ROANOKE, Va. – With it finally official that Amazon HQ2 is coming to Virginia, many lawmakers were quick to release statements excited about the future of the Commonwealth.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam had this to say:
“This is a big win for Virginia—I’m proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here. Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, and I’m excited to say that our innovative approach was successful. The majority of Virginia’s partnership proposal consists of investments in our education and transportation infrastructure that will bolster the features that make Virginia so attractive: a strong and talented workforce, a stable and competitive business climate, and a world-class higher education system.”
U.S. Senator Mark Warner expressed his excitement:
“As a former Governor, now Senator, but also as a former technology executive, I'm really excited about the potential Amazon offers not only to Northern Virginia but the whole capital region and the entire Commonwealth. We've seen that major investments like these can bring not only thousands of direct jobs but also lead to job growth in other industries. As we welcome Amazon's new investment in Virginia, we must commit to implementing this announcement in a way that will benefit the whole region and all of the Commonwealth.”
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine praised other government officials:
“I’m thrilled that our skilled workforce helped persuade Amazon to bring a major new headquarters and its tens of thousands of jobs to Virginia. Congratulations are in order to Governors McAuliffe and Northam and the local leaders who worked to ensure that this deal includes investments in our education and transportation infrastructure."
While serving as Governor of Virginia, Kaine focused on job training and education and by the end of his term leading publications ranked Virginia the best state to raise a child and the Best State for Business. Kaine has been a vocal advocate for Amazon bringing HQ2 to Virginia."
Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox released this statement:
"Today’s announcement is a reflection on Virginia’s business-friendly, pro-growth policies, a signal that we are emerging as one of the leading tech talent capitals in the world, and the product of a serious economic development effort to demonstrate all that Virginia has to offer. Everyone should be excited about this once-in-a-generation opportunity and its potential to revolutionize the Commonwealth’s economic future.
"Amazon’s partnership with Virginia’s institutions of higher education, specifically Virginia Tech, to create a pipeline of tech talent is a model for collaboration between business and higher education. This project will not only create thousands of new, high-paying jobs in Virginia, but it will also source a large portion of those new employees from our very own in-state talent. These are the kind of collaborative efforts between higher education and business that we must have if Virginia is going to succeed economically.
"In recent years, Virginia has strengthened its economic development oversight to include rigorous, post-performance evaluations. I’m pleased to see this is a performance oriented incentive agreement that includes provisions to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure all parties meet the objectives that have been outlined. The House of Delegates must thoroughly review the parameters of this agreement during the 2019 session to ensure that every aspect of this agreement is beneficial to both Amazon and Virginia.
"Amazon has long been a valued corporate citizen in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I welcome this expansion and look forward to continuing our partnership through this new venture."