Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Congressional Update


While the president celebrated Obamacare enrollment numbers that don’t tell the full story this week, he disregarded the 75 percent of Americans that are living paycheck to paycheck and the 30-hour rule in Obamacare that threatens to slash employees’ wages. House Republicans are working to ease the financial squeeze that all-too many Americans are experiencing. To help in this effort, I voted this week to restore the 40-hour work week by defining a “full-time” employee as one who works 40-hours per week. 

This week, Eddie Bernice Johnson and I introduced H.R. 4260 – the Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act of 2014. This bill addresses some of the inequities occurring in HIV funding across states. Below, you will find the joint statement that we released following the introduction of the bill.

I began this week in the second district visiting the Kellogg’s bakery in Cary, and later in the week had the pleasure of meeting with several groups of constituents who were visiting D.C.  Below you will find photos from my trip to Kellogg’s, my meeting with high school students from Harnett Central and Triton High Schools, and also with Boy Scout “Troop Orange Crush.” It was wonderful speaking to and answering questions from our nation’s future leaders while on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. 

The majority of constituent service casework my office handles is on behalf of veterans living in our district. Unfortunately, the VA has not been consistent in providing resources and services to our veterans that they have earned and deserve.  As a result of these inconsistencies, my office met with Concerned Veterans of America this week. We discussed several bills including H.R. 4031, the “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014,” which I co-sponsored. We also discussed ways to improve the voting process for members of our military when they are serving abroad or deployed. It was great to meet with this group, as we work towards holding the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable and better serving our veterans.

For more information about the work I am doing in Washington and the second district, see the In the News section at the end of this newsletter and visit my website at ellmers.house.gov.  It is an honor and a pleasure to serve you.  Please contact my office if we can be of any assistance to you. 

The Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act

The following is the joint statement I released with Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30) after introducing H.R. 4260 – the Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act of 2014:

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers:

“I’m pleased to have worked with the North Carolina HIV community and Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson and Bennie Thompson to address some of the problems associated with HIV funding inequities occurring between the states. That’s why, in partnership with my colleagues, I’m proud to introduce H.R. 4260 – The Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act. This bill would require HHS to study their formula and address the problems facing countless HIV patients across the country. As a nurse, I have seen firsthand the pain and anxiety that an HIV-positive diagnosis can cause. This is a terrible situation that is currently affecting over 36,500 North Carolinians living with the disease. I look forward to seeing this bill move quickly through the House of Representatives.”

On Friday, March 14th, Congresswoman Ellmers introduced H.R. 4260 for herself and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. Currently, the Ryan White program assists states in identifying and treating HIV-positive individuals and providing medical care and case management services to help patients adhere to treatment. When patients are properly medicated, studies show that the virus becomes suppressed and does not spread to others.

Over the past several years, the number of HIV-positive individuals has been growing in southeastern states while declining in cities that previously experienced large HIV-positive populations. Yet those cities continue to get more Ryan White money per patient than the states where the populations are growing. The result is that many southern states do not have the funds to ensure that their patients get the virus-suppressing drugs, thus contributing to the spread of HIV while other states have money left over to provide ancillary services to their patients. This bill would take steps to address this problem.

Click here to read the full statement at Ellmers.house.gov.

Holding the VA Accountable

This week, members of my staff met with the group Concerned Veterans of America and discussed H.R. 4031, the “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014,” which I am co-sponsoring.  This bill would give the VA Secretary greater authority to remove employees due to poor performance, thus providing greater accountability and improving the quality of service that millions of veterans who depend on the VA deserve. Click here for more information about H.R. 4031.

Visiting the Capitol

Visiting Washington, DC is an exciting and educational experience. My door is always open to you, so please don’t hesitate to stop by my office to visit with me and my staff. Please visit this page on my website or contact my office at 202-225-4531 for additional information about booking tours.


I enjoyed meeting with Glenn Traylor and Boy Scout “Troop Orange Crush” Wednesday during their visit to Washington. 

 

It was a pleasure talking with Harnett Central High and Triton High School students on the steps of the Capitol this week. Aside from discussing recent legislation surfacing in the House, we had a few moments to discuss our love for Bojangles, and where the nearest Bonjangles’ biscuits can be found in D.C.

More Snapshots from the Week

It was GRRRR-EAT visiting the Kellogg’s bakery in Cary on Monday.

On Wednesday, the House GOP Conference hosted a discussion on women, the wage gap, minimum wage, and workplace regulations for Members of the Republican Women’s Policy Committee. We had the opportunity to hear from Commissioner Victoria Lipnic (Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Sabrina Schaeffer (Executive Director of the Independent Women’s Forum) and Christina Hoff Sommers (a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute).

April is NC Beer Month

As a member of the Small Brewers Caucus, I celebrate the contributions this growing industry makes to our economy.

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In the News

Bill to define full-time work week as 40 hours passes House
Bloomington Herald Tribune/McClatchy
The ACA requires employers with at least 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance to those who average at least 30 hours per week or risk a fine. The mandate was supposed to begin next year, but has been pushed back to 2016…”Millions of hardworking Americans across this country are working less,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., noting that substitute teachers in her district have had hours cut. “The facts speak for themselves.”

Congressmen request committee block defense dollars from shuttering 440th Airlift Wing
Fayetteville Observer
Ellmers said she is proud to be a part of the effort to block the 440th’s closure…Ellmers said the proposal to shutter the unit is one that caused immediate concern. “Not only do these proposed cuts exceed what the law requires, they present unnecessary burdens on Fort Bragg and Pope Airfield troops, their families and our national security,” Ellmers said. “It is also imperative that commanders and soldiers continue to have access to the flexible and quality training that this joint mission has provided over the past seven years.”

North Carolina group takes veterans’ rights fight to Washington
News 14 Carolina/ Time Warner Cable
In meetings such as one held Wednesday in the office of Republican Renee Ellmers, the group asked lawmakers to support three bills. One of those bills, H.R. 4031, is aimed at the core of VA leadership. “That’s the act that is asking for more leeway within the VA so they can fire senior executive service managers that are not performing,” said Paul Passaro, a local director at Concerned Veterans for America.

Bill aims to enhance AIDS/HIV treatment, funding structure
Ripon Advance
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) recently introduced legislation that would take steps to improve treatment of HIV/AIDS and create a more equitable state funding structure. Ellmers drafted the bipartisan Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act of 2014 with Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). The measure would require the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to submit reports to Congress on state HIV/AIDS funding. It would also implement a plan to ensure that per-patient state funding does not vary more than five percent from state to state.

NC GOP leaders attack Obamacare on eve of deadline
NBC 17 WNCN
Republicans gathered for a convention in Wake County Monday night. One of Obamacare’s staunchest opponents, Rep. Renee Ellmers, was a key speaker. She said that regardless of the milestone deadline, “We are going to continue the fight until this thing is gone and we can actually put the alternatives forward we know exist.”

Obamacare hits milestone, but detours ahead for health law
Reuters
Amy Newbold, a 57-year-old saleswoman from Randolph County, North Carolina, lost her employer insurance last year. “I feel left out in the cold, and I don’t know why it has to be that way,” she said in an interview arranged through the office of Republican U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers, an Obamacare opponent from North Carolina.

Local, state politicians of both parties agree on Fort Bragg’s importance
Stars and Stripes
Rabin, a retired Army colonel who bought a home just outside Fort Bragg after a second career in the defense industry, knows better than most how politics can play into decisions about the military. He’s also familiar with following a chain of command, so he said he has contacted the state’s two U.S. senators, Kay Hagan and Richard Burr, plus this area’s U.S. representative, Renee Ellmers.

Locals grapple with Obamacare
The Sanford Herald
Ellmers singled out Lee County Schools in a recent press release, saying that “Millions of hardworking Americans are told to work less and suffer more in order to comply with the law. In my own district, substitute teachers are facing the same problem. A Lee County official confirmed this to my office today, saying ‘we are cutting hours for all our part-time people so they don’t trigger health care coverage.’” Superintendent Andy Bryan, however, said no one from the school system spoke with Ellmers’s office in an official capacity and that the district is actually still reviewing a number of different options. In fact, Bryan said, the district used to have a cap on the number of hours substitute teachers could log each week, but that cap has since been lifted.

House Republicans move to block Internet management switch
The Hill
A group of House Republicans introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit the Obama administration from moving forward with its announced plans to relinquish oversight of the technical side of the Internet’s Web address system. “America shouldn’t surrender its leadership on the world stage to a ‘multistakeholder model’ that’s controlled by foreign governments,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), one of six cosponsors of the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters, or DOTCOM, Act. Other co-sponsors are Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), Joe Barton (R-Texas), Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.).

Substitute Teachers Hit by Obamacare Hour Cuts
PJ Media
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) said each day brings new news of “the dangers facing millions of Americans due to Obamacare.” “We learned that our substitute teachers in North Carolina are losing their hours and income. In just one North Carolina county, as many as 200 teachers are facing fewer options – all because of Obamacare’s employer mandate. This is happening all over our state and across the country. Millions of hard working Americans are told to work less and suffer more in order to comply with the law,” Ellmers said.