to watch the president with some popcorn.
Whitney Stocket said she expected Bush to reframe the Iraq war how he wants it to be framed for future generations.
"I'm really interested in how he rounds out his presidency," she said.