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Eastern North Carolina update with Congressman Walter B. Jones
Story Date: 8/16/2013
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Source:U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones (N.C.-3), 8/15/13
As the month of August progresses, I would like to update you on my work in Congress for the people of Eastern North Carolina.
Representing ENC on the House Armed Services Committee
While I am pleased with the announcement that furlough days for civilian employees of the Department of Defense have been reduced from 11 to 6, I believe that President Barack Obama should have exercised his authority as commander in chief to eliminate civilian furloughs much earlier. Not only did these furloughs harm our military readiness, they created delays for service members seeking mental health treatments – an issue about which I wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Allowing the employees of FRC East to continue to suffer the ill effects of the furloughs was particularly unnecessary, as they are paid through self-sustaining Defense Working Capital Funds and should enjoy legal protections that would prevent them from being furloughed as a result of sequestration. To that end, I have been a leader in House efforts to prevent these valuable employees from being furloughed in the future.
Creating Jobs and Growing the Economy
All too often the federal government implements overreaching regulations that hinder economic growth. This is unacceptable at a time when the economy continues to struggle and Eastern North Carolinians need jobs. That’s why I cosponsored and voted for H.R. 367, the Regulations of the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2013. This legislation would require congressional approval of federal rules that impose significant burdens on the U.S. economy. The House passed H.R. 367 on August 2nd, and the bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration. In addition, I was honored to receive the 60 Plus Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award in July for my continued efforts to repeal the death tax, which has proven to be a job-killing burden on small businesses.
As we Eastern North Carolinians well know, our location along the coast presents a unique set of economic opportunities unlike those across the country. I have led several recent efforts to protect those interests. For example, I submitted testimony to the International Trade Commission in support of local shrimpers’ call for penalties against illegally subsidized shrimp imports. The American government should not stand idly by while domestic producers are put out of business by the unfairly low prices of subsidized foreign shrimp.
I am also working to protect our coastal economy by asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to thoroughly assess the impact of its proposed Critical Habitat Designation – which would include 96 miles of shoreline in North Carolina – for loggerhead sea turtles. When sufficient management plans to protect sea turtles have already been put in place by state and local entities, there is no need for a federal regulation that will only serve to stifle the local economy.
Finally, I am calling on the Obama administration to address rising flood insurance costs. While I agree with the overall goal of last year’s Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act – to make the National Flood Insurance Program financially sustainable and less of a burden on taxpayers – I disagree with the manner in which the administration is implementing the law. To that end, I have supported several legislative measures aimed at delaying the implementation of the new rates so that Eastern North Carolina homeowners are not subjected to immediate, significant cost increases.
Continuing the Fight Against Obamacare
When the administration has been forced to admit that the employer mandate included in their comprehensive healthcare law is problematic, delaying implementation of Obamacare is the least that should be done by Congress. In addition, I believe private citizens deserve the same reprieve as businesses from the fines imposed by the burdensome individual mandate. That’s why on July 17th, I voted for a pair of bills – H.R. 2667 and H.R. 2668 – which would delay the implementation of both of these disastrous requirements.
Another troubling aspect of Obamacare is the fact that the Internal Revenue Service – an organization with a history of discriminatory practices – holds the authority to enforce a government takeover of our healthcare system, which will affect each and every individual and business in America. In light of the fact that IRS officials have recently admitted to unfairly targeting conservative groups during the 2012 election cycle, I cosponsored and voted on August 2nd in favor of H.R. 2009, the Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act of 2013, which would prevent the IRS from implementing any portion of Obamacare and thereby remove the threat of further abuse of power by the agency. Please know that I will continue to fight to repeal Obamacare and to replace it with common sense reforms that fix our broken health care system.
News You Can Use
Monitoring your credit history is important, and I encourage you to take advantage of the yearly, free credit reports made available to you under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can click here to access the web site of the Federal Trade Commission, which provides an informative summary on how to order your free reports and address any inaccuracies.
Thank you for taking the time to read about some of my work for the Third District. For daily updates on these and other important issues, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I also encourage you to check out this month's edition of Washington Watch, in which I discuss Obamacare, immigration reform, and the increasing national debt with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. To contact me or learn more about the services my office provides for Eastern North Carolinians, please visit my web site. http://jones.house.gov/
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