Constitution

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today following his vote against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016: “Though it does include some good provisions, I remain of the belief that the National Defense Authorization Act fails to adequately protect our civil liberties.  Put simply, we cannot leave our liberty to… Read more »

National Day of Prayer Thursday, May 7 was the 64th annual National Day of Prayer.  I attended a prayer service that day and, as I do often, thanked God for our blessings and prayed for the future of our great nation.  May God bless these United States, and may He bless each and every one of you. Update – NSA Phone Collection Program Ruled Illegal According to the POLITICO… Read more »

Today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, oral arguments were heard in two cases challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s so-called “Clean Power Plan.”  These separate though related cases argue that the EPA is acting outside its authority in seeking to regulate existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act because the… 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 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 »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today released the following statement after voting against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill that would fund the President’s recent unilateral immigration actions: “Thomas Jefferson was very clear when designing our legislative procedure: each house of Congress will make an independent decision, then will get together in… 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 »

Today Reps. Rob Wittman (VA-01), Scott Rigell (VA-02), J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Robert Hurt (VA-05), Bob Goodlatte (VA-06), Dave Brat (VA-07), H. Morgan Griffith (VA-09), and Barbara Comstock (VA-10) joined together in sending a letter to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine urging them to stop blocking debate on the House-passed Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Recently, these… 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 »

More on Ending the Modern Filibuster Rule On many occasions, I have taken issue with the modern interpretation of the Senate filibuster rule.  When I last wrote on this topic in a newsletter, it was just before this year’s elections.  Control of the Senate had not yet been determined. As I have said previously, this is not a partisan issue.  On running the government… Read more »