Morgan Griffith

Partial Government Shutdown I have heard questions from constituents regarding the operations of the Federal Government that will continue operating during the partial government shutdown. While some departments remain unfunded, some were covered by appropriations bills that have been signed into law. For example, the Department of Defense has been funded, meaning servicemen and -women in the Armed Forces will continue to receive their paychecks. Similarly, President Trump signed into law spendi... Read more

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” John Adams made this observation almost 250 years ago. I recalled his words when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in arguing against more funding for security at the southern border, claimed that President Trump was “manufacturing a crisis.” The facts on the border establish that a crisis exists. According to Department of Homeland Security... Read more

Rules are important. This is a foundational principle in a republic based on democratic principles. The first vote I cast in the Virginia House of Delegates was against a rules package. I voted no because it did not contain proportional representation for political parties in committee membership, something I believed necessary for good representation. A later assembly adopted my amendments to correct this problem. They remain part of the rules that govern the House of Delegates. As this Congres... Read more

The year 1619 does not loom as large in American memory as some others from our colonial experience. When thinking of those early times of English settlement in North America, 1607, the year Jamestown was founded, and 1620, when the Pilgrims landed in what is now Massachusetts, are more likely to come to mind. Yet the events of 1619 had a profound impact. They are worth remembering as we enter 2019 and mark the passage of 400 years. One of them was a great stain: the beginning of slavery in Engl... Read more

Christmas brings with it many traditions and memories. Whether a family gathering, an annual party, a song, a food, or something else, almost everyone has something they look forward to savoring at this time of year. I recall from my childhood the delight my sister Betsy and I took for years in a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer decoration my mother made for her classroom and brought home from the school where she taught. It was a profile cutout with the body covered in white cotton balls and a re... Read more

C. Bascom Slemp President Trump recently named Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as his acting Chief of Staff. Having worked with Mick when he represented South Carolina in the House of Representatives, I think the President has made a good choice. Earlier in the search process, attention focused on a current colleague of mine and another Freedom Caucus member, Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC). At a Freedom Caucus meeting, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) observed that if Meadows was ... Read more

Help for Sexual Assault Victims Before the 115th Congress concludes, the House of Representatives will take up an important bill I cosponsored with Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), the Megan Rondini Sexual Assault Victims Protection Act. The namesake of the bill was a student at the University of Alabama. One night, Megan was raped by a man from a prominent local family. She went to the local hospital and reported the incident to the police, but the hospital did not have the proper resources to deal with se... Read more

Legislation often begins with a concern or a question from a constituent. He or she draws on experiences or ideas to identify matters that need fixing: something the Federal Government does, something it could do better, or something it does not do that should be considered. The following story, which inspired a bill I have introduced, is a sad one. I attended the Washington County fair this year on several occasions, and at one point while there I was approached by a grieving grandmother named ... Read more

Southwest Virginia is open for business. That’s the message I heard in November, as several companies announced expansions or new operations around the Ninth District. In Montgomery County, the tech company 1901 Group, founded by a Virginia Tech alumnus, plans to add 580 jobs at its Blacksburg operations center over the next three years. The company provides cloud-based information technology (IT) services, and federal contracts make up much of its business. According to the Roanoke Times, 1901 ... Read more

Most Virginians and most Americans are familiar with the words of Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Fewer are familiar with where he said it. When he uttered his famous declaration to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, Williamsburg was still the capital of Virginia, but it remained under control of the British authorities led by the King’s representative, Lord Dunmore.* So to meet freely, delegates to the convention gathered at St. John’s Church in Richmond. I tho... Read more