Earlier this week, deadly tornadoes ripped through the Midwest. The great state of Oklahoma was hit hardest, and I want Oklahomans to know that I speak for the entire state of Tennessee when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Unfortunately, Tennesseans are no stranger to dangerous storms and we will be as much of a resource as we can while you work to rebuild. Oklahomans are resilient and I truly believe that, with the support of a nation, you’ll come ou... Read more

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 president’s failure to meet this standard has been exposed across a wide array of government agencies. The IRS has been exposed for targeting right-leaning groups, the State Department has yet to come... Read more

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 160 million Americans receive health insurance through their employer. As you may know, Obamacare requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide government-approved insurance to t... Read more

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, it costs up to $431 billion a year simply to comply with and administer our complicated tax system. Now is the time for tax reform that makes the tax code simpler and fairer, and the majority of Amer... Read more

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 horrific events warm my heavy heart, and I commend our first responders – the EMS, fire and police officers – who rushed to help victims not knowing whether they were in harm’s way. President Obama, ... Read more

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 forma session. These appointments were unprecedented—no other president has bypassed the constitutionally-mandated nomination process while the Senate was in session. Although the White House claims suc... Read more

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 effects on hardworking American families. According to an American Petroleum Institute study, reducing sulfur in fuel will cost refineries billions – costs that will be passed on to the consumer – and could... Read more

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 problems, especially given the access problems so many of our citizens already face under this program. The governor’s preferred approach – to use federal dollars to expand Tennesseans’ access to private... Read more

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 by $923 billion – and their budget never balances. When looking at this proposal, it’s clear that we’ve yet to see leadership from the Democrats in the Senate or President Obama. Last year, the preside... Read more

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 so discouraged they stopped looking for work. This means that more Americans in February gave up on looking for work than found jobs. Similarly, the workforce participation rate dropped to 63.5 percent... Read more