This morning Senator Warner joined Northern Virginia’s NewsChannel 8 to discuss a wide range of state and national issues with ‘NewsTalk’ host Bruce DePuyt.

The interview began with a question about the Senate’s recent action to prevent continued furloughs of the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controllers.

“The good news is, we’re not going to see the kind of delays that would get worse,” said Senator Warner.  “The challenge is that while Congress gets upset about the air traffic delays, the fact is we’ve literally had tens of thousands of kids lose their Head Start and students with student loans who can no longer get access to funding – and they’re not getting the same response.”

“If we don’t get a budget deal,” he continued, “this week it’s air traffic controllers but next week it’ll be something else.  We’ve had a lot of problems around Hampton Roads with the navy cuts.  We’ve got to get rid of the whole sequester problem, not just patch it bit by bit.”

Over the course of the interview Senator Warner was asked about everything from Congressional dysfunction and the budget crisis, to the Commonwealth’s race for Governor, to the conflict in Syria.  He also addressed published rumors alleging that there’s an effort to make Congressional staff exempt from the Affordable Care Act. 

“I saw that report, but only someone who doesn’t want the ACA to work would ever suggest that we’re going to try to take Congress or their staff out of it,” responded Senator Warner. “If this system is going to work, it’s got to work for everybody and no one, particularly Congress, should be exempted. I don’t think you’ll ever see Congress or staff taken out.”

He also spoke about seeing Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama come together to dedicate President George W. Bush’s Presidential Library in Dallas, Texas.

“It shows that for all the differences these guys had,” said Senator Warner, “there’s still a lot more that brings us together than that makes us Democrats and Republicans.”