Constitution

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement after voting against H. Con. Res. 83, the War Powers Resolution introduced by House Democrats: “Whether or not to wage war is a matter of the greatest significance to our country. It should fall to the people’s representatives in Congress to debate and decide, as the Constitution dictates. “Unfortunately, the War Powers Resolution i... Read more »

New Laws As 2019 drew to a close, President Trump signed two bills that had passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. I have previously highlighted them in this column as legislation that I support and cosponsored and am glad that they are now law. On December 30, the President signed the Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019. The Debbie Smith Act was first passed in 2004 and pro... Read more »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement after U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court Presiding Judge Rosemary M. Collyer condemned the misconduct regarding surveillance applications into the Trump campaign uncovered by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz: “The Justice Department’s inspector general found numerous abuses of the FISA proce... Read more »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement after voting no on the articles of impeachment against President Trump: “House Democrats voted today to impeach the President. They impeached President Trump over disputes between the executive branch and the legislative branch that occur in many administrations. In my opinion, they did not actually have the evidence to find ‘high C... Read more »

After a brief and biased “inquiry,” House Democrats have put forward two articles of impeachment against President Trump, the first charging him with abuse of power and the second alleging obstruction of Congress. Neither article holds up under scrutiny. Article One The abuse of power President Trump supposedly committed was an attempt to coerce Ukraine into opening an investigation to benefit him... Read more »

“Trick or treat?” is the question on everyone’s lips each Halloween. House Democrats this year opted for tricks. On Halloween, of all days, they voted for a resolution supposed to lay out the “next phase” in their impeachment of President Trump. But the next phase looks similar to the past several weeks. There will be more closed hearings, limited input by the Republican minority, and due process ... Read more »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement regarding H. Res. 660, the Democrat impeachment resolution, and comments from Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) calling for a better impeachment process: “The Democrat impeachment resolution is an attempt to ratify their ongoing faulty process. It is not a serious document, and it will not provide the transparency and fairness required of ... Read more »

As a Congressman, most of my reading consists of bills and material to prepare for hearings and other responsibilities. But events in Washington as of late have me thinking of a few novels. A bill the House Democrat majority passed reminded me of George Orwell’s 1984. One of the key ideas in Orwell’s book is “doublespeak.” For example, the Party in control of the novel’s totalitarian state uses th... Read more »

Socialist ideas are enjoying an unfortunate resurgence in our political debates. The United States is not a pure free-market economy, but we generally look toward the private sector to create wealth, innovate, and increase living standards for all. Proposals such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal would radically shift the country toward government control and redefine the relationship bet... Read more »

We Must Call Out Anti-Semitism On March 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning hate, including anti-Semitism. It is unfortunate that a resolution and a vote on the topic was even necessary. Religious liberty is a bedrock principle in our country. We understand this in Virginia, where Thomas Jefferson wrote, and the General Assembly passed, the Statute for Religious Fre... Read more »