The coronavirus pandemic has consumed the attention of the country, but health care challenges that existed before COVID-19 ever came about remain. Some of them have been aggravated by the pandemic, while others have faded from the spotlight despite not declining in seriousness. Without detracting from the serious threat posed by the coronavirus, I want to report to you action taken by… Read more »
Government surveillance of a person’s communications has been a persistent fear in the modern age. The increased means at our disposal to interact with each other also increase the means for someone to read communications not meant for them.
In the book 1984, George Orwell foresaw intrusive personal surveillance as a tool of totalitarians. Fortunately, we do not live in a totalitarian… Read more »
Seventy-Five Years Since World War II
September 2 marks the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end. It was the most terrible war in history. Estimates of the precise toll vary, but the National World War II Museum records 15 million battle deaths, 25 million battle wounded, and 45 million civilian deaths.
Active U.S. involvement in the war began on December 7, 1941, with the surprise… Read more »
A famous song of the 1920s went, “California, here I come.”
Today, one might sing that line with dread rather than anticipation as rolling blackouts afflict California residents. But the same public policies that have brought disaster to the Golden State are being pushed with vigor elsewhere, including here in Virginia.
The immediate cause of the rolling blackouts is simple. California… Read more »
Coronavirus Relief
The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our country and Virginia’s Ninth District. Its impacts on the health and livelihood of our citizens are still being felt.
Congress has passed and President Trump has signed several relief measures. Negotiations about a new round of legislation, however, have stalled, primarily due to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA)… Read more »
Debating holds a storied place in the American political tradition.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates between two Senate candidates in Illinois in 1858 made a household name out of a one-term congressman, putting Abraham Lincoln on the path to the presidency two years later.
Americans have come to expect their presidential candidates to debate, with three different events the norm in recent… Read more »
The urge to explore new frontiers is a natural human characteristic. Governments have long recognized this fact and supported exploration in order to gain the benefits of knowledge, resources, and skills uncovered in the quest to go where no one has gone before.
In the twentieth century, this quest took its most notable form in the Space Race as the United States and the Soviet Union… Read more »
National defense ranks among the highest priorities of the Federal Government. If you recall the words of the Constitution’s preamble, you will know that providing for the common defense is identified as one of the document’s purposes.
When considering this subject, it is important that decisions be based on our long-term national interests, the resources we possess, and a clear… Read more »
More Coronavirus Resources for Nursing Homes
As a novel coronavirus, many characteristics of COVID-19 have taken time and research to uncover. One aspect of it has been clear from the beginning, however: it poses the most danger to the elderly and people with underlying health conditions.
Nursing home residents are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus as a result. They are most… Read more »
As someone who reads every bill before I vote for it, let alone any bill I introduce myself, I would not endorse a bill before it is even written.
So I was puzzled to learn that Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) had endorsed a bill called the BREATHE Act, which has yet to be introduced (not to be confused with an unrelated bill with the same name, H.R. 585,… Read more »
