Weekly Columns

  • We Need Answers
    May 16, 2013  - In a White House memo, President Obama stated that his administration was “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.” To achieve the consent of the governed, government must be transparent, participatory and collaborative. Unfortunately, over the last couple weeks, the ... More
  • I’m Still Waiting, Mr. President
    May 8, 2013  - Last week I joined my colleague Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) to host a field hearing in Concord, North Carolina. The hearing, titled “Health Care Challenges Facing North Carolina’s Workers and Job Creators,” examined how President Obama’s health care law will affect small businesses. Currently, around... More
  • Raising Taxes Won’t Help the Economy
    Apr 24, 2013  - This year marks the 100th anniversary of the modern income tax, which was established through the 16th amendment to the Constitution. Over the years, our tax code has become bloated with loopholes, regulations and exemptions and now contains almost four million words. According to the Laffer Center,... More
  • Confronting Terrorism, United as Americans
    Apr 17, 2013  - A marathon runner myself, I want to begin this week’s column by letting the runners, first responders, families and friends of those involved in Monday’s tragic events in Boston know that Pam and I send our thoughts, prayers and well-wishes to you. The acts of kindness and bravery following Monday’s... More
  • Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations
    Apr 10, 2013  - This week, the House is scheduled to vote on legislation I introduced to address the ongoing legal chaos that surrounds the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On January 4, 2012, President Obama made three so-called recess appointments to the NLRB while the Senate was regularly meeting in pro fo... More
  • Burdensome Regulations Hurt Hardworking Families
    Apr 3, 2013  - Last Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out sweeping new regulations to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline. According to EPA, these rules would be the equivalent of taking 33 million automobiles off the road. While this looks good on paper, it could have devastating effect... More
  • A One-Size-Fits-All Approach Won’t Achieve Health Care Reform
    Mar 28, 2013  - Yesterday, Governor Haslam announced that the state of Tennessee would not expand Medicaid as envisioned by President Obama under the Affordable Care Act. The federal government’s insistence on a one-size-fits-all approach under Medicaid is a poor solution for solving our health insurance access pro... More
  • Budget Week in Washington
    Mar 20, 2013  - Even in Washington, miracles can happen. For the first time since 2009, the Democrat-led Senate Budget Committee actually met to discuss their budget proposal, and it is scheduled to be debated. But not all talk is cheap. The Senate budget would increase spending by $265 billion and increase taxes b... More
  • SKILLS Act Will Speed Up Economic Recovery
    Mar 13, 2013  - The latest jobs report showed that the economy added 236,000 jobs in February, causing nationwide unemployment to drop to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. While it’s certainly encouraging to see unemployment numbers decline, the report also offered some bad news: 296,000 Americans were s... More
  • Keystone Pipeline Should Be a No-Brainer
    Mar 6, 2013  - A project with bipartisan support that would create more than 15,000 jobs and reduce our dependence on oil from unstable countries may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. According to a recent poll conducted by Fox News, 70 percent of Americans say they support building the Keystone XL pipeline... More