Traveling Across the Ninth When the House of Representatives is not voting in Washington, I use the time I have to travel across the Ninth District to hear your stories, your questions, and your concerns. So far this year, I have visited all 29 jurisdictions that make up the Ninth. These visits covered topics from economic development to safety in our schools to individual constituent concerns in one-on-one meetings. Needless to say, with 29 different cities and counties in the Ninth District, I...
Read more
Committees are the engines that drive Congress. At the committee level, Members of Congress learn about issues, carefully consider legislation, and conduct oversight to see what works in the Federal Government and what doesn’t. Serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as I do, means a busy schedule. We have a broad jurisdiction that covers policy areas of great importance to average families. In my work on the committee, I look for ways to improve the lives and livelihoods of Southwes...
Read more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by Congress in mid-December and signed into law by President Trump on December 22 of last year, was crafted with a few important goals in mind. That you deserve to keep more of your hard-earned money. That we should encourage businesses to invest and grow in the United States, not overseas. That the people, not the government, know best how to prepare for the economy of tomorrow. Achieving these goals would mean greater prosperity for Americans of all income lev...
Read more
President Adds Momentum for “Right to Try” Longtime readers of this column know that I am a strong advocate for changing the law to permit the “right to try” – the right for patients facing life-threatening illnesses to try experimental treatments. I believe this approach is both compassionate and commonsense. If a person facing the end of his or her life opts for an experimental treatment after considering the risks, consulting a doctor, and putting up the funds to pay for it, what right does t...
Read more
Put ARC in the Appalachian Region Washington, D.C. has been the nation’s capital for over 200 years. The Capitol Building, the White House, and the Supreme Court Building are all located there. So are the headquarters of most federal agencies. Because of the explosion of government agencies and programs since World War II, Washington, D.C. and its suburbs have grown in population tremendously. For example, in the 1950s, Roanoke was the third largest City in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Fairf...
Read more
CHIP: The Rest of the Story Yogi Berra is said to have commented once, "It's déjà vu all over again." I think I understood what he meant after I, along with the Republican House majority, voted yet again on January 18 to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This is the third time I have voted for an extension of CHIP and the second time the entire House has done so, in addition to two times the House passed short-term funding to keep the program running while waiting on the Senat...
Read more
MLK “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” – Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963 I agree with the sentiment of Mr. Joe Sheffey, former chairman of the Pulaksi County Board of Supervisors, in part of his remarks on Martin Luther King given to branches of the NAACP in Christiansburg Sunday, January 14, to paraphrase: America still has this dream. Rural Broadba...
Read more
Marijuana and the Rule of Law In the very cold first week of 2018, marijuana became a burning public policy issue. As a CNN headline captured, many people found themselves thrown into confusion on the question: “Is weed legal or not?” Regular readers of this column likely know my position on marijuana. I support legalizing it for medicinal use but oppose legalization for recreational purposes. The most important matter now on the table is not marijuana itself. The issue is how marijuana affects ...
Read more
Christmas Stories You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? And you likely know what holiday song begins with those lines. The story of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” both as a song and as a television special, has been a staple of the Christmas season for generations. The story of how it came to be, however, is not as well known. It’s an unlikely story, one not out of place in a season that celeb...
Read more
Tax Reform: Good for Families, Good for Jobs In a country whose war for independence was to some degree a tax revolt, taxes can be a touchy subject. A lot of complicated questions are involved. How do we encourage economic growth? How do we raise revenue to pay for spending? What is a fair tax rate? Answering these questions means setting priorities and balancing them. My priorities for the Ninth District are helping average families and creating jobs. Judging by this benchmark, I support the Ta...
Read more
