E-Newsletter

Conflict in Syria The civil war in Syria is a tragic situation.  This ongoing conflict has now affected the entire region and beyond.  Countless numbers of people have left Syria for refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey and over a hundred thousand have been killed.  Now there are reports that say the Assad regime employed chemical weapons.  The use of chemical weapons… Read more »

Serving You I came to Congress to represent the Ninth District’s beliefs, values, and interests in our nation’s capital, an honor that I do not take lightly.  Being your Congressman requires me to travel to Washington, D.C. and other places for legislative purposes, but no matter where I might be, serving you remains one of my top priorities. The role of my office is to serve as… Read more »

NSA Privacy Violations The Washington Post recently published an article that detailed an internal audit indicating that the National Security Agency (NSA) breaks privacy rules “thousands of times per year.”  This May 2012 audit finds 2,776 “incidents” – instances in which rules or court orders regarding domestic surveillance were violated – from April 2011 through March… Read more »

Meeting with Local Officials I recently had the opportunity to visit with local officials from each community in the Ninth District of Virginia, thanking them for their service and discussing their successes, issues they face, and expectations for the future.  Local officials from each of the Ninth District’s 29 jurisdictions were invited to these meetings, which we scheduled over… Read more »

                          The NSA and You Since the story broke of the massive National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs collecting the phone records of all Americans, some have stood up in defense of these programs, insisting that Members of Congress… Read more »

The Amash-Conyers Amendment I regularly receive feedback from people across the Ninth District on a number of issues including the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, coal and our nation’s energy future, agriculture issues, etc.  Recently, we have received many calls concerning massive National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs that have been collecting the phone… Read more »

Immigration, Coal, and Zimmerman Immigration I have received quite a few questions about developments on immigration reform.  I believe our immigration system is broken, but do not believe that legislation recently passed by the Senate is the solution. The Senate passed one nearly 1,200-page bill.  This is a large bill that tries to deal with all of the nation’s immigration… Read more »

The Student Success Act Those who read this column regularly know that I am no fan of the federal government trying to control every aspect of public policy.  The Constitution clearly intended for the various States to control the majority of public policy, with the federal government taking care of issues such as defense, commerce between the states, and the United States Postal… Read more »

Obamacare – Delay… Hmmmmm… The Obama Administration recently announced that it would be delaying for one year the ‘employer mandate’ built into the health care reform law, also known as Obamacare.  The employer mandate requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees (which, in the case of Obamacare, applies to employees working 30 or more hours each week) to provide health… Read more »

Independence Day Near the end of June, I was invited to give brief remarks at a celebration with area veterans.  I think these remarks are appropriate to share during the 4th of July period.  Because I rarely use prepared text, the remarks went something like this: “I want to thank all of the veterans here today for their service to our country.  You have answered the… Read more »