GOP leaders call out Kaine on health-care reform
Fifth District Congressman Robert Hurt joined a pair of Virginia state legislators Thursday in an effort to paint Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine as a loyal Barack Obama ally.
“The president’s health-care law has produced devastating effects for Fifth District Virginians and all Americans since passage. It has expanded the size of the federal government, imposed billions of dollars of new taxes on small businesses and individuals, and perpetuated an economy of stalled job creation at a time when far too many Fifth District Virginians are out of work,” said Hurt, who narrowly won election in a tough 2010 race with then-incumbent Tom Perriello and will face his first re-election battle in November 2012.
Hurt joined State Del. John Cox and State Sen. Steve Martin on a conference call arranged by the George Allen Senate campaign that was big on the use of the word “Obamacare.”
“Obamacare has placed a significant burden on America’s already struggling economy, hampering our small businesses freedom to invest and grow their companies,” said Cox, R-Hanover.
“I am convinced that Obamacare represents not only a threat to the health care community, but a threat to our economy as well. With unemployment stuck at above 8 percent for months on end, Obamacare is yet another impediment to job growth in a weak economy,” Martin said.
Hurt backs effort to tighten sanctions on Iran
Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Va.) today released the following statement after the Iran Threat Reduction Act passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 410-11. Congressman Hurt is a cosponsor of this measure.
“It is clear that Iran poses a great national security threat to our nation, our allies, and our interests. And as Iran inches dangerously close to nuclear capability, we must take proactive measures to enforce policies that will not only deter, but completely disengage the Iranian regime from its hostile nuclear proliferation program. This legislation does just that by taking aim at its primary source of funding, its energy sector – adding more rigorous financial and energy sanctions, including a provision that would allow sanctions on those that conduct business in Iran’s petroleum industry. As the Iranian nuclear threats continue to evolve, so should the United States’ ability to address those threats. And this legislation will allow us to proactively preserve our security both at home in the Fifth District and across this country.”
H.R. 1905 was introduced by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and allows the United States to take further steps to impose more comprehensive financial and energy sanctions, as well as close loopholes in current sanction law so that we may deter Iranian nuclear proliferation efforts.
Former congressional candidate announces run for mayor in Roanoke
After several years of focusing on his family, small-business owner and CFO of Kissito Healthcare, Sam Rasoul, has decided to run for mayor of Roanoke. Raised in the Roanoke Valley, Rasoul would like to contribute more to an area that has blessed him with so much.
“We are putting the campaign together now, and we will be making a formal announcement at the beginning of the year,” said Rasoul, who fell short in a campaign for the Sixth District congressional seat in 2008
Rasoul’s campaign will center on several priorities including job creation through economic development, limiting wasteful spending, and education. A small-business owner, Rasoul believes more can be done to make Roanoke a formidable regional player to attract more jobs. With cuts looming in Richmond and Washington, Rasoul believe his financial background will help him work with other members of city council, and other local entities to maximize our resources to stimulate the region. Read more
Joseph Meyer: Small-business owners and Main Street–don’t forget about us
With voting in the Republican primaries around the corner and with unemployment still high, it has become evident that 2012 will be a big year for small-business owners. Both as a voting block and as the economic engine of America, small businesses will have a lot to say and a lot of power in the ballot box.
Today small-business owners and entrepreneurs are the job-creation engine of America, employing more than half of America’s workers and creating more than 60% of all new jobs over the past 15 years. If small businesses are so important to our local and national economies, then why do so many small businesses and Main Street owners face uncertainty in today’s economic climate? The reality is that most small businesses lackease of access to capital and as a result are unable to grow their businesses and hire new workers. Small businesses are facing uncertainty that will linger into 2012. Read more
Hurt comments on House passage of farm-dust legislation
Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA) released the following statement after the House voted Thursday to approve the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act (H.R. 1633), a bipartisan bill that he co-authored with Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD). H.R. 1633 was passed the House by a vote of 268-150 and will now be reported to the Senate:
“I am pleased to see the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act (H.R. 1633) was approved by the full House today with bipartisan support, and it is my hope that our colleagues in the Senate will recognize the importance of providing regulatory relief to our job creators and take action on this legislation to do so.
“Over the past three years, the American entrepreneurial spirit has been crippled by federal government regulations, resulting in millions of Americans out of work, and many businesses closing their doors. At a time when too many Central and Southside Virginians are struggling to find jobs, we must continue to promote policies that will remove the federal government as a barrier to job creation in order to foster an economic environment that both provides an opportunity for job creators to hire and incentivizes them to expand.
“The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act gets to the root of this problem by removing the federal government from the business of over-regulating. This legislation provides us with a step forward to getting our economy back on track by providing immediate relief to farmers and rural areas through preventing more stringent, job-crushing dust standards from being implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). By passing this legislation, the House has taken one more step toward our goal of creating certainty for our job creators, removing the roadblocks posed by excessive regulations, and getting our economy back on track so that our small business owners can get back to creating the jobs that Central and Southside Virginians and all Americans need and deserve.”
Challenger takes debate request to Goodlatte public
Sixth District Republican congressional-nomination candidate Karen Kwiatkowski has repeatedly asked GOP incumbent Bob Goodlatte to agree to a debate in advance of the June 2012 party nomination.
Not having heard from Goodlatte yet, Kwiatkowski has gone public with her request to try to put pressure on the congressman.
“Now that George Allen has finally agreed to debate his Republican primary challengers, I believe that it is time for you (or your office) to answer the mail,” Kwiatkowski wrote Goodlatte in a letter dated Nov. 16.
“When I personally spoke to you about this on Oct. 18, you were aware of my formal requests, but told me that you thought it was ‘too soon’ for you to commit. After three months and multiple requests, it is certainly not too soon for you to respond to a fellow Republican and Sixth District constituent. I encourage you emulate former Sen. Allen, and engage in a public debate with your political critics on the right,” Kwiatkowski wrote in the letter.
Andy Schmookler: American Values and the Christmas Season
Posted by afp on December 23, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Over the generations, the holiday of Christmas has become deeply woven into American culture, expressing both the nature of our country and its ideals. Aside from the commercialization of the holiday, which of course reflects an important part of what America is about, there are also the deep moral values that gain expression in America during the Christmas season. Read more
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with andy schmookler, bob goodlatte, christmas, congress, sixth district, sixth district congress