Morgan Griffith

The Sequester In August 2011, the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling and, in exchange for the House agreeing to raise the debt ceiling, there would be cuts to Washington spending. If an agreement to cut Washington spending could not be reached, then there would be automatic, blind, across the board cuts in 2013. These automatic cuts are called “Sequestration.” The small group of House and Senate leaders charged with reaching an agree... Read more

Numbers for nerds, and other Americans who care – Part II Last week in Part I, we outlined America’s spending problem using numbers based on official data collected from the U.S. government. These numbers were provided by David Walker, a former U.S. Comptroller General. He presented the problem as if the U.S. was a household with an annual income of $50,502 (the median income as of September 30, 2012) and annual expenses of $73,417, leaving a deficit of $22,915. This week’s column is about layin... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today was presented with the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Legislative Excellence Award, which recognizes Members of Congress whose legislative records support policies that enable American manufacturers to compete in the global marketplace. He accepted the award in Dublin, Virginia at Volvo’s New River Valley Manufacturing Plant, the world’s largest Volvo truck manufacturing facility. "Manufacturing is key to the economy not only here in Virgini... Read more

Numbers for nerds, and other Americans who care – Part I On Friday February 15 in Washington, I attended a policy meeting with guest speaker David Walker, who focused on debt and deficit issues. Mr. Walker served under both a Democrat President and a Republican President as the U.S. Comptroller General, the head of an agency overseeing the payment and receipt of public funds. He presented my colleagues and I with the following data to help us better understand the seriousness of the debt of the ... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address: “Tonight, the President’s speech included a lot of platitudes and proposals for lots of new programs that cost money. The President cannot pay for these new programs without new taxes on the middle class, or significant spending cuts. President Obama has said he wants neither significant spending cuts or new taxes on the middle class. It will be interesting to see his ac... Read more

Religious freedom: from “Obamacare” to peyote Over the last year or so, you may have heard some criticism from for-profit businesses and not-for-profit religious groups like the Roman Catholic bishops regarding the health care reform law’s mandate that requires employers (including religious hospitals, colleges, charities, and similar institutions) to put faith aside and provide employees with contraceptive services. The administration has said it is working to resolve concerns that the mandate... Read more

I frequently hear from constituents concerned about the false myth of free, lifetime benefits and health care plans for Members of Congress after serving one term, which is not true. While there are many things in Washington in need of reform and even some of the benefits of Members of Congress need to be looked at, misleading information continues circulating on the Internet and in general conversation. I love legislating, but do you think some of my current colleagues would still be here if th... Read more

No Budget, No Pay This past week, the House of Representatives passed legislation in hopes of breaking the budget logjam and to push the Senate into passing its first budget proposal in nearly four years. The House has passed a budget resolution the last four years - two were under Democrat leadership, two were under Republican leadership. In the House, we intend to pass a budget again this year. Given that the Senate hasn’t passed a budget and thus outlined their plan in nearly four years, I am... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) have introduced H.R. 391, the Saving Starts With Us Act. This legislation would cut the pay of Members of Congress, the President, and the Vice President by 10 percent. Griffith and Herrera Beutler introduced separate bills proposing a 10 percent pay cut in the 112th Congress, but are joining forces in the 113th Congress. Griffith and Herrera Beutler today issued the following statements on the Savings Starts with ... Read more

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement on H.R. 351, the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act. The legislation was introduced today by Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Griffith is one of 83 original bipartisan cosponsors of the legislation being spearheaded by Roe and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA). In the 112th Congress,... Read more