One in five residents in Arlington County is directly employed by the federal government. County board members and the local delegation in the Virginia General Assembly are working together to assess the damage of recent federal cuts and develop strategies to weather the storm.
“This is going to be a long-haul commitment for all of us,” said Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffey during a Monday work session with several local state senators and delegates.
In characterizing staff reports, Coffey said it is still a bit early to fully understand the impact of recent changes to the federal workforce.
“Whether it’s unemployment, food security services, mental health services — we’re still kind of before the cliff right now,” Coffey said.
Coffey said while many residents have the assets to get through three to six months of uncertainty before they need a social safety net: “We don’t know when it’s coming, but we’re seeing that slow tick up.”
“These chaotic actions across the river are affecting us, disproportionately, “Del. Alfonso Lopez, a Democrat, said.
He urged collaboration between county and state lawmakers “to assist this vitally important section of the Commonwealth.”
Del. Adele McClure, also a Democrat, urged Arlington to team up with other nearby counties that are home to large numbers of federal employees.
“Submitting proposals as a region would be really strong,” she said.
Board chair chides Gov. Youngkin: ‘Pick up the phone and call the White House’
In his final remarks, Arlington County Board Chairman Takis Karantonis, a Democrat, reminded his colleagues that the federal job cuts “are a choice, it’s not compelled by any real circumstances whatsoever,” without mentioning President Donald Trump’s administration.
Karantonis also suggested Gov. Glenn Youngkin should act to protect Virginia’s federal workers.
“There is a huge political gorilla in the room — somebody in the governor’s mansion needs to pick up the phone and call the White House and tell them to stop,” Karantonis said.
While Youngkin has said the federal job cuts are necessary for fiscal responsibility, and that the state will hire many displaced workers, Karantonis said that may not preserve Arlington’s highly trained workforce.
“We don’t have so many possibilities to pivot so easily. We’re losing the crème of the crème. These are not people who I can send to the community college to be retrained,” Karantonis said. “If they go, they go from Virginia, not only from Arlington or Northern Virginia, they go from the Commonwealth.”
Without intervention, Karantonis said departure of that specialized workforce “would be loss of muscle, tissue, economic tissue, that the entire Commonwealth would very much regret not having stemmed” in a timely manner.
In a statement, Youngkin’s press secretary Peter Finocchio said: “Fortunately, for displaced federal employees seeking meaningful employment, Virginia is booming.”
“Virginia’s job openings are the 11th highest in the U.S. and its unemployment rate is more than a full percentage point below the national average. Governor Youngkin remains laser-focused on helping ensure every Virginian can thrive, and that includes the many who have built careers working in or supporting the functions of our federal government,” Finocchio added.
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