Jeanette Rishell
Virginia House of Delegates | District 50
Issues
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Transportation
- When I worked in Fairfax County, I sat in traffic with many of you. I believe we need to team up with Virginia businesses through public-private partnerships to create a high-speed rail line that would connect the major urban areas of Virginia and DC. It would create jobs and help to get more people off the road. That and other forms of expanded mass transit such as bus rapid transit will help create forward-looking solutions to solve the transportation problem.
- I know we can’t solve our transportation problems by simply building more roads. I know that we must link transportation and land use planning, and will fight for policies that protect the integrity of our communities and reduce sprawl.
- I will help create a 21st-Century transportation policy by creating a Rail Authority. The Rail Authority, similar to the Port Authority, would be a public-private partnership that will better leverage money to finance improvements. Rather than allowing the Commonwealth to continue writing checks with little to no oversight, this would ensure a cohesive rail plan which will be better for the environment and reduce traffic.
- I know in order to have a great transportation system we need reliable infrastructure. Virginia has more than 1,700 structurally deficient bridges,[1] and I am committed to supporting investment in road and infrastructure maintenance to keep Virginians safe and create jobs.
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Jobs and the Economy
- Northern Virginia is an appealing place for businesses for many reasons. A well-educated workforce, access to a major international airport and a port, as well as proximity to Washington, DC provide an attractive option for many companies. And yet, when companies look toward investing in a state with 1,000 or more jobs, Virginia isn’t even an option. Other states have more to offer when it comes to attracting major deals. Jeanette will restructure Virginia’s incentive system to allow us to compete with other states – and win.
- Jeanette knows a 21st-century economy means utilizing 21st-century technology in the workplace. She supports providing tax incentives to businesses that expand telecommuting, tele-work and flextime to allow offices to adapt to the modern day workforce, decrease costs and also help reduce traffic congestion.
- Currently, wind and solar energy projects are occurring at Virginia Tech, ODU and many other of Virginia’s fine public universities. Jeanette will support initiatives to bring private sector funding to Virginia’s research universities to create new, innovative technologies and strengthen our economy. By developing new energy technology at home, we will create thousands of new green jobs here in Virginia.
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Health Care
- I know our health care system is in a crisis right now; over 15% of Virginians currently have no health insurance.1 Those with insurance are paying more today for less, being squeezed by a bureaucracy that denies coverage based on preexisting or changed coverage. The frustration is growing. I believe we need to do more to improve access and ensure every Virginian has a basic standard of primary care. I lost my father to cancer, but due to early detection, my mother survived cancer and lived into her 90s. I want better access to cancer screenings that save lives and money. No family should have to go through what I did. I will also work to get every child in Virginia access to quality health care and easier access to prenatal care for expecting mothers.
- I believes the best way to treat a problem is to stop it before it starts. It applies to both the proper way to treat a legislative problem and the proper way to treat a sickness. That's why I will sponsor legislation granting paid sick days off to hourly workers who work for companies with 100 or more employees. Under Rishell's plan, an hourly employee would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours they work. Sick days should not be a luxury granted only to salaried workers; everyone should be able to take time to get better.
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Education
- Jeanette has seen both her children and grandchildren go through Virginia's high-quality schools. She considers herself lucky that she was able to take time to work with her children when they were young and help educate them. But not every family has that opportunity, which is why making universal pre-kindergarten available is so vital to the success of our children. A significant portion of a child’s brain develops between the ages of 0 and 5, making pre-kindergarten critically important to every child’s future success. Not only is pre-k important to early success, but early education has been shown to be the most effective way to decrease school drop-out rates later in life.[1] With over 400 students dropping out of school in Prince William in 2008,[2] this problem is increasing in our community. Governor Kaine has made significant investments in early childhood education and Jeanette believes that we must continue this progress and invest even more in pre-k to ensure every child has a chance to succeed. Jeanette wants to make sure when it comes to education, the needs of our children are put first.
- Nearly half of teachers in Virginia leave the profession within the first five years.[3] Jeanette believes we need to focus on attracting and retaining bright and dedicated individuals to teaching. She will fight to increase Virginia teacher’s salaries to keep top educators in our classrooms.
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Energy and the Environment
- By 2022 Virginia's power companies should produce 12% of their electricity from renewable energy sources.[1] Right now this is a voluntary standard. Jeanette wants to make this standard mandatory to encourage more green energy production.
- Jeanette will work to create new green jobs and bring tens of millions of dollars to Virginia by investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy and new technologies. This means new jobs for scientists, carpenters, engineers, farmers and thousands of other Virginians. She will introduce legislation to expand an existing grant program to include all green companies for possible funding to bring green jobs here. Prior to receiving the grant from the state, the companies will have to invest at least $50 million and create at least 200 jobs.
- Nearly 20% of Virginia's electricity needs - 20,000 gigawatts of electricity - can be saved by 2025 simply by increasing energy efficiency.[2] Jeanette will support legislation to require energy efficient LEED construction standards for state and local government buildings, investment in smart grid technologies and tax incentives for home owners and small businesses that utilize energy saving mechanisms in the design of their buildings.
