IRS Reform This week – the week Americans are expected to file their taxes – the House is planning to vote on four measures that would make some initial reforms at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The following paragraphs will elaborate on the bills, though the legislation may not be voted on in this order. H.R. 1206, the No Hires for Delinquent IRS Act would prevent the IRS from hiring additio... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today joined 26 bipartisan Senators and Representatives in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to remove barriers to research on medical marijuana and facilitate new medical research on cannabis and its derivatives. Griffith said, “While I do not support marijuana for recreational use, countless reports tell of marijuana’s medicinal benefits in treatin... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) will be hosting his 2016 Service Academy Day on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Students will have the opportunity to meet with invited officials from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, as well as representatives from Virginia Tech Corps of Cadet... Read more »
Veterans Hospitals' Wait Time According to a story published last week by USA TODAY, “Supervisors instructed employees to falsify patient wait times at Veterans Affairs’ medical facilities in at least seven states…” The story continues, “Employees at 40 VA medical facilities in 19 states and Puerto Rico regularly ‘zeroed out’ veteran wait times, the analysis shows. In some cases, investigators fou... Read more »
A Symposium on the Future of Coal The morning of April 4 from 9:30am until 11:30am, I will be holding a Symposium on the Future of Coal-Focused Technology, Innovation, and Industry at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA-Wise) Convocation Center. I am looking forward to engaging communities in our region with federal officials, industry, and researchers and discussing such important i... Read more »
Congressman Griffith’s Ninth District STAFF will be available at the following locations during the month of April. In the event of inclement weather (heavy snow, sleet, icy rain, etc.), traveling office hours may be rescheduled to avoid putting constituents at risk. Please contact the Christiansburg Office at 540-381-5671 or the Abingdon Office at 276-525-1405 with any questions or to confirm tha... Read more »
This column would ordinarily be for the week of March 28, 2016, but we have prepared it ahead of schedule in anticipation of Easter. Peace When the House of Representatives is in session in Washington, D.C., members of the House Republican Conference meet regularly to discuss legislation on the floor that week or in coming days, longer-term strategies, etc. I believe these meetings, which often co... Read more »
Bureaucratic Accountability When will Washington bureaucrats who do wrong be held accountable? We all know of the investigation into Lois Lerner, the former Director of the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) Exempt Organizations Division who was at the center of the IRS targeting scandal where she appeared to have been involved in targeting political groups for ideological reasons, delaying or denyi... Read more »
EPA’s War on… Stock Cars? As Ronald Reagan might say, “there you go again.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations impact many aspects of our economy such as energy, manufacturing, agriculture, etc., and it seems the agency may now have our hobbies and pastimes in its crosshairs (See bottom of column on how to have your voice heard at the EPA). Members of my legislative staff compile wh... Read more »
Making Our Voices Heard I often hear in the district that we get outvoted by those living in Northern Virginia. While the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Districts comprising Western and Southside Virginia cover more land, these districts have approximately the same number of people as Northern Virginia’s Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Districts. However, the Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh have had a higher vot... Read more »
