Morgan Griffith

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced a $17,100,000 loan to renovate the elementary school in Galax: “These funds will go a long way toward improving the elementary school facilities in Galax. Mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems will be updated, windows will be upgraded to be more energy efficient, and exterior wall insulation will be installed. Thanks to this Rural Development ... Read more

School safety has been on the minds of many recently. As I’ve traveled the Ninth District, constituents have frequently approached me to discuss this topic. For our communities, schools are at the center of their life. Therefore, I believe the most important decisions regarding them should be made by the community. It would be neither appropriate nor helpful for the Federal Government to impose one-size-fits-all solutions from Washington. But there are things Congress can do to be helpful. I’ve ... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 4909, the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act: “Schools should be safe havens for students as they learn and grow. This legislation would authorize funding efforts to prevent violence and improve security at schools across the country. It would provide grants so that local decisions can be made about what works best for the community to make our schools safer. I... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today announcing those receiving congressional nominations from his office to the United States Service Academies: “One of my highest honors and privileges as a Congressman is to nominate a limited number of deserving young men and women to United States Service Academies. I am proud to recommend each of these students, and I commend them for their willingness to serve our nation, an honorable calling. Congratulations to the nomin... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today announced that Dr. Abrar Qureshi, Neil Evans, David Walker, and Dr. Doug Edmonds will serve as the Ninth District judges for the Congressional App Challenge. The Congressional App Challenge is an opportunity for high school students to display their talents, engage their creativity, and encourage their participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education fields. As part of this challenge, a participating high school student or a gr... Read more

The Green Climate Fund and Us Recently, I spearheaded a letter to House Appropriations Committee leaders signed by 110 Members of the House in which we expressed our opposition to President Obama’s unilateral pledge of U.S. taxpayer funds for use in the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund. This fund, launched in 2009 with the goal of raising $100 billion a year in financing, is a fund intended to help developing nations catch up with the U.S. in addressing climate change. Despite serious domestic... Read more

Iran Agreement – A Suspect Side Deal In a previous column, I noted my opposition to the proposed Iran deal, as well as the opposition of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other notable Democrats. At that time, I identified several of my concerns: Why did the Administration negotiate this deal without having included the handful of American prisoners being held in Iran? How is this not a treaty? What are the secret side deals? The Associated Press last week reported that “Iran will be allo... 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 supporters of the Second Amendment, including the 239 of us in the House of Representatives who joined together to send a bi... Read more

Coal Keeps the Heat On and Food on the Table Much of the nation – including our region and areas further south – has been dealing with frigid weather. Several energy companies nationwide asked customers to reduce their electricity consumption for periods of time in order to decrease demand and reduce the potential for power outages. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) asked their distributors of electricity for voluntary, temporary reductions in energy use. Some distributors requested their cus... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement regarding reports that Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) will soon be proposing to limit State tax credits and deductions that assist coal producers with coalfield jobs and electricity generation: “Coal-producing regions such as the Ninth District of Virginia are already reeling from job losses resulting from federal regulations and the Obama Administration’s ongoing war on coal. Sadly, now it seems our State Executive will so... Read more