Apr 4, 2025, 08:46
by
Hannah Jane Costilow
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of public policy issues and headlines from around the Northern Virginia Region, the Commonwealth, and Capitol Hill.
by Danielle Finley, Associate Director of Political Engagement
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. NAR Testifies on Association Health Plans 2. Representatives Demand Housing Agency Halt Any Cryptocurrency Experiments 3. Reston National Golf Course owner takes two-pronged approach in push to add housing 4. Residents, restaurateurs make case against increases to Arlington tax rates 5. Rep. Subramanyam warns that Northern Virginia’s data centers are becoming a bigger enemy target than D.C.
By Austin Perez, Washington Report
On Wednesday, April 2, NAR testified before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions in support of the Association Health Plans Act. At the hearing, which focused on expanding the access and affordability of employer-sponsored health care, Angela Shields, CEO of Tennessee REALTORS®, expressed NAR’s strong support for the bill to allow self-employed individuals and small businesses to participate in association health plans (AHPs).
By Jesse Coburn, ProPublica
Three federal lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to stop any initiatives involving cryptocurrency and the blockchain, saying the scantly regulated technologies should be kept far away from the agency’s work overseeing the nation’s housing sector.
By Angela Woolsey, FFXnow
The owners of Reston National Golf Course have teed up another redevelopment proposal, but this time, with public opposition expected to remain high, they’re considering a backup plan that would involve renovations and more limited housing.
Several residents and members of the Arlington business community spoke out against proposed tax hikes at a County Board hearing last week. As officials are considering possible bumps to the county’s meals tax and real estate tax, several speakers at a Thursday meeting made the case for fiscal restraint in the face of significant economic uncertainty in the D.C. area.
By Ryan Lovelace, Washington Times
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam is warning that the collection of data centers is making Northern Virginia a larger target for America’s enemies than the concentration of the federal government in Washington. The Northern Virginia Democrat said his district, which includes all of Loudoun and Rappahannock counties, is home to more data centers than any other district and almost any country in the world. Mr. Subramanyam said the hub of data centers in his district is a “security risk” and called it a “huge problem” during a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Tuesday.