Youngkin administration denies FOIA request from member of own task force

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Youngkin administration denies FOIA request from member of own task force
Governor’s office won’t release records to VMSDEP advocate

BY: GRAHAM MOOMAW - JULY 5, 2024 5:46 AM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has called for more transparency as the state looks for new ways to handle the growing costs of a program that provides tuition-free college to spouses and children of military veterans killed or disabled as a result of their service. … However, Youngkin’s administration isn’t practicing full transparency itself.

Kayla Owen — a military spouse who’s also a member of the governor’s task force studying the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program — initially submitted a FOIA request to Youngkin’s office for a handful of officials’ internal communications involving the program. Her initial request didn’t give a timeframe, but she later narrowed it to records going back to June 2023. The administration said it wouldn’t release anything.

Youngkin’s office is withholding the documents, enough to fill two binders, under a sweeping Freedom of Information Act exemption for gubernatorial “working papers and correspondence.”

Those records would shed light on the Youngkin officials’ discussions about the program prior to VMSDEP being put on the chopping block. They could also offer clarity on what led the administration to draft a bill that included the same VMSDEP downsizing measures the governor now wants to undo.

{snip}

[underpants]

1. Everyone who's following this is pissed off. Across the political spectrum

Local talk radio is even hopping mad.
I know Dems control both houses of the GA but this is hanging around the Governor’s neck.
Trump’s conventional smart move 🙄 would be to ask Youngkin to be on the ticket but Trump already has issues with Veterans.

Advocates say language was snuck into Virginia's budget that drastically cuts the program by reenacting a domicile requirement, limiting awards to first undergraduate degrees, requiring completion of the FAFSA, and restoring a satisfactory academic progress requirement.

The proposed change would grandfather all existing students and any new students who formally committed by May 15, 2024. Applicants were given less than 48 hours from when the budget passed on May 13 to May 15 to submit applications under the previous criteria.


"How do you have a $2 billion surplus and disabled veterans and Gold Star family kids are the problem?" Owen asked. "Basically, it's the largest cut to veteran benefits in the history of Virginia."


Out-of-state students accounted for $11.8 million, or about 20% of all 2023 waivers.

https://www.courthousenews.com/veterans-dont-buy-virginia-governors-attempt-to-reconcile-cuts-to-benefits-for-dependents/