"Albo on Smoking Ban"

Many of you have asked about the smoking ban so here it is:

Dear Constituents,

Thanks for writing me about the smoking ban.

First, let me explain how we got here. I have been one of four Republicans who in Sub-Committee year after year killed these smoking ban bills. I did so because I believe that a business owner should be able to decide what he wants in his own business. And many of these smoking ban bills were not just bans of smoking in restaurants, but also bans in all public places, including offices. So people like me who pay a lot of money in rent for my law office in Springfield and Arlington, could not even smoke a cigar in the privacy of my own office. Moreover, and most offensively, they wanted to ban smoking in private clubs! So a guy, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, could not smoke a cigar in his own American Legion Hall, even if the majority of the members wanted to allow smoking.

Now, let’s talk politics.

I do not go to Richmond to “do what Dave Albo wants to do,” rather; I go to Richmond to do what my constituents want me to do. Over the years, I have received hundreds of e-mails, calls and letters asking for a smoking ban. On the other side of the issue, I have received just three calls and four e-mails asking me to preserve smoking. As such, I began looking to form a compromise solution that did not offend my sense of personal property rights, but did establish some controls over smoking in restaurants.

The bill that I wrote, which is now the basis of the compromise, bans smoking in restaurants, but allows for some exceptions. The exceptions include restaurants with a designated smoking room that is physically separated and independently ventilated from non-smoking dining areas, any permanent outdoor patio area of a restaurant, any private club and street-side “hotdog” stands and other mobile points of food service.

This legislation addressed many of the concerns I had with previous attempts to ban smoking, but I am pleased with the outcome.

I hope you all like this compromise. A “compromise” means that I get things that I like, but have to accept some things I don’t like. At least this bill enables restaurants that want smoking a way to provide this service to patrons.


Regards,

Dave Albo

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Delegate Dave Albo at (703) 451-3555 or look at the smoking section on my website.

"Albo on Illegal Aliens: A Study"

The argument that we hear a lot is that illegal aliens do the work that citizens and legal immigrants don’t want to do. However, a study done by the Center for Immigration Studies about the 2006 raids at six different Swift meatpacking plants shows a different story.

Swift & Co. operates meatpacking plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado and Utah. The work is difficult and dangerous due in part to fast line speeds. The work is, as you can imagine, also quite unpleasant.

U.S. immigration officials raided all six Swift plants on December 12, 2006. The raids, known as Operation Wagon Train, were “the largest single worksite enforcement action in U.S. history.” As a result, 1,287 arrests were made which equaled about 10 percent of Swift’s workers. The raid was conducted during the first shift of work and, by the second shift, many employees did not turn up for work, as the word had spread.

The pork plants took four months to get back to full production while the beef plants took five months. In the meantime, the company placed ads and provided incentives to recruit legal citizens to work. These incentives included a higher pay than previously employed workers, signing bonuses, and bonuses to those who could bring in other employees.

In summary, within 5 months, the Swift plants were up and running with legal immigrant and citizen workers. The bottom line, there were legal immigrants and citizens willing to do the work.

Background

Prior to this raid, because of low pay, there is a huge turnover rate at all of the factories because of the conditions and low pay. The different plant locations have different turnover rates. In Texas, the turnover rate was 42 percent or 100 replacement workers each month. In Utah, the rate was 40 percent, or 440 replacements. Nebraska’s plant has a 70 percent turnover rate.

Back in 1980, workers were paid what would be $21.75 per hour in 2009 dollars. However, in 2007 workers were paid what would be $12.03 per hour in 2009 dollars. This large difference in wages makes the incentive to work at the factories very low. The work is already unpleasant but lowering wages only discourages potential employees even more.

The study showed that in order for legal immigrants and U.S. citizens to work at these factories, the incentives must be higher to keep them employed. In other words, citizens and legal immigrants were not unwilling to do the job, rather, they were unwilling to do the job at depressed wages acceptable to illegal aliens.


Conclusion

Months after the raids took place, the six Swift factories had started up production again and were employing legal residents and citizens of the U.S. One of the things that can be learned from this is that wages were indeed lowered by the presence of illegal aliens. Illegal aliens were willing to do the work for a lower pay. And, Swift was willing to employ illegal aliens because it meant saving money. By doing this, native-born workers were less interested in working in conditions where they weren’t as highly compensated as the workers had once been. Additionally, once the raids were over, the employees were legal residents and, therefore, showing that the statement, illegal aliens are willing to do the work citizens won’t do, is simply not true.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Delegate Dave Albo at (703) 451-3555 or my website at davealbo.com

"Delegate Dave Albo on Health Care"

The Commonwealth of Virginia has tried very hard to make sure healthcare is available and affordable for all of its citizens. As your delegate, I have helped to pass bills that ensure children are covered even if their parents cannot afford insurance themselves, make insurance more affordable for small businesses, and to help reform Medicaid.

The one thing your General Assembly has not pursued is government run health care which forces citizens into a centralized system of government paid doctors. Such a system totally eliminates patient choice of doctor, acts as a disincentive to the "best and the brightest" pursuing medicine as a career, and will undoubtedly in the long run, lead to state government bankruptcy.

I have provided the following bill list for my constituents about health insurance initiatives and reforms in our state.

Flexible Benefits Health Insurance – HB 2024 (2009)

This bill reduces the number of insured Virginians by allowing small businesses the ability to offer health insurance plans.

Small Business Insurance Pools - HB 761 (2006)

This bill allowed small businesses to pool together in cooperatives to offer coverage of health care services.

Long-Term Health Care - HB 786 & HB 759 (2006)

These bills encourage purchasing long-term care health insurance because of tax credits and long-term care partnership programs.

Electronic Health Records - HB 2198 (2007) & HB 2044 (2009)

These bills implement the use of electronic records in order to get rid of medical errors that lead up to the death of 98,000 Americans every year.

Affordable Health Care – HB 397 (2008)

In order to make health care more affordable, this bill removes certain limitations on the deductibles that a health maintenance organization may require.

Comprehensive Medicaid Reform - HB 758 (2006)

This bill transforms Medicaid by introducing or expanding Health Opportunity Accounts, disease management, managed care and electronic benefit transfers.

Increased Medical Care Competition – HB 1598 (2009)

The criteria for issuance of a Certificate of Public Need is revised which will lead to increased competition in health care service delivery.

Expanded Access to Health Care - HB 5002 (2006)

This bill expanded access to and support of Virginia’s 34 community health centers and 47 free clinics.

Price Transparency – HB 603 (2008)

Health insurance carries are required to report the amount the carrier is required to pay the provider for the health care services. This makes it possible for patients to make better decisions when choosing services.

Comprehensive Mental Health Reform – HB 499, HB 559, HB 560 & HB 815 (2008)

These bills made reforms to Virginia’s mandatory outpatient treatment laws by closing the gaps in the mental health system exposed in the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Support for Mental Health - HB 1650 (2007), HB 1600 & HB 2674 (2009)

The General Assembly bills funded over 800 additional community mental retardation waiver slots while establishing a goal of eliminating the urgent care waiting list, increases in inpatient psychiatric hospital services and health care coverage of low-income expectant mothers. Support is also provided for Virginia’s 40 Community Service Boards and 16 state facilities.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me, Delegate Dave Albo, at 703-451-3555 or check out my website at davealbo.com

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Silverbrook Road & Southrun Road traffic signal study request

Re: Silverbrook Road & Southrun Road traffic signal study request

Dear Delegate Albo,

This is a follow-up response regarding your constituent’s request for a traffic signal study at the referenced intersection.

The Virginia Department of Transportation conducted a study of this intersection to consider both a traffic signal and multi-way stop control in 2008. The results of the study did not support the installation of either device.

Among the findings of the study were a number of rear-end type crashes involving east bound vehicles. The study recommends installation of an east bound left turn lane to address this issue. We have forwarded this recommendation to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation for consideration in their Six Year Secondary System Construction Program.

Please contact me should you have further questions or concerns regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

Don Moyer

Area Engineer, Arlington & Fairfax Counties

VDOT Traffic Engineering

Northern Region Operations