Fixing Health Care We are all familiar with the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” On health care, some Democrats find themselves arguing that Obamacare ain’t broke but still putting forward fixes. When President Obama and Speaker Pelosi muscled Obamacare through Congress in 2010, it was supposed to solve the problems Americans had with health care. There certainly were aspects of the syst... Read more »
More Resources to Fight the Opioid Crisis On September 4, the Trump Administration announced the release of $1.8 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help communities around the country fight the opioid crisis. $20.4 million of that money will go to Virginia in support of efforts here in the Commonwealth. The federal funds come from two sources. The fir... Read more »
Labor Day On the first Monday of September, Americans observe Labor Day. Americans are a hard-working people. From farms to factories to mines, we are willing to take on difficult tasks to support our families and provide goods and services people need and want. It is appropriate that we take this late-summer day to celebrate the industriousness and dedication of American workers. According to U.S... Read more »
National forests protect some of our great natural treasures, across the United States and locally in Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District. The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, which cover 1,664,110 acres in Virginia and span much of the Ninth District, provide outlets for recreation, camping, and enjoyment of plant and animal life. Both locals and tourists partake of their spl... Read more »
Virginia recently celebrated a milestone anniversary. Four hundred years ago on July 30, the body that became the Virginia House of Delegates first met at Jamestown. In the case of Jamestown, we can look back and trace a clear line from origins to the present day. The 1619 Jamestown assembly grew into the House of Burgesses of our colonial era and subsequently the House of Delegates that still mee... Read more »
A proposed socialized medicine program run by the Federal Government, which Democrats call Medicare for All, is enjoying time in the spotlight, partly due to its strong support among Democrat presidential candidates and the new majority in the House of Representatives. The House’s bill for socialized medicine enjoys 117 cosponsors as I write this column, over a quarter of the entire House. If this... Read more »
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Funding On July 31, I joined the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy in Wise County and Norton to announce the latest projects funded by the federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Pilot program. I fought in Washington to make sure money for Virginia was included in this program. Money from this program goes to projects that reclaim land where mines once op... Read more »
Data recently released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and analyzed by the Washington Post has renewed attention to the origins of the opioid crisis afflicting communities across our Commonwealth and country. A court ordered the release of a DEA database that tracks pain pills sold in our country. The sheer quantity of pills revealed by the database is astounding: 76 billion oxyc... Read more »
Blackjewel I have been closely following the situation regarding Blackjewel and the employees who have not been paid for their work, even having their paycheck deposits disappear. I find it appalling that Blackjewel did not give its workers notice of the situation. While failure to give notice may not be illegal, the conduct is unconscionable. Further, knowingly writing bad checks is illegal in Vi... Read more »
National Defense Authorization Act On July 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed on a near-party line vote the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill, which comes up annually, is supposed to authorize funding for our Armed Forces and national security, but unfortunately the Democrat majority used this year’s NDAA for partisan purposes, seeking to tie President Trump’s hands as... Read more »
