Jewish political activists in Virginia are mobilizing to save the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, after Gov. Mark Warner (D) cut all funding to the group in his proposed 2004 budget. Local Jewish community organizations are urging Virginians to contact their state legislators and register their support for continued funding of the state agency, which seeks to improve economic and cultural links between Virginia and Israel.
"It's an immediate priority" of the Jewish community during the current 45-day Virginia legislative session, said American Jewish Committee Washington-area director David Bernstein.
... VIAB was originally created in the mid-1980s but reinvigorated and made a permanent entity of the governor's office in 1996 under former Gov. George Allen (R). The agency first thought its $175,000 appropriation in 2003 would be trimmed by 15 percent, or $26,250. The decrease matched cuts that Warner was ordering for all state agencies to make up the $1.5 billion budget shortfall the commonwealth is facing over the next two years. But when Warner submitted his budget to the legislature, funding for VIAB was completely missing, surprising agency supporters.
Why is it an "immediate priority"?!
This is lobbying nonsense. There's no obvious need for this agency being publicly-funded.
Perhaps these organizations could better spend their money by starting the agency up as a private non-profit instead of lobbying to have it paid for by the taxpayer?
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