From Williamsburg to Prince William County, the First Congressional District was slammed by this past week's snow storms. The result left hundreds of thousands of federal and private sector workers stranded at home, and unable to reach the office. However, some of our neighbors were still able to get to work, and it wasn't because they had four wheel drive; rather it was their ability to telecommute. Teleworking is a reliable alternative when natural or man made disaster strikes. Telecommuting o...
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On Tuesday, I hosted a broadband roundtable in Warsaw, to bring together broadband expansion stakeholders in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. We had a great group of participants including Ellen Matthews Davis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office, representatives from the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula Planning Districts, telecommunications companies, private citizens, and representatives from NeckTech, which on that day officially became the Northern Ne...
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This past Monday I toured the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) at Hampton. This Veterans Hospital, the fourth oldest medical center in the VA system, is a 468-bed facility which serves a 15-county area in eastern Virginia and a 10-county area in northeastern North Carolina. I received a brief tour of the center, a briefing from hospital administrators, and met with both patients and doctors. I learned more about how the medical center was working to serve patients and asked what I ...
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I started off this week by continuing to hold town hall meetings, to hear directly from my constituents on their thoughts and concerns about the happenings in Washington. I focused on reaching out to our senior citizens, by holding events at retirement communities in Fredericksburg and Newport News. The seniors I spoke with echoed what I've been hearing for months: we need healthcare reform, but not in this form and certainly not in the manner it's been conducted; behind closed doors with no tr...
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This week Congress returned to Washington to begin the second session of the 111th Congress. There are many items on the agenda as we start the year, including healthcare reform, financial services regulatory reform, as well as appropriations bills to fund the government's operations. This week I've focused on working with the Marine Corps, who are currently in the process of deciding where to move three Marine Corps Security Force companies currently based at Norfolk, Virginia. These companies...
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As Congress is wrapping up its Winter District Work Period, I've spent a great deal of time attending events and visiting with folks around the First District. I was pleased to visit with Advanced Placement Government students at Fredericksburg Academy and 5th Graders at Cople Elementary in Hague. I was also supposed to meet with Ni River Middle School's 7th graders, but this morning's snow had other plans for the students. As the husband of a lifelong educator, I know the tremendous value and ...
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Two weeks ago the House wrapped up its work for the 1st session of the 111th Congress. While I have taken exception with many pieces of controversial legislation this year, I was most concerned by the final vote of the session; a vote to increase this Nation's debt limit by $290 billion to a total limit of $12.39 trillion. This is the fifth time since 2007 the majority has voted to rack up our Nation's credit card. However, this is an issue which has gone on for far too long, and blame for this...
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As we come to the close of 2009, I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you and your families a happy holiday season. It is this time of year that we gather to celebrate with our families the birth of Jesus Christ. Earlier in the month those of the Jewish faith celebrated Hanukkah to commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. I'm glad to have this opportunity to stop and give thanks for all our blessings as a nation. Americans are fortunate to have the service and protectio...
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After speaking with many commuters in the First District, this week I introduced H.R. 4348 the Telework Tax Incentive Act, to help alleviate traffic congestion, ease the burden on our transportation infrastructure, and help stem the effects on our environment from pollution. If passed and signed into law, the bill would provide eligible taxpayers with an annual tax credit for qualified teleworking expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer that year, up to $1,000. It's clear that when it comes t...
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As you read here last week, I've been reaching out to commuters to hear their thoughts and concerns about how they make their way to work. On Wednesday morning I visited the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Fredericksburg Station to talk with rail riders. Although it was a cold and wet morning I was joined by Matt Kelly of the Fredericksburg City Council and Mark Roeber of VRE from 6 - 8am, the main departure time frame for folks heading North. Through my many conversations that morning, I met th...
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