Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Congressional Address

March 9, 2015 NC Elected Officials One Comment

Photo of the Week:

It was an honor to have my friend, Pat Boone, join as my guest for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Congressional Address on Tuesday. Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a strong speech during a joint session of Congress as he expressed his concern over the pending Iran nuclear deal.

 

Weekly Update:
It was an honor to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States Capitol on Tuesday. The United States and Israel have long shared similar values, and over the course of time, the two nations have formed an unshakable alliance. A nuclear Iran is simply unacceptable, and our nation cannot turn a blind eye to the grave and mounting threats that our ally Israel and the world-at-large are facing. Click here to read my reaction to his visit.

Prior to the Prime Minister’s speech on Tuesday, the House voted on two bills to improve the lives of our nation’s veterans by providing long-term solutions for their health care.

H.R. 294, The Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act, would expand health care choices for veterans to include medical foster home care. The VA doesn’t currently pay for this smaller, more home-like care. The result is that many veterans who would prefer this care, but have limited resources, are forced to move into traditional nursing homes instead. Another bill we passed in the House this week, H.R. 280, would give the Department of VA Secretary the authority to recoup bonuses that were paid to VA employees under false pretenses. This bill provides a tool to fight the systemic lack of accountability that has resulted in serious problems for many veterans who are simply trying to receive the health care benefits they have earned.

It is an honor and a pleasure to serve you in the House. Please reach out to my office if we can ever be of assistance.

 

Congressional Distinguished Public Service Award
 

I was honored to receive the Congressional Distinguished Public Service Award from the Digestive Disease National Coalition. I am especially supportive of the cutting edge digestive disease research at NIH, public health initiatives at CDC, and robust engagement with FDA during the drug development/therapy process. I hope to continue working with the Digestive Disease National Coalition on improving access to quality treatments for digestive health patients and to continue to raise awareness for these issues among my colleagues in Congress.

 
 

 

Protecting our Second Amendment Rights
This week I signed onto House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s letter to the director of the ATF regarding the Obama administration’s effort to ban a type of ammunition that has been exempted under federal law for sporting purposes for more than 30 years. In the letter we express our serious concerns that the new “framework” ATF is proposing “establishes an unduly restrictive standard, does not comport with the letter or spirit of the law, and will interfere with Second Amendment rights by disrupting the market for ammunition that law abiding Americans use for sporting and other legitimate purposes.” I remain committed to protecting the Second Amendment rights that we are guaranteed under the Constitution.

 

 A Letter to General Odierno
I worked with Rep. Richard Hudson and Rep. David Rouzer to send a letter to the Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno. In this letter, we expressed our concerns that a decrease in funding for Ft. Bragg would have a detrimental impact on military readiness. I look forward to working with Army Leadership to ensure that Fort Bragg remains the nation’s premier military installation and that it continues to set the example around our country. I hope you will take a moment to read an article by the Fayetteville Observer on this very letter we wrote.

Click here to see my statement on this letter and click here to read our letter to General Odierno.
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