Mark R. Warner

Senator Warner called into three morning radio shows in Virginia today to discuss the looming fiscal cliff. 

He spoke with  John Fredericks, whose morning show is broadcast in Norfolk, Richmond and Northern Virginia, and he also dialed-in to WRVA in Richmond and Washington’s WTOP Radio. 

“I think people are willing to do their part if we, the elected officials, can instead of blaming each other, put out a plan that says we’re all going to have some skin in the game,” Sen. Warner told  Mike Moss and Bruce Alan of WTOP.

“The sooner we can get some give [from both sides of the aisle] the better,” he told Jimmy Barrett on WRVA. 

Moving Virginia forward to continued success in a global economy should not include losing sight of important local and statewide connections. That’s what Senator Warner, a co-founder of Nextel and former venture capital investor, told more than 300 young people attending the second annual Virginia Young Professionals Summit in Richmond on Saturday. 

"Sometimes when we think only globally we lose the connectivity that brings us together in our communities and all across Virginia,” Sen. Warner said. “And today more so than ever before, who you know is more important than what you know.”

Sen. Warner also emphasized that investing in people as critical to business success.

“The best idea in the world isn't worth as much as having great people on board,” he said. “I would always invest in a good management team over a good business plan.”

The former governor also encouraged attendees to work on constantly reinventing themselves.

"Like it or not, in this economy, you're going to have seven or nine careers before you're 50,” Senator Warner said. “It’s important to stay flexible and keep learning.”

David Karp, the 26-year-old founder and CEO of Tumblr, focused on embracing unexpected opportunities in his keynote speech. He advised his audience to learn from people they meet.  “Hang out with people who are where you aspire to be,” he said. 

Karp also emphasized the importance of staying true to yourself. He said that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had  advised him to stick with his vision when he was facing the challenges of growth and success. 

“He told me not to give up on being clever,” Karp said. “And that was enough to push me to stick it out a little bit longer as a small, lean company. Today, we have 115 people, and we’re one of the top 20 sites in the world.”

Participants attended breakout sessions on topics including funding start-up businesses, networking, and developing and maintaining a brand.  Anne Schlussler, founder of Clarity Staffing, a personnel recruiting agency,  and a moderator for the branding panel, encouraged attendees to focus on actions, not words, during their careers. 

“Successful, talented, do-ers don't just talk about themselves all day,” she said. “There's work to be done.”

Senator Warner stopped by the new State Fair of Virginia in Caroline County today on his way down to Richmond for our annual Virginia Young Professionals Summit.

In March, the Fair was almost permanently shuttered when its parent company filed for bankruptcy. The Virginia Farm Bureau, however, partnered with a Memphis-based company to  purchase an ownership interest in the Fair and keep it running. Today Senator Warner cut the ribbon on the new Fair with members of the Farm Bureau. 

“The State Fair is one of Virginia’s greatest annual traditions – we can trace its roots all the way back to 1854,” Senator Warner said to the crowd at Meadow Event Park. “And while the past year has been challenging for those of us who support the Fair, I want to join all Virginians in thanking the Virginia Farm Bureau for stepping up to help maintain this important tradition.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner will host the second annual Virginia Young Professionals Summit (YP2012) on Saturday, Sept. 29^th in Richmond.  YP2012 helps to connect young adults from across Virginia with professional growth and networking opportunities. This year’s summit will feature remarks by Sen. Warner, 26-year-old Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp, and Dr. Christopher Howard, president of Hampden-Sydney College. In addition, more than 300 attendees will help kick-off the summit at 3:00 PM Friday afternoon by volunteering to clean-up and beautify Richmond’s Belle Isle as a group community service project.

“Today, more so than ever before, it is critically important for Virginians to put aside political labels and bring our best and brightest minds together,” Sen. Warner said.  “The goal of YP2012 is to provide a forum for the next generation of Virginia leaders to connect with each other and build relationships that will strengthen the Commonwealth.”

Saturday’s programming will begin at 9:00 AM at various locations in and around VCU’s University Student Commons located at 907 Floyd Avenue. More information, including a detailed schedule, is available here.  

Last year’s summit attracted more than 225 young Virginians from across the Commonwealth. 

The out-of-control character in the 1976 movie "Network" is often mimicked to signal when someone or some group has had enough. As the world crumbles, Beale goes on a legendary rant with the refrain, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

The status quo might not be pushing Virginians over the edge. But we're frustrated and concerned that the commonwealth is, or will be, falling behind in important issues such as education, infrastructure investment, the economy, equal prosperity among regions, energy and innovation, according to the discussions at the day-and-a-night conference last month in Richmond.

That's why the dialogue-starter attracted a bigger than expected crowd of explorers seeking fresh solutions.

The summit had a bipartisan base, led by a current U.S. senator, Democrat Mark R. Warner, and a former congressman, Republican Thomas M. Davis III. The host was the talented historian turned executive, Edward L. Ayers, the president of the University of Richmond, where more than 500 Virginians gave up a Saturday because they're concerned about their state.

"There's so much capacity for collaboration and cooperation that can lead to action," Ayers told the squeezed-in audience after participants absorbed a series of presentations and finished three "world café" conversations at tables that allowed small groups to chew on new approaches that would advance Virginia, its education systems and an innovation-led economy.

It would be an understatement to share that these emerging waves of leaders are tired of the contentious political processes that bog down, rather than lift up progress.

I was one of the table moderators, and I left the program with a notebook full of takeaways and observations. Among the ah-ha's that piled up at the Virginia summit, consider these seven:

• We can't duck the big problems: "They have to be resolved. You have no choice," said former Gov. Gerald Baliles, in the "Leadership Through Change" address. He drew a contrast between a simple challenge and a complicated issue. Simple: Transportation is all about "pay or not get it." Complicated: Financing education. There's a "consequence for our choices" in both cases, he said. "You can't do it on the cheap."

Warner's examples: Airports in Third World countries are decades ahead of us. We're not investing in infrastructure such as broadband communications and sewer and water systems. Huge parts of Virginia, namely rural and inner-city areas, are being left behind.

• We're vulnerable when we lag in education: It should bother all of us that Virginia is falling behind in education, speakers said. In 1995, Virginia led the nation with an education plan; not anymore, noted presenter Andrew J. Rotherham, a co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education, a nonprofit organization "working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students."

"Status quo is not good enough," he said. Virginia needs to "do substantially better." That means a greater percentage of high school graduates, the achievement of some education beyond high school, world-class standards in our colleges and better recognition of what educational tracks match up with good-paying jobs. Other states are stepping up to equip students with career- or college-ready education.

He called for greater transparency on the effectiveness of public schools, new accountability standards so schools evenly educate all students regardless of income and the creation of a statewide education advocacy group that offers "principle-based rather than constituency-based agendas to focus attention on school improvement and hold policymakers accountable." (Keep in mind the summit occurred before the controversy erupted about the president of the University of Virginia.)

In his opening comments, Warner said we're falling behind in life sciences, cyber security, modeling and simulation, and energy. He added that it doesn't make sense to send smart students from foreign countries back to their homelands when they want to stay here. "Competition for talent is global," he said.

• Virginia needs a more coherent approach to matching education with jobs: It's no surprise that technology-centric Northern Virginia generates 40 percent of the new jobs in the state, said Christine Chmura, president and chief economist for Chmura Economics & Analytics. Workers in that region have skills that can transfer to different companies, occupations and industry groups. The jobs in the future will be in professional sciences, technical services, health care and social assistance, the latter plugging into growing needs among the retiring baby boomers.

Regions that are struggling are pulled down by obsolete industries. Root causes: Jobs churn because of the creative destruction that goes on when the new replaces the old. "High-skill jobs are growing, low-skills are not," Chmura said "There's a lack of understanding integrated planning. Our culture doesn't support lifelong learning. We have a lack of policies to address gaps."

She likened our wayward approach and the lack of results-oriented systems to training young Virginians for the Olympics without knowing the event in which each would compete. Sorry to the thousands who thought you were going to throw the shot put: no openings.

"It used to be a strong back was more important than a strong mind. No longer," Chmura said.

She urged a stronger alignment with jobs flowing from science, technology, engineering and mathematics — STEM.

"STEM jobs are expected to grow faster than other jobs" and the pay is better, she said. But Virginia isn't "seeing as many students going into" those areas.

• Virginians deserve Virginia solutions, not partisan problems: Tom Davis: "We need to come together for the future of our commonwealth."

Mark Warner: Let's govern, not run down the other side. "I don't want Virginia to be like Washington." "Disagreement without respect becomes the food fights of dissention." Support needs to exist "for doing the right thing."

Gerald Baliles: "The values gap between Republicans and Democrats is greater than gender and racial gaps." (Note: There might have been more Republicans at the summit had it not occurred on the same weekend as the GOP's statewide convention.)

• Virginia government and business must work more purposefully on the commercialization of ideas: Virginia Business magazine's publisher, Bernie Niemeier, conducted an afternoon chat with Steve Case, a co-founder of America Online, which at one time was the giant among Internet companies and the first to become a publicly traded enterprise. Case offered several ways Virginia can stay at the forefront of innovation, further encourage entrepreneurs and boost ways that job-producing ideas can find paying customers.

He noted the Internet was originally government-financed as a communication network in the event of a nuclear threat. The federal government launched it, but the Internet attracted business ideas that converted it into a roaring disruptive industry.

"Good ideas get stuck," Case said. Public-private partnership can better foster development, without wrecking capital-starved businesses with great product concepts that can't finance basic research. He recommended that government-supported universities be an open source of ideas and innovation.

His prediction: In the first Internet revolution, "no one knew what they were doing." The second will change education and health care. "Giant companies will be built on the backs on these trends."

• Virginians need to get to know each other again: The comment was made several times that we've become a state of distinct regions that don't connect. In prior decades, Virginians from different parts of the state knew one another better. Make the time for bridges to allow those relationships to occur so we're more united.

• Leadership programs could be an asset when government turns dysfunctional: Warner said the summit was the start of a dialogue, but the audience also was a recognition that Virginia has a solid base of leadership programs that could be tapped for such a statewide collaboration. Nearly 45 leadership programs were listed in the program.

At the end of the daylong give-and-take, Barry DuVal said his Virginia Chamber of Commerce would work with various regions to continue the discussion, setting up leadership committees to craft a 2025 vision for the state.

It's clear the summit tapped into a burning desire for Virginians to come together to shape the commonwealth's future.

But it's going to take more than conversation — though the civil, respectful approach should be applauded.

History shows when Virginians get frustrated, they develop solutions.

Some have been revolutionary.

Imagine a political process that's once again collaborative.

As Ayers said in his closing comments: Virginians, rise above partisanship so all corners of the commonwealth can pull in the same direction.

Let's keep Howard Beale in the movie archives.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today voted in support of the bipartisan Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act, which will benefit Virginia farmers while continuing to provide a strong foundation for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The 2012 Farm Bill, which saves taxpayers more than $23 billion, was approved with broad bipartisan support on a 64-35 vote today.

The bill consolidates the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative Program with similar conservation programs into a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which emphasizes cooperation between producers and regional stakeholders to leverage non-government funds to improve the effectiveness of agricultural conservation activities.  As a result of the efforts of the Bay state senators, conservation funds in the RCPP for regions with the greatest conservation needs saw a significant increase.  Sens. Webb and Warner worked with Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bob Casey (D-PA), to ensure the new RCPP maintains the Bay program as a priority under this new system, maintaining efforts already underway through the existing Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative. 

“The Chesapeake Bay is an invaluable resource to both the people and economy of Virginia,” said Sen. Webb, who has been a consistent supporter of Chesapeake Bay restoration initiatives. “This fiscally responsible legislation will provide benefits now and into the future for Virginia’s farmers, foresters, and all those who depend on the Bay’s resources.”

“I am pleased we were able to come together as Bay state senators to fight for the Chesapeake Bay, supporting our farmers and the livelihoods of those who depend upon the Bay,” Sen. Warner said.  “With this new Regional Conservation Partnership Program, we both sustain Bay-related jobs and continue providing Virginia’s farmers with the tools they need to help conserve this important watershed.”

During floor debate, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), highlighted the focus on regional partnerships. “That certainly is important to me for the Great Lakes but it is also critical for the Chesapeake Bay,” said Sen. Stabenow, and she thanked the Bay region senators “who have been deeply involved in making sure we get this right.”

“Senators Warner and Webb, together with a handful of colleagues from nearby states, did an extraordinary job of restoring technical assistance and cost-share funding for Virginia’s farmers that the Agriculture Committee tried to cut out,” said Doug Siglin of The Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “Those funds will help more farmers manage polluted farm runoff, which in turn will help Virginia to restore healthy rivers and streams and the Chesapeake Bay. “

“The Farm Bill matters not only to agricultural interests, but to all Virginians, and I applaud the Senate’s vote today.  I want to thank Senators Webb and Warner specifically not only for supporting final passage of the bill but also for consistently standing up for conservation throughout several days of amendments,” said Michael Lipford, The Nature Conservancy's Virginia Director. “The Farm Bill’s investment in land conservation and environmental stewardship are important for our economy and our way of life, from the Eastern Shore, to the Shenandoah Valley, to Southwest Virginia.” 

Identified as a National Treasure by President Obama and his predecessors, the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America, with a length of 200 miles and 11,684 miles of tidal shoreline, more than the entire U.S. West Coast. About 100,000 streams and rivers thread through the Chesapeake’s 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to almost 17 million people across Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Twenty-five percent of lands within the watershed are used for agricultural purposes.

To view a copy of the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, please visit the Senate Agriculture Committee website.  A section-by-section summary of the bill also is available at the site.

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More than 500 people attended the weekend’s first annual Virginia Leadership Summit hosted by the University of Richmond.

The gathering was organized by Senator Warner and co-hosted by former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA-11) with an eye towards strengthening a non-partisan network of community leaders across the Commonwealth. 

As the Times-Dispatch reported:  

Speakers said they wanted Virginians to find ways to work together and avoid the partisanship that often stymies progress in Congress.

“I don't want Virginia to become like Washington,” said Warner.

Senator Warner recently hosted a strategy session in Fredericksburg to help Virginia localities learn about various funding opportunities and ideas for high-speed broadband deployment. 

The session included two panels: a discussion with the USDA Rural Utility Service and the Federal Communications Commission about current funding opportunities and ongoing policy changes at the federal level,  as well as a conversation with various broadband providers about successful broadband deployment partnerships.

Senator Warner dropped by to speak at the event between panels. He emphasized the importance of broadband, even in this time of tight federal, state and local budgets.

“I really do think broadband is not going to guarantee your communities’ economic success, but the absence of broadband is pretty much going to mean you’re not going to be on the map,” the Senator said.

Below are recordings of the two sessions, as well as copies of the presentations from RUS and the FCC. 

The legislation bears the names of two Democrats and two Republicans. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., have joined Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., in sponsoring the Startup Act 2.0, which would promote entrepreneurs.

In their introductory statement, the four senators cite research showing that "companies less than five years old have created nearly all net new U.S. jobs for almost three decades." The new bill complements the JOBS Act, a bipartisan bill Congress passed in March. The JOBS Act enjoyed enthusiastic support from President Barack Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

The Startup Act 2.0 focuses on taxes, regulation and immigration. The JOBS Act stressed access to capital. The two approaches go hand in hand. Startup recognizes the contributions entrepreneurs make to economic growth.

Regarding immigration: U.S. universities remain the preferred institutions of higher education for students from all nations. American graduate schools in particular attract scholars from abroad. Startup would authorize an Entrepreneur's Visa for legal immigrants; it also would reward foreign students who earn a master's or a doctorate in science, technology, engineering or mathematics by allowing them to stay in the U.S. to open businesses, thereby creating jobs.

This is worthwhile legislation. The Times-Dispatch salutes the bipartisan quartet and applauds Warner's participation.

The Senate is in recess, so Senator Warner will be traveling around the Commonwealth this week. His first stop was Petersburg this morning for the groundbreaking of the new Petersburg Public Library, which has been in the works for more than ten years. 

The new library will replace the current building, which was built as a home and has served as Petersburg's main library branch for 85 years. The new building will house expanded collections, meeting rooms, and even a cafe, and will be about four times the size of the current library. 

The Petersburg Library Foundation has so far raised $10 million toward the construction of the library in donations from foundations, individuals and change drives in schools and at community events.

"I love being back in Petersburg, because it's a community that just keeps coming back," Senator Warner said at the ceremony. "And this library will just be its next step toward a better future."

The Senator also stopped by Quality Technology Services' new facility near Richmond. QTS will provide data center services in its 1.3 million square feet in Sandston, and is currently in the process of upgrading the building to provide high security for data against cyber attacks. 

Senator Warner toured QTS's buildings before heading off to Hampton Roads, where we will have events tomorrow morning.