Issues
Committees:
Rep. Whilden serves on a number of issued based committees including:
-Democratic Freshman Caucus Leader Co-Chair
-Appropriations Committee
-Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government
-Education Subcommittee on Pre-School, Elementary and Secondary Education
-Energy and Energy Efficiency
-House Select Committee on Civil Custody Guardians
-House Select Committee on Small Business
-Vice-Chairman of Juvenile Justice
-Transporation
Votes:
Rep. Whilden cast a number of votes since being elected into the North Carolina House, to look at individual votes please visit: www.ncleg.net
Jobs and Economy:
After receiving thousands of e-mails and talking to hundreds of constituents it has only reiterated the fact that the No. 1 issue facing the district, state and nation is jobs and the economy. During the last session the budget was $4 billion short of what was projected. $2 billion in cuts were made, which was the largest reduction in North Carolina history. In addition we took $1 billion in stimulus money and raised the sales tax. While the sales tax we raised, many cuts were made and in fact the legislature cut twice as much as they raised. The economy and jobs will continue to be an issue we face in the coming years.
Education:
Education is also an important issue and one that Rep. Whilden is passionate about. The NCAE (North Carolina Association of Educators) gave Rep. Whilden an "A" for how she has voted in the legislature. 60 percent of the state's budge is education, which shows the state's commitment to quality education.
In these tough economic times Rep. Whilden will keep education in the forefront, knowing that with quality education everything else can start to fall into place. During her time in Raleigh she has tried to make the fewest cuts possible from the education budget. Rep. Whilden will continue to work for quality schools in our area.
