Spanberger Announces Focus of August In-District Work Period: “Securing the Future”

HENRICO, V.A. –  U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today announced the overarching theme for her August work period in Virginia’s Seventh District —“Securing the Future.”

Over the course of August, Spanberger will meet with working families, first responders, small business owners, and educators across Central Virginia. Her primary focus will be to listen to the specific needs of the Seventh District’s communities and then return to Congress in September with additional ideas on how best to secure a stronger future for all Central Virginians.

As part of her “Securing the Future” initiative, Spanberger will host events focused on important issues—including a prescription drug roundtable, a rural broadband summit, a farm tour, and an election security and campaign finance reform event—to better understand the specific needs of her district’s workers, families, and businesses. More details on these events will be announced.

“Too often, lawmakers seem to be focused on the day-to-day controversies that drive the twenty-four-hour news cycle. But here in Central Virginia, we recognize the need to rise above partisanship and division—because our residents continue to face pressing challenges related to the stability of their jobs, the changing landscape of the digital economy, and the rising costs of housing, higher education, and healthcare,” said Spanberger. “The long-term economic and national security of our district and country fundamentally depends on how we build opportunity for the next generation. During the month of August, I’ll be focused on how we can secure a strong future for Central Virginia—one that makes sure all of our neighbors have access to affordable housing, reliable healthcare coverage, high-quality childcare, and a secure retirement. We can achieve this goal by listening to the needs of our communities—and through events related to the issues that matter most to the people I serve, I hope to return to the U.S. House with a clear idea of what we can and must accomplish.”

This week, Spanberger has worked to give constituents a platform to voice their concerns about the issues that matter most to them. Earlier this week, Spanberger held public town halls in Chesterfield County and Culpeper County, and later this week, she will host a town hall in Powhatan County. This week’s town halls are part of her effort to hold a town hall in each of the 10 counties of Central Virginia that she represents.

As Spanberger travels across Central Virginia throughout the month of August, she will also highlight her work since arriving in the U.S. House—and she will receive feedback on how she can craft and help pass legislation that addresses the specific needs of the Seventh District’s communities. Specifically, she will focus on:

• Securing access to affordable and reliable healthcare coverage and prescription drugs. Spanberger has urged bipartisan action to tackle the prescription drug and affordability crisis—and last month, her bipartisan bill to increase transparency and competition in the prescription drug marketplace passed out of a key House committee. Earlier this year, she helped pass a bipartisan bill she cosponsored that would make it easier for Central Virginians to access lower-cost, generic prescription drugs. Additionally, Spanberger has spoken out against and helped pass legislation to deter the administration’s partisan efforts to dismantle the American healthcare system and jeopardize coverage for Central Virginians with pre-existing conditions. Spanberger is also backing legislation that would help lower health insurance costs through a public health insurance option on the individual and small business health insurance exchanges.

• Securing a strong foundation for working families. In the U.S. House, Spanberger has been fighting to address the pay gap for working families, and she has consistently pushed to expand successful workforce training programs that equip the next generation of employees with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy. In June, she successfully secured increased support for work-based learning programs and apprenticeships. During the month of August, she will also be examining new ways to reduce the student debt burden among the district’s students.

• Securing long-term job security for Central Virginia workers and supporting new startups and small businesses. Through her work to expand access to high-speed broadband internet, Spanberger is championing increased connectivity as a way to attract new businesses and employees to Central Virginia’s rural communities. In June, Spanberger successfully led the fight to approve a bipartisan amendment that would increase federal rural broadband infrastructure funding by 10 percent—and earlier this year, she introduced and passed an amendment to improve the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband mapping data. Additionally, Spanberger has been involved in conversations with the administration related to the impact of ongoing trade negotiations on Central Virginia farmers and manufacturers—and she has called for certainty and stability amid ongoing escalations of the administration’s trade war with China.

• Securing the retirements of Central Virginia workers and their families. Earlier this year, Spanberger helped pass bipartisan legislation that would make it easier for working families to escalate their savings, expand access to workplace retirement plans, and give small businesses increased flexibility to provide for their employees. And last month, Spanberger joined a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House in passing legislation she cosponsored to make sure retirees receive the benefits they’ve earned through their hard work.

• Securing the tools and training first responders need to keep Central Virginia communities safe. Earlier this year, Spanberger joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues in securing additional investment to give law enforcement and first responders additional resources to tackle the ongoing substance abuse crisis in Virginia. And last month, the U.S. House passed Spanberger’s bipartisan legislation to give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on the distribution of child pornography on government networks. Spanberger also helped introduce bipartisan legislation to make ambulance travel more affordable for Central Virginia veterans.

• Securing a sustainable future and mitigating the effects of Climate Change. Spanberger is listening to ideas on how best to mitigate the effects of climate change, expand successful conservation practices, and promote clean air and water across Central Virginia. And as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee’s Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, she has emphasized the role that crop and livestock producers play in maintaining healthy soil and providing environmental and health benefits for the public at large—such as through successful conservation easement programs. In March, she helped introduce legislation that would require the United States to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.

• Securing U.S. elections through increased protections and transparency. Earlier this year, Spanberger helped pass legislation to strengthen transparency in the U.S. political system and limit the influence of special interests and undisclosed donors in the democratic process. The legislation includes a bipartisan amendment Spanberger successfully introduced and helped pass to assess and prevent future foreign threats to U.S. election infrastructure. She is also working with a bipartisan group of freshman House Members to understand and prevent future threats to elections in Virginia and across the country.

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