B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, MAY 23 , 2022
tion to the post, according to two
people familiar with her plans.
Through a spokesman, she de-
clined to comment.
When it comes to the budget,
the main sticking point has been
the ambitious tax cuts favored by
Youngkin and the Republican-led
House. They have sought to dou-
ble the state’s standard deduc-
tion, end the 2.5 percent state-
wide tax on groceries, exempt
$40,000 of military pensions,
suspend an increase in the gaso-
line tax for one year and impose a
three-month gas-tax holiday.
The Senate has wanted to
study the entire tax system for a
year before tinkering with the
standard deduction, to make sure
future revenue would not be un-
duly harmed; end the state’s
1.5 percent portion of the grocery
tax but allow localities to contin-
ue to levy the remaining 1 per-
cent; and hold the line on the gas
tax on the premise that oil com-
panies are unlikely to pass the
savings on to consumers.
The differences created a gap
of about $3 billion between the
two spending plans, money that
the House would like to return to
taxpayers but the Senate wants to
plow into services such as K-12
schools and law enforcement,
teacher and state employee rais-
es, improved water quality and
land preservation.
With state finances unusually
flush — thanks in part to federal
pandemic relief funds and rev-
enue that has vastly outper-
formed conservative pandemic-
era projections — even the House
version pairs tax cuts with great-
er investments in schools, law
enforcement and the mental
health system.
But the House and the Senate
could not work out a compromise
before the regular General As-
sembly session wrapped up in
March, carrying the budget and
dozens of other bills into a special
session. Delegates and senators
have not been meeting in person
during the session with the ex-
ception of one day in April, when
Youngkin ordered them back to
Richmond to kick it off.
They convened and promptly
went home. Only negotiators for
the budget or other bills have met
in person in the meantime.
Even most of the 14 legislators
named as budget negotiators
have been on the sidelines. Just
three — House Appropriations
Chairman Barry D. Knight (R-
Virginia Beach), Senate Finance
and Appropriations Committee
Chairwoman Janet D. Howell (D-
Fairfax) and Sen. George L. Bark-
er (D-Fairfax) — have assumed
the hands-on role of hammering
out differences between rival
House and Senate spending bills,
according to five people familiar
with the process, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to
share private details.
Typically the negotiators,
called “conferees,” break into
small groups to hash out differ-
ences in various aspects of the
budget.
It was not entirely clear why
the number of negotiators in-
volved this time has been so
limited. Knight, Howell and
Barker either did not respond to
messages seeking comment or
declined to comment.
Some legislators speculated
that there may have been less
need for multiple work groups
this time because the main stum-
bling blocks fall under a single
category: tax policy.
Once the tax piece is decided
and budget negotiators know
how much money will be avail-
able for various programs, the
rest will easily fall into place, said
Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax), a
budget conferee.
He feels confident that no mat-
ter which side prevails on tax
cuts, the budget will have enough
money to make “historic” invest-
ments in what he call long-under-
funded priorities, including men-
tal health, early-childhood educa-
tion and teachers’ pay.
“You can’t go wrong with this
much money,” Sickles said.people briefed on the status of
budget talks, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity to dis-
cuss private deliberations.
Time is growing short to final-
ize a budget, with the state’s new
fiscal year set to begin July 1.
Failure to have a spending plan in
place by that date would trigger a
state government shutdown, but
no one thinks that is even a
remote risk.
“The governor and the legisla-
ture have demonstrated how ef-
fectively they can generate grid-
lock on most issues so far, and
now the challenge is how to
demonstrate that you can gov-
ern,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a
University of Mary Washington
political scientist.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who
pushed for sweeping tax cuts at
the heart of the long impasse,
said at an education-related
event Thursday that he was “im-
patient” for a budget. He blamed
the Democratic-controlled Sen-
ate for the holdup and said the
spending plan would boost teach-
ers’ pay — something that would
be the case regardless of how the
House and Senate settle their
differences because both cham-
bers included raises in their
plans.
The budget bill that eventually
emerges will have an impact
across the commonwealth, deter-
mining how much 8.5 million
Virginians pay in taxes and re-
ceive in government services.
And it will have special signifi-
cance for Youngkin, as it is a test
of the new governor’s power to
wrest sweeping tax cuts out of a
divided Capitol.
“The most effective measure of
a governor’s first year is the
budget,” Farnsworth said. “The
stakes are very high for Glenn
Youngkin to demonstrate that he
can reach some agreement with
Democrats on something.”
As a potential 2024 presiden-
tial contender and political new-
comer who assumed his first
public office in January, Young-
kin would need to notch some
early wins if he wants to establish
a record he can run on nationally.
The budget — and the guber-
natorial bragging rights it could
deliver or sink — is not the only
outstanding legislation that has
potential to shape Youngkin’s im-
age. Also carried over into the
special session is a bill meant to
lure the Washington Command-
ers to Virginia.
Attracting a National Football
League team could be a legacy-
building coup, even if the team in
question has more than its share
of woes on the field and in the
front office. Youngkin has sup-
ported bipartisan bills that
would forfeit a share of state tax
revenue to build a new stadium
for the team, which currently
plays at FedEx Field in Landover,
Md.
Rival House and Senate bills
would both create a stadium
authority to oversee financing
and construction of a stadium,
but they were at odds over the
details. Negotiators said in
March that they planned to cap
state revenue devoted to the plan
at $350 million, down from an
initial estimate of $1 billion. They
have not shared details since
then but indicated Friday that
negotiations continue.
Also on the table whenever the
General Assembly returns:
House Democrats are slated to
choose a new leader, having oust-
ed former speaker Eileen Filler-
Corn (D-Fairfax) as minority
leader in April.
Del. Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Ports-
mouth), who led the effort to
remove Filler-Corn, is seeking to
replace her in a caucus election.
He faces competition from Cau-
cus Chairwoman Charniele L.
Herring (Alexandria), Del. Mar-
cus B. Simon (Fairfax) and Del.
Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan Jr.
(Fairfax), all of whom are at least
considering a bid.
Filler-Corn has told fellow del-
egates she is not seeking reelec-
BUDGET FROM B1
Va. budget negotiators
set June 1 as target date
STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESSVirginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has pushed for sweeping tax
cuts, which has been a main sticking point in budget negotiations.
obituariesCARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE
Scientist Marilyn Fogel inspects an emu egg in 2002 for her study on the ancient Australian environment.OF NOTEObituaries of residents from the
District, Maryland and Northern
Virginia.Esther Schreiner,
secretary
Esther Schreiner, 100, a Treas-
ury Department secretary from
1943 to 1972, died April 15 at a
care facility in Bowie, Md. The
cause was cardiac arrest, said a
grandson, Eric Walton.
Mrs. Schreiner, a former resi-
dent of Hyattsville, Md., was born
Esther Bonum in North Carolina
and completed high school in
Washington.Patricia Surman,
administrative assistant
Patricia Surman, 91, an admin-
istrative assistant at the Univer-
sity of Maryland at College Park
in the 1990s who had been a
secretary at Intelsat from 1978 to1991, died March 24 at a hospital
in Lanham, Md. The cause was
complications of a fall, said her
friend and executor, Susan Flash-
man.
Ms. Surman, a resident of
Mount Rainier, Md., was born in
Bristol, England. She settled in
the Washington area in the late
1960s. She also served on the
Mount Rainier Tree Commission.Ellsworth White,
CPA
Ellsworth White, 68, a certified
public accountant who spent 32
years in federal service, mostly
recently as supervisory accoun-
tant with the Administrative Of-
fice of the U.S. Courts, died April
17 at a hospital in Largo, Md. The
cause was complications of inju-
ries he suffered in a fall from his
bicycle, said his daughter, Britney
Lee.Mr. White, a resident of Upper
Marlboro, Md., was born in
Washington. He spent many
years with the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. before joining
the administrative agency of the
U.S. federal court system in 2003.Betty Diggs,
protective services supervisor
Betty Diggs, 75, who became a
supervisor with the adult and
child protective services agencies
of Prince George’s County, Md.,
during a career that ran from the
1970s to the 1990s, died April 18
at her home in Washington. The
cause was cardiac arrest, said her
daughter, Zewdi Alem.
Ms. Diggs was a native Wash-
ingtonian. She was a past officer
with the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Em-
ployees of Maryland. She was an
Advisory Neighborhood Com-missioner in the District, a past
member of the East of the River
Community Court community
advisory board and a Neighbor-
hood Watch organizer. She won
community service awards.Jeanne Whitted,
schoolteacher
Jeanne Whitted, 93, a longtime
schoolteacher and assistant vice
principal at D.C. public schools,
died April 6 at an assisted-living
center in Bowie, Md. The cause
was protein calorie malnutrition,
said her cousin Rita Binn.
Mrs. Whitted was born Jeanne
Brown in Washington. She taught
English, speech and drama for
many years at Theodore
Roosevelt Senior High School,
played the piano and published a
cookbook, “Recipes From
Jeanne’s Gems.”
— From staff reportsBY MARTIN WEILMarilyn Fogel, a scientist
dubbed the “isotope queen” for
illuminating fundamental scien-
tific questions through analysis
of atomic isotope ratios, died
May 11 at her home in Mariposa,
Calif. She was 69.
The cause was amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, often known as
Lou Gehrig’s disease, said her
husband, Chris Swarth.
Dr. Fogel spent much of her
career at the Carnegie Institu-
tion for Science in Washington,
where she pioneered the use of
isotope ratios in the relatively
new field of biogeochemistry.
She helped show the value of
knowing stable isotope ratios
and of blending biology, chemis-
try and geology in the study of
nature, ecology, the long-term
history of living things and the
possibilities of life on other
worlds.
Important aspects of her work
involved mastery and develop-
ment of precision techniques to
measure quantities on the atom-
ic scale. But much involved field
work that included expeditions
to far places under hazardous
conditions.
In addition to being lashed to
the deck of a small ship at sea in a
hurricane, one of her assign-
ments on an Arctic expedition
was to carry the rifle intended to
fend off any marauding polar
bears.
In addition, from her earliest
days in research, Dr. Fogel ob-
served and overcame many diffi-
culties and indignities confront-
ing women in science. Her inter-
est in a sophisticated version of
an instrument vital to her work
was once met with a dismissive
comment by an engineer: “This
is not a mass spectrometer for a
housewife.”
As she achieved status and
recognition, she encouraged and
mentored other women. She also
became, she once said, a “pesty,
persistent voice” on committees
that bestowed awards.
At the outset, she found the
world of geoscience akin to the
proverbial Old Boys Club. As she
advanced, she was transformed,she said, from a shy and quiet
researcher to an outspoken labo-
ratory director and a leader
among scientists. It could be said
that she became herself an Old
Boys Club member.
But she made a distinction: “I
am now old, but have never been
and will never be a boy.” In the
wit therein displayed may be
seen a flash of the zest and
humor that led her to call her
blog “Isotope Queen.” She also
published a book titled “Advice
from the Isotope Queen: Build-
ing a Meaningful Career While
Enjoying a Full Life.”
In her work, Dr. Fogel inferred
the story of significant events in
the history of living creatures
through changes in the ratios of
the isotopes of their atoms.
Measuring such changes, dis-
cerning almost infinitesimally
small, disparities in weight, re-
quired a precision that might not
long before her have been re-
garded as impossible to achieve.
Using such seemingly abstruse
measurements to reach broad
conclusions about nature de-
manded an uncommon blend of
talents. It required harnessing
great technical skill to knowl-
edge of many disciplines and acreative ability to conceive of
possibilities.
Behind many of her findings
lay the concept of the isotope.
Isotopes of a chemical element
are atoms that differ from each
other in small ways. They each
have the same number of pro-
tons and electrons. That gives
them the same chemical proper-
ties. But two isotopes of the same
element differ in the number of
neutrons in their nuclei. Al-
though they are still atoms of the
same element the difference in
the number of neutrons means
that they differ in mass or
weight.
Different isotopes of an el-
ement all have the same number
of electrons, and so in theory will
bond to other atoms in the same
way. But in actual chemical reac-
tions, a slightly heavier atom of a
given element may have slightly
less mobility. That may cause it
to participate in a chemical reac-
tion in a slightly different way
from other atoms of the same
element.
The history of a living thing
may be regarded as an account of
the chemical reactions that af-
fected it. Facts about these reac-
tions may be deduced fromchanges in the isotope ratio.
Chemical reactions in living
cells, for example, may result
from changes in diet. Such
changes may in turn point to
population movements or migra-
tions; they may also show varia-
tions in climate or other living
conditions. So stories of vast
historical sweep may be told by
the tiniest shifts in the balance of
atomic isotopes.
“Marilyn has had a deep and
lasting impact on important
questions in Earth and planetary
sciences,” Carnegie Institution
President Eric D. Isaacs said
earlier this year when Dr. Fogel
received the Geochemical Soci-
ety’s highest honor.
Marilyn Louise Fogel was born
in Camden, N.J., on Sept. 19,
1952, and grew up in Moore-
stown, N.J. Her father was an
engineer, and her mother was a
homemaker. She graduated with
bachelor’s degree in biology from
Penn State in 1973 and received a
doctorate in botany and marine
science from the University of
Texas at Austin in 1977.
She joined the Carnegie Insti-
tution as a fellow in 1977. Two
years later she became a staff
scientist, a position she held
until 2012, when she left to
become chair of the life and
environmental sciences unit of
the University of California at
Merced School of Natural Scienc-
es. In 2016 she was named direc-
tor of the EDGE (environmental
dynamics and geoecology) Insti-
tute at the University of Califor-
nia at Riverside, where she was
an emeritus professor after retir-
ing about two years ago.
She was a fellow of the Ameri-
can Association for the Advance-
ment of Science and was elected
a member of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences, among other
professional honors.
Her first marriage, to Jack
Estep, ended in divorce. In addi-
tion to Swarth, her husband of 35
years of Mariposa, survivors in-
clude two children from her
second marriage, Dana Swarth of
Mariposa and Evan Swarth of
Riverside, Calif.; her mother,
Florence Fogel of Cherry Hill,
N.J.; and a brother.MARILYN FOGEL, 69S cientist became the ‘isotope queen’NATASHA METZLER/CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE
Dr. Fogel, seen in 2018, spent much of her career at the Carnegie
Institution for Science in Washington, where she pioneered the use
of isotope ratios in the field of biogeochemistry.