Morgan Griffith

Foundations of Farming and Forestry Recently, I highlighted ways nations build wealth – make it, mine it, or grow it. This week, I highlight the third way to build wealth. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) lists agriculture as our Commonwealth’s largest private industry. The economic impact of agriculture and forestry is $70 billion a year and provides 415,000 jobs in the state. Furthermore, these jobs each support another 1.6 jobs in the state economy. Accordi... Read more

Ninth District Agriculture and a Better Way to do Tax Reform Last week, among other visits to businesses and organizations in Virginia’s Ninth District, I had the opportunity to visit Hillwinds Farm, a local cow/calf operation in Dublin. Not only are agriculture and forestry an integral part of our region’s economy and heritage, but agriculture is the largest industry in the Ninth Congressional District. Hillwinds Farm is a cow/calf operation, and is also a bred heifer business. They take cattle... Read more

Must Do More to Rein In Spending and Overreach Last week, Congress passed comprehensive “omnibus” spending legislation that will fund the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2016. Meaning “for everything,” omnibus legislation is a vehicle for combining appropriations funding bills with other items commonly known as “riders,” which make the underlying legislation more palatable. Because omnibus bills are large in size and scope, last week’s legislation included both good and bad. If we we... Read more

Grieving Like you, I am heartbroken by the tragic incident in Franklin County on August 26 during which WDBJ7 journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed and Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, was injured. Both Alison and Adam grew up in our area, with Alison graduating from high school in Martinsville and Adam from high school in Salem. They will continue to be in my prayers, as will their families and loved ones, the WDBJ family, and our commun... Read more

It’s About the Constitution The Constitution – Still Relevant The Senate debate on collecting all our phone data has been interesting. Hopefully the American people have a better understanding of their rights and of the importance of the Congressional power to check the Executive branch. Government Control of Water – An Update On May 27, the Obama Administration announced it had finalized its Clean Water Rule, commonly known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Proposed by the Enviro... Read more

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 Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called “Clean Power Plan,” which I and others including West Virginia Attorney General ... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement after voting in favor of the Death Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 1105): “Enacted nearly 100 years ago, the federal estate tax, commonly known as the ‘death tax’ is imposed ‘on the transfer of the taxable estate of every decedent who is a citizen or resident of the United States’ (26 U.S.C. § 2001a). This is a significant burden on Americans seeking to pass down their small business or family farm to the next generation.” “I have long... Read more

The IRS - Up to its Old Tricks? As you probably know, tax return filing season is upon us once again. January 20 was the first day of the 2015 tax season, the day on which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began accepting tax returns. The IRS has estimated that the average taxpayer spends roughly 13 hours per year preparing their taxes. But this year, it might be even more difficult. For those who fill out paper tax returns, you may in previous years have gone to your local library or your coun... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement after voting in favor of the Tax Increase Prevention Act (H.R. 5771): “This legislation, as is often the case, is far from perfect. It includes tax credits for the wind power industry, tax credits I oppose. However, it also contains provisions supportive of our farmers, teachers, and small businesses. As is the case with all compromises, I try to determine whether the good outweighs the bad.” “In this bill, I believe the good narr... Read more

Leading from Behind Civilized people are appalled by the barbaric murder of American journalist Jim Foley by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). A week after ISIS distributed video of Foley’s tragic murder, President Obama in a press conference responded to questions about potential plans for action in Syria by saying, “We don’t have a strategy yet.” Hmmmm. Is this the poker face of a man with a plan, or is it a gaffe? I fear it is the latter. According to the Washington Post, “Polls hav... Read more