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Virginia speaker blocks approval of Dem appointments
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/09/virginia-speaker-blocks-approval-dem-appointmentsVirginia speaker blocks approval of Dem appointments
By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 23, 2014
RICHMOND
Partisan warfare in the state capital has been ratcheted up another notch with word from Republican House Speaker Bill Howell that he will block confirmation of three recent appointments by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
Among the appointees, all former Democratic members of the General Assembly, is former Del. Algie Howell of Norfolk.
Speaker Howell, of Stafford County - no relation to Algie Howell - released a letter Monday that he sent last week to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Timothy Heaphy, U.S. attorney for Virginia's Western District, saying he will not bring the three appointments to the House floor for a vote unless he receives assurances that they are legal under federal law.
The letter is an outgrowth of the long-running impasse between McAuliffe and the Republican-controlled legislature over whether to expand Medicaid, the federal/state health insurance program for low-income people, under the federal Affordable Care Act.
