Mark's Weekly Update

Oct 4, 2016

eNewsletter

TVA Proposal Passes House

As you probably know by now, my office has been heavily involved in an effort to stop the TVA from banning floating houses and forcing hundreds of families out of their homes. We introduced a bill recently to do just that, and my subcommittee held a hearing on this issue as well. This week, I was very pleased to see my proposal to stop the TVA from banning floating houses pass the House.

This is a big victory for hundreds of families in Western North Carolina and our district's economy, and it is a clear statement that this kind of government overreach will not be tolerated. To learn more, read my press release here.

Witnesses testifying before the Subcommittee on Government Operations (photo from Smokey Mountain News)

NC-11 Blue Ribbon Schools

I want to give special congratulations to Bald Creek Elementary School and Pisgah Elementary School on their Blue Ribbon awards! This week, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. recognized 329 public and private schools across the country as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2016, recognizing schools for academic excellence. Two of them--Bald Creek Elementary School and Pisgah Elementary School--are right in our district!

This goes to show once again that Western North Carolina has some of the finest teachers in the country. I want to recognize Sherry Robinson, principal of Bald Creek Elementary, and Jeanann Yates, principal of Pisgah Elementary (along with Jay Dale--principal at the time of the nomination).

Congratulations to all of the teachers, students, and parents at both schools for their outstanding achievement. You deserve it! I wish you all the best in the future. To read my full statement, click here.

Bald Creek Elementary School

Pisgah Elementary School

House Overrides President Obama’s Veto

This week, the House voted to override President Obama's veto of a bill that would allow families of terrorism victims to sue Saudi Arabia by a vote of 348-77. The Senate also voted to override the same veto by a vote of 97-1.

The bill gives families of 9/11 victims the opportunity to file suit in U.S. Court over any role that the Saudi government may have played in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

This is a positive step toward justice for the families of September 11 victims. They deserve nothing less. To read more about the bill and the House vote, click here.

Op-ed with Rep. Jim Jordan

Congress has a bad habit of needlessly governing from crisis to crisis, particularly with funding bills, and then using threats of a government shutdown as leverage to gain support for irresponsible spending measures.

This week was no different—Congress passed a stopgap spending measure that failed to make any serious progress toward reducing our debt. Many of my colleagues and I voted against the bill because we believe this mindset of governing by crisis up against deadlines will never result in real solutions to our problems. The American people deserve better.

It's time we take the threat of a government shutdown off the table in the future and work toward a serious solution to tackle our debt. Click here to read an op-ed by Rep. Jim Jordan and myself from this week about how we can do this.

(photo from Getty Images)

Repealing FATCA

I recently introduced H.R. 5935—a bill that would repeal provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), included as part of the 2010 HIRE Act. FATCA was originally designed to prevent tax evasion by increasing U.S. government access to foreign bank accounts held by U.S. citizens, but it has functioned more as a global tax law which violates Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

As part of FATCA, foreign financial institutions are required to report all account holdings and assets of U.S. taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service. Failure of these institutions to do so could result in a penalty of up to 30 percent of their U.S. sourced income. Requiring institutions to disclose information like this violates a U.S. citizen’s rights to privacy and harms taxpayers with burdensome regulations to abide by. Furthermore, regulations like these have a chilling effect not only on citizens being able to do business abroad but also on expats who are running into regulations.

The House Oversight Committee is examining the bill and looking at holding a hearing to gather more information. I am looking forward to advocating for this bill and fighting for Fourth Amendment rights of U.S. citizens. To read more, click here.

(photo from Greg Nash)

Charles George VA Statue Dedication Ceremony

It was an honor to attend the dedication of Charles George’s Statue at the Asheville VA Hospital, commemorating the heroism and sacrifice of Private First Class and Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Charles George. The ceremony was also done in conjunction with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Thank you to everyone at the VA Medical Center for having me to this great event!

With Wayne Carringer, a WWII veteran who was a POW of the Japanese for 3.5 years

Standing next to Private Charles George’s statue with retired SGT. Warren Dupree

500th Honor Flight Program

Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an event with Governor Pat McCrory welcoming home over 100 North Carolina veterans from the 500th Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. The National Honor Flight program has provided over 150,000 opportunities for veterans to fly to D.C. and visit war memorials in our nation's capital.

It was a privilege to welcome these heroes back to NC and I cannot thank them enough for their sacrifice! Thanks especially to my friend Jeff Miller for all of his work with the Honor Flight Program in making this great event possible. Keep in mind that we are looking for WWII veterans, Korean War veterans, and guardians for the next honor flight on May 13th of next year! Visit blueridgehonorflight.com if you need additional details.

Welcoming Veterans home from the 500th Honor Flight to D.C.

At the 500th Honor Flight welcoming with my friend Governor Pat McCrory

Thanks to Jeff Miller for his faithful work with the 500th Honor Flight Program

Speaking to HSLDA

Last weekend I spoke to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) at the National Homeschool Leadership Conference in Asheville. Having homeschooled our two children, Debbie and I know firsthand how important this tremendous organization is to defending the rights of families to freely educate their kids at home. I want to thank everyone there for their tireless efforts--and for the privilege to be with you!

Speaking at the National Homeschool Leadership Conference