Morgan Griffith

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

John Wilkes, Rand Paul, and Mike Lee I noted with interest last week that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) took to the Senate floor to talk against the Patriot Act provisions that allow the National Security Agency (NSA) to gather data on all Americans. As you know, I feel this is a violation of the United States Constitutional provisions against unlawful search. I have spoken previously about that in this column, and referenced John Wilkes. As you may recall, John Wilkes is a character from English his... Read more

Thanking Law Enforcement As you may know, last week was National Police Week – a time to pause, recognize the brave men and women in uniform who serve and protect our communities, and honor those who were injured or lost their lives in the line of duty. Law enforcement officers work day after day, shift after shift, often missing celebrations of events such as holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Selfless officers do this because they are answering the call to serve, and because of their des... Read more

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 inference. Among what makes America so great are our freedoms and liberties. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) offered an ame... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today released the following statement on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (H.R. 1191): “After reviewing the current state of the law, I have been convinced that without this legislation, President Obama may have the authority to lift sanctions against Iran without Congressional action. I do not believe that allowing the President to act without Congressional input is in the best interest of the United States.” “Further, another important factor in my deci... 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 inside-the-beltway news journal, also on Thursday, May 7, “…a three-judge panel from the New York-based 2nd Circuit U.S. Court... Read more

Obamacare an “8 out of 10,” According to President Obama As part of a recent wide-ranging interview with ABC News, President Obama was asked to rate “the success” of Obamacare on a scale of 1 to 10. I was shocked when he gave the health care law a rating of 8 out of 10. The reasoning behind that very generous rating? President Obama said, “And the reason I don’t put it at a 10 is because you can always improve something.” Unfortunately, because ABC News didn’t press him on this issue, we are lef... 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 describes Tribe as a "liberal legal lion.” Interestingly, Tribe taught constitutional law to President Obama, and served as a... 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

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 exist, using legal authority it doesn’t have.” Administration Overreach and the Second Amendment I was proud to join House Judi... Read more