Morgan Griffith on the Border

Editorial comment: It's Virginia's problem in a tangential way, and we need to support our friends and allies to the southwest, but there are several issues I'd prefer to hear more about than this, too.

From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith, R-VA-9:

"

Not Their Problem

 

Many Democrat-controlled cities and states, which are not on the border, think the crisis at our southern border is not their problem.

But, over the past few months, we’ve seen a string of northern Democrat-controlled cities and states declare states of emergency and request help from the federal government due to the number of illegal immigrants living in their jurisdictions.

Massachusetts Governor Healey was the most recent official to declare a state of emergency due to an influx of immigrants to her State. According to the Governor, thousands are being housed in emergency shelters around the State (some are bona fide refugees, but many are illegal immigrants). Governor Healey said that the State’s social services are overwhelmed, and the State needs help from the federal government.

Washington, D.C., Chicago, and New York City have all declared immigration emergencies in the last year. New York State declared an emergency not long before Massachusetts.

D.C. issued a state of emergency last September. Mayor Bowser blamed Texas Governor Abbott for the emergency when he bussed immigrants who had illegally crossed into the state to the nation’s capital.

This past May, Chicago joined D.C. in declaring an emergency – by that time the number of immigrants being cared for by local and state agencies was over 8,000.

When Title 42, a public health order that allowed border patrol agents to send illegal immigrants back to their home country or the country they were most recently in, was coming to an end in May, New York Governor Hochul declared an emergency in preparation of the coming influx.

In the past few months NYC has had difficulty housing illegal immigrants living there. News reports tell of up to 2,000 being sheltered in tents on the Randalls Island soccer fields. NYC Mayor Adams said that there are currently 57,000 immigrants sleeping in city shelters. Further, hundreds of hotel rooms are being rented for illegal immigrants by the city.

Recently, a constituent complained at a Smyth County meeting that when he went to visit his daughter in NYC, he paid for his hotel room, while illegal immigrants were getting their stay covered for free by the taxpayer.

Earlier this year when visiting the border, on my commercial flight back, there were two illegal immigrants and an ICE agent flying to the immigrants’ placement location. Who do you think is covering that cost?

That’s right, you, the taxpayer!

And yet, with all this hardship and struggle to manage the illegal immigrants living in their jurisdictions, these Democrat politicians support the flawed policies leading to these problems. Many have the attitude that it’s not a real problem until it’s their problem. But they support the lax border policies of the Biden Administration and complain when they have to deal with the real-life consequences.

And instead of supporting finishing the wall and defending our borders, these Democrat politicians are calling on the federal government to expedite work authorizations for the illegal immigrants.

When declaring a state of emergency, Governor Healey stated, “an inability for migrants to obtain work authorization from the federal government,” as one reason the crisis is so bad in her state.

She said not one word about the wall or the southern border.

Should we reward people who intentionally break the law? I say No!

I’ve long spoken out about how detrimental the Biden Administration’s open border policies are, which have resulted in increases in human smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking, etc.

Republicans in Congress have repeatedly urged the Administration to change their ways, to close the border by resuming border wall construction and giving Border Patrol more resources to control the border.

We have also worked to hold the Administration accountable for the results of their policies. Congress has called Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in to testify 12 times since becoming Secretary.

And yet, our calls to follow the law and make necessary changes, fall on deaf ears.

Instead, the Administration has shifted the blame away from their flawed policies repeatedly, saying either that the Trump Administration is to blame or that somehow it is Congress’ fault.

Mind you, House Republicans have already passed a border bill, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, to address the crisis at our southern border.

Not one House Democrat voted in favor of it.

It is clear, this crisis will continue until Democrats get real about the problem and support policies that actually close the border. Further, northern Democrat run cities and states must accept that the border crisis is their problem too.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.

" 

Morgan Griffith's New Job

Editorial comment: Congratulations! 

From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith, R-VA-9:

"

Committee on House Administration

Thanks to the new Republican majority, this Congress my committee responsibilities have expanded. Along with serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee, in January I was selected by Speaker Kevin McCarthy as one of eight Republicans to serve on the Committee on House Administration.

While not well known, the House Administration Committee has a significant portfolio.

Part of our job is focusing on Capitol Hill, overseeing the daily operations of the House of Representatives.

Since the beginning of this Congress, our biggest priority has been to restore regular order to the House, which the Committee hasn’t done since 2017.

This includes bringing greater transparency and accountability to House operations. We’ve had hearings to review each committee’s budget requests for the Congress, to ensure efficient use of House resources. We’ve also given individual Members the opportunity to testify on issues under our jurisdiction and provide feedback on how we can make the People’s House more effective.

The Committee is also striving to make the House more open and accessible to the American people by completely reopening the Capitol complex. With the pandemic largely behind us, it’s time for Americans to once again have the chance to engage with their Representatives in person.

House Administration is also tasked with overseeing Capitol security, including lapses in security on Jan. 6, 2021. In fact, we recently announced that the Oversight subcommittee, of which I am a member, is launching an investigation into the January 6^th Committee, created by House Democrats last Congress. We will be reviewing not only security failures on that day, but also whether pertinent information about the riot was omitted in the Committee’s examination.

The Committee also has broad jurisdiction over our federal elections. While our role is limited, we do provide oversight over the Federal Elections Commission and Election Assistance Commission.

The Committee also has two joint Committee under its jurisdiction, which is a committee that consists of both Senate and House members. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Printing, which oversees the operations of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). It serves, by law, as the principal printing organization for Federal agencies.

Recently, the Republican members of the Committee gathered in the Capitol for a retreat, where we spent two days discussing each of our responsibilities as Members of the Committee and our goals for the next two years,

One of my favorite activities during the retreat was visiting the Library of Congress, which is under the jurisdiction of the Committee. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing approximately 173 million items.

While there, we toured the Preservation Directorate and Conservation Division of the Library, responsible for the conservation of the library’s paper-based special collections.

We were shown fascinating pieces from our country’s founding, including George Washington’s Commission as General of the Continental Army and Thomas Jefferson’s original rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, written from June 12-27, 1776. Also, Francis Scott Key’s original draft of the Star-Spangled Banner.

We had a chance to view a couple items belonging to Abraham Lincoln, including his second Life Mask (made two months before his death, plaster was placed on Lincoln’s face to preserve his likeness) and notes for his Second Inaugural Address. We were also shown the contents of Lincoln’s pockets from when he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in April 1865.

This opportunity was particularly special for me as I have spent many years collecting antique paper and at one point was a dealer of antique paper. A few years ago, I reached out to the Library of Congress to inquire about a book I inherited from my grandmother. Though the library had one copy, they requested to come to my office to see the book in person.

A favorite piece in my collection was an 18^th century printing of recent Acts of the Assembly and a discussion on the Alien and Sedition Acts. I have since donated this piece to the Library of Virginia (Virginia’s version of the Library of Congress).

Now that it is open again, I encourage anyone coming to D.C. to visit the Library of Congress where you can see incredible mementos from our country’s founding and throughout our history.

You likely will also stop at one of the Smithsonian Institution museums, which also falls under House Administration Committee jurisdiction.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. On my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.

" 

App Challenge

Design the app that will freeze unwanted "updates" in their tracks, forcing Google to get Chrome scrolling properly, and highlighting while we scroll, exactly as in MS Word, or pay an automatically deducted fine of $100 per user per day. No. Seriously, students, your entries can be considerably simpler than that.  

From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith, R-VA-9, actually e-mailed two months ago but you still have time to enter the contest:

"

July 11, 2022 - Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement announcing the opening of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge for Ninth Congressional District students:

“The Congressional App Challenge encourages students to demonstrate their talents, engage their creativity, and explore the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. I look forward to seeing the apps developed by the ingenuity of Ninth District students.”

To participate in the challenge, middle school or high school students can choose to work individually or in groups of up to four students. Participants may create and submit their own app for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.

Students are encouraged to register online by September 30, 2022, before submitting their completed app by November 1, 2022. Full details about the contest can be found on the website at https://morgangriffith.house.gov/constituentservices/stem-competition.htm.

Faculty or students may contact Tammie Bebout in the Abingdon district office at 276-525-1405 or by email at Tammie.Bebout@mail.house.gov or Josh Hess in the Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671 or Josh.Hess@mail.house.gov with any questions related to the competition.

"