Newsletter - December 7, 2016

Please join us for Mark's Monthly Meetup at 12:30 pm, Saturday, December 10th, at Los Tios Mexican Grill in Del Ray, located at 2615 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria.

Like all Mark's Monthly Meetups, there is no donation required. It's just a place to sit and talk and, for most of us, eat. I always want to know what's on the mind of my constituents and supporters.

One in five women will suffer sexual assault or domestic violence in their lifetime, and some men will undergo this ordeal as well. When I ran for office, I made clear that services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence would be one of my highest priorities.

 

This year, I introduced a bill to help survivors, spoke out several times on the Floor on the topic, and obtained a successful budget amendment to help abused children. I also became one of only three legislators to attend the Richmond meetings of Virginia's Advisory Committee on Sexual and Domestic Violence (founded and ably chaired by Arlington's own Senator Barbara Favola). In addition, I joined a local task force to focus on Northern Virginia survivors that included Senator Favola, Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol, Alexandria Vice Mayor Justin Wilson, and a number of local dedicated professionals serving the community.

 

I am extremely proud to announce a first for Northern Virginia:  we will soon have Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners at Inova Hospital in Fairfax 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We obtained a grant from Virginia's Department of Criminal Justice Services to add 4 full-time and 2 part-time Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) at Inova Hospital. We will finally be able to provide round-the-clock staffing and services for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault in Northern Virginia. 

 

Sexual assaults do not come in regular patterns. There may be none for 12 hours, or there may be 6 at once. Assaults can occur at any time on any day. Because Northern Virginia lacked 24/7 care, too many survivors seeking care after their assaults had to endure long waits or even be diverted to hospitals hours away. After the incredible stress and horror of an assault, survivors understandably want to clean up and go home. They don't want their agony prolonged. And inadequate staffing in Northern Virginia meant that the horror and stress of the ordeal might last all night and into the next day.

 

No more! Our efforts should make sure that at least one Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner is available 24/7 for anyone in need in Northern Virginia and, if necessary, sufficient backup on call for more. Now survivors will have immediate access to medical care, counseling, and comprehensive forensic services at a central NOVA location just off the Beltway. This will not only improve the integrity of the criminal justice process and help us prosecute offenders (and thereby lessen the likelihood of future offenses); it will also improve the health and safety of the victims, with as much peace of mind as possible after such a traumatic event.

 

I'd like to thank the Department for this grant, Mary Hale at Inova for her hard work in implementing this proposal, and all my fellow elected officials who supported this effort. 

Recently, the Alexandria Fire Chief Robet Dubé and other members of the Fire Department requested I seek to delay State approval of hundreds of changes being made to the Statewide Fire Prevention Code that were being put in final form just a few weeks before session without sufficient time for our firefighters' full review and input. I agreed with them that when a major overhaul of a decades-old law is occurring, it is essential to make sure such changes are drafted accurately and appropriately to ensure public safety is protected. I wrote a letter to Virginia's Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore urging him to postpone the changes long enough to give our firefighters time to examine them carefully. 

There were no easy answers, but I know many of the constituents were pleased that I was at least able to sort out many of the issues and point them where they could best obtain some help. There's an article about some of my efforts in the left-hand column.

Please join Congressman Don Beyer, several other members of the General Assembly and me in welcoming Dr. Ralph Northam, our current Lieutenant Governor and hopefully our next Governor, to Alexandria on Friday December 16th. We'll be at Chadwicks, 203 Strand Street in Old Town, from 6-8pm.

 

Governor Terry McAuliffe's vetoes have been the only thing keeping right-wing Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly from turning Virginia into North Carolina: reinstating Jim Crow voting laws, intervening in women's health decisions, rolling back LGBT rights, putting the safety of our immigrants at risk, and lowering wages for working families.

 

Every Republican running for Governor endorsed Donald Trump for President, and every one of them would bring Trump's disastrous policies to Virginia if elected. We must defeat them, and we must support Ralph Northam. Please RSVP and donate to Ralph at this link, and learn how we can fight for Virginia's future.