E-Newsletter

Traversing the Ninth District of Virginia

Cable news talking heads, late night TV hosts, and talk radio personalities all keep saying the same thing – Congress is on a five week vacation.  While it is a vacation from Washington, and I love being home in Southwest Virginia, it is a lot of work. One of my main responsibilities is to represent the interests of the hard-working men and women of the Ninth District in Washington.  How can I do that if I don't hear directly from you?  It's my job to be accessible and travel to my constituents, not require you to travel far to talk with me and share your ideas.  In fact, we spend too much time in Washington with too little to show for it.  We’re all better served by going home and listening to what’s on folk’s minds about the issues we are facing rather than listening to the talking points on the lobbyists’ agenda or a pundit’s teleprompter.

This past week I had the pleasure of traveling about 1,000 miles throughout the Ninth District.  During that time, I was able to participate in a variety of town halls with lots of different groups.  Last Monday I was briefed about the Wildwood Commerce Park in Carroll County, which will be opening soon.  Wildwood’s mission is to attract private investment and quality jobs to Carroll County, Grayson County, and the City of Galax.  I toured Aerial Machine and Tool Company in Vesta, one of the largest employers in Patrick County, where I had the opportunity to see some exciting projects Aerial is working on and had a town hall-style meeting with Aerial’s employees.

Last Tuesday took us to the Washington County Public Schools opening staff convocation, then to a lunch in Bristol with a few dozen business folks from Bristol and Abingdon.  I spent the afternoon in Gate City with the good people from the Scott County Telephone Cooperative and Farm Credit.  I want to thank those who came to our town hall Tuesday night in Duffield for traveling from Scott County, Lee County, Wise County, and the City of Norton, and sharing their perspectives on important issues such as Washington's spending problem, clean water, and health care reform.

After additional meetings in our Abingdon district office on Wednesday, Thursday took me to Glade Spring and the Bland County Medical Clinic, which is the only medical provider in Bland County.  The nearly 40 employees there are doing a great job of providing top notch care to those in the community, turning no one away.  Thursday night was a Virginia Mining Institute Safety event in Montgomery County, which featured mine rescue exhibits and demonstrations.  It was a privilege to thank these fine individuals for the selfless work they do. I met with constituents from Roanoke County, Montgomery County, Wythe County, and Smyth County at various places on Friday and Saturday and ended up Saturday night at the Poor Man’s Dinner at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax.

A Third Way

Traveling around the district, the topics discussed over and over were spending and the economy.  Washington pundits would have you believe there are only two ways to address our economic and debt problems.  We can dramatically cut government spending and shrink the size of government and/or we can raise taxes on individuals and businesses in order to bring more money in to government.  While I certainly prefer to cut spending, there is a third way that’s not being discussed.  This third way is spending cuts coupled with rolling back burdensome government regulations.  We all recognize the need for some regulations, but unreasonable regulations are costly job-killers.  Getting the government off the backs of businesses would provide employers with some much-needed certainty and allow them to expand operations and employment here at home.  Private enterprises in Southside and Southwest Virginia can regain their competitive advantage due to innovation and a strong work ethic, but we have to get government out of the way. 

What am I talking about?  Take the example of a furniture company factory right here in the Ninth District that has decades-old ovens and fans that dry finished tables, dressers, and headboards.  Installing new, cleaner ovens and fans would add about 20 more jobs at the factory and increase production.  However, the current ovens and fans are grandfathered under a regulation, and replacing them would remove the grandfather exemption and could lead to a costly overhaul.  So, this regulation is effectively keeping the company from adding 20 jobs to the factory by ensuring it cannot install new, cleaner equipment.  Or take the example of a dairy farmer in Scott County who is nearing retirement age.  I was told that he has decided to retire instead of dealing with the new regulations affecting his dairy production.  He is now winding down his business. Potentially more jobs lost.  The attitude in Washington that losing 10 jobs here and 20 jobs there is not important has got to stop. Every job that we can create or keep is important.

As always, if you have concerns or comments or wish to inquire about legislative issues, feel free to contact my offices. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.