Death, Taxes, and Bureaucratic Overreach
Using a phrase attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “…In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” I would submit that in modern times, nothing is certain except death, taxes, and bureaucratic overreach.
On Thursday, April 16, oral arguments were heard in a U.S. Court of Appeals in cases challenging the Environmental… Read more »
Obamacare an “8 out of 10,” According to President Obama
As part of a recent wide-ranging interview with ABC News, President Obama was asked to rate “the success” of Obamacare on a scale of 1 to 10. I was shocked when he gave the health care law a rating of 8 out of 10.
The reasoning behind that very generous rating? President Obama said, “And the reason I don’t put it… Read more »
A Message from Communications Director Andie Pivarunas
Touring Deep Mine #41
On Monday, March 30, Congressman Griffith, myself, and other members of “Team Griffith” visited Deep Mine #41 near McClure in Dickenson County. Congressman Griffith has toured a number of mines over the years, but this was a first for many on his team, including myself. As such, we thought it may… Read more »
New Man
As I write this column, two of the world’s great religions are about to celebrate significant observances in their liturgical calendar. Members of the Jewish religion will be observing April 3-11 as Passover. Passover commemorates the time when the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, and one of the plagues Moses foretold was that each family would lose their firstborn… Read more »
EPA: “Burning the Constitution”
Last week at an Energy and Power Subcommittee hearing, I was honored to hear testimony regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called “Clean Power Plan” from legal experts including Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe. Tribe is a liberal, environmental, legal rock star. In fact, the POLITICO inside-the-beltway news journal… Read more »
Administration Overreach and the Second Amendment – An Update
In last week’s column, I wrote about the Obama Administration’s “framework” proposal to ban the manufacture and importation of the M855 or “green tip” bullet. Soon after writing that column, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) backed off its proposal following significant pressure from… Read more »
Administration Overreach and the Internet
Many Ninth District residents have asked me about the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent decision on net neutrality. I believe this is another attempt at government overreach, and agree with Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai when he said:
[The FCC was] “…adopting a solution that won’t work, to a problem that doesn’t… Read more »
It's About the Rule of Law
For those who might have missed it, last week’s column discussed efforts to protect the Constitution and take action against the President’s recent actions on immigration. I and others in Congress believe that these actions were improper, and that the President does not have the authority to take the actions he took on immigration. These actions… Read more »
Serving You
Readers of this column may recall that, earlier this month, I wrote about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the fact that they are sending limited forms and few free instruction booklets to assist with filing tax returns this year. While in Wytheville last week, I was speaking with a constituent who had checked his local library, courthouse, etc. for the… Read more »
Electricity from Mexico – Dirty Coal, Drug Gangs
On February 11, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz testified before and took questions from me and my colleagues on the Subcommittee on Energy and Power in a hearing covering a wide range of energy-related topics.
Responding to a question from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Secretary Moniz… Read more »
