VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Congresswoman Elaine Luria (D-Va.) held a town hall at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach Tuesday night.
VWU president Dr. Scott Miller served as the moderator. Luria spoke about her recent work in Washington, D.C., and took questions and feedback from the audience.
Rep. Luria is seeking a third term in Virginia's redrawn second congressional district.
News 3 spoke to Luria before the town hall about the upcoming re-election in November.
"I still represent the second as it's drawn now. I think of Hampton Roads as a big community, so it's really exciting to have the line shifted around a little bit, learn about what people are thinking of and new parts of the district," Luria tells News 3 reporter Leondra Head.
One of the main issues she talked about is flooding, which continues to be a big problem in Hampton Roads. Virginia Beach ranks top for cities at serious risk of flooding in Virginia. Rising sea levels are projected to keep increasing at a faster rate, which could threaten our coastal communities.
"Between the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area, Coastal Virginia, we’re in places where there is land subsidence as well as sea level rise, and I think we can all experience that. As far as funding to prevent funding/mitigate flooding, with the bipartisan infrastructure package we were able to provide funding, some of which, for the City of Norfolk, [totaled] $350 million. That will go towards some of the flood wall and the different phases, which will include a flood gate in the Lafayette River," Luria said.
When asked about the rising gas prices, Luria said:
"I think gas prices are really challenging for folks. When I go to the pump and see the price, it’s a lot. It’s a burden on families. I know that the administration is looking at ways to cut that; they’re looking at ways to cut that. They are limiting some of the regulations on ethanol content so the prices can be lower over the summer. They are also releasing strategic petroleum reserves."
Congress approved sending $13 billion to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
"It is unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by Russia. The civilian casualties are horrifying, and as a member of Congress, [we're] really trying to do everything we can - everything that we can flow into Ukraine and working with our NATO partners in order to stop the Russian aggression and drive them back," Luria said.
Luria says the U.S. is working with NATO to help Ukraine as much as possible.
"I think we should ramp up and provide everything we can that’s military useful to Ukraine and that they have the capacity to operate in order to help defend themselves. We’ve been flowing different types of weapons, and I think the more sophisticated, more offensive weapons that we can get in Ukraine at this point, the better. Some [are] coming directly from the U.S.; some come from NATO partners. For example, Slovakia was able to provide their air defense missiles, and we were able to backfill with our patriot batteries," she said.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate was among one of many in the audience during Luria's town hall.
