Category: NC Elected Officials

From Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the west to Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the east, North Carolinians are passionate about the outdoors. In fact, more than 1.6 million sportsmen and women call North Carolina home. That’s nearly one in five of our residents, and I’m proud to represent each of them in the U.S. Senate as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. In this role, I recently introduced the Sportsmen’s and Public Outdoor Recreation Traditions (SPORT) Act, …

Today, I urge you and your family to take time to reflect on all the things we as a nation have to be grateful for. Let us give thanks for those brave individuals who have come before us and sacrificed their lives for our freedoms and our security. Let us keep the men and women in uniform who are currently serving our nation and their families in our thoughts and prayers, and remember the debt of gratitude we owe them …

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) will present a $400,000 check to the New Bern Housing Authority and the City of New Bern at a press conference on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. at the New Bern Housing Authority, 837 South Front Street. The check represents a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant awarded to the Housing Authority and the City to develop New Bern’s Five Points commercial area and …

This was an historic and unfortunate week for the United States Senate.  The President and Harry Reid’s decision to use the ‘nuclear option’ to change the longstanding rules of the Senate was a blatant attempt to change the debate about the Democrats’ health care plan as the consequences of this disastrous law are felt around the country.  The American people know what they get when the minority party is stripped of its filibuster rights: they get unchecked power by the …

As we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the many reasons we give thanks and count blessings. We are fortunate to live in the greatest country on Earth, where we are bestowed with numerous blessings, including freedom, opportunity, and democracy. While giving thanks for these freedoms, I continue to pray that our nation can come together and find solutions to the problems we face today. This week, we recognized the 50th anniversary commemorating the death of President …

The Obamacare enrollment numbers were released last week and confirm what I have said all along— Obamacare was never ready for prime time. Reports are showing that enrollment numbers are only 1/5 of the previously stated White House projection, which isn’t nearly enough for the health care law to be sustainable, or affordable, long term. Only 1,662 people in North Carolina enrolled into Obamacare in October, and according to recent news reports, as many as 475,000 people in North Carolina …

On Monday, we will recognize and honor the service our veterans have provided to our country. I am blessed to represent the Second District, which is home to so many of our nation’s heroes who sacrificed so much to defend our great country. The prevalence of active service members and veterans who refer to North Carolina as “home” has encouraged me to do something to protect those who have so nobly fought to defend our country.  This is why, last …

I recently had the honor of presenting a long-overdue Bronze Star to Army Corporal Merle “Jack” Hammersley, a veteran of World War II. After Corporal Hammersley’s family contacted my office, we worked quickly to secure the medal to honor his contributions to our country. Part of the “Greatest Generation,” Corporal Hammersley represents the very best of our country, and the Bronze Star recognizes and honors his bravery, service and sacrifice.  As we pay tribute to Corporal Hammersley and all our heroes …

Two Grant Opportunities and a Workshop:   Revitalize neighborhoods & ignite local economies with art   The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has recently posted guidelines and application materials for Our Town, the agency’s program that supports communities that are using the arts to revitalize neighborhoods and reignite local economies.   Key information: ·         Pending availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000. ·         Application deadline is January 13, 2014 at 11:59 pm. ·         Projects may include …

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement regarding a nationwide reduction in benefits to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as Food Stamps: “Today is a sad day for many low-income families in North Carolina and across the country that struggle daily to put food on their tables.  In 2009, Congress passed the Recovery Act which temporarily increased food stamps benefits for millions of Americans.  However, today, that modest increase ends. “While …

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate failed to reach cloture on the nomination of Congressman Mel Watt (NC-12): “I am utterly disappointed that Senate Republicans have blocked a straight up or down vote on the confirmation of Congressman Mel Watt, who clearly had the support of the majority of the Senate.  “As a former real estate attorney, the representative of the second largest banking center in the nation, and …

WASHINGTON, DC – Late yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a provision authored by Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) that expands the list of documents accepted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to prove service and to grant honorary veterans status to a forgotten segment of the World War II Merchant Marine, the Coastwise Merchant Seamen.  H.R. 1288, the World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act, was passed by a vote of 404-1 as part of H. …

WASHINGTON, DC — Earlier Thursday, during the Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing criticizing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) offered the following statement: “Today’s hearing would be appropriate if my Republican colleagues would have approached it in a constructive way so as to learn about the rollout challenges of Healthcare.gov.  It would be appropriate to work in a bipartisan way to support the administration’s efforts to fix the problems with the website.  …

The bill that passed the Senate and House this week raised the debt ceiling and funded the government for another three months, but did nothing to address our nation’s spending problem or grant Americans any relief from the mandates in Obamacare. Because the bill included no spending cuts, or in any way tackled the devastating impact of Obamacare, I voted “no.”  Below you can read the statement I released regarding my vote in its entirety. I also gave numerous interviews …

This government shutdown was completely unnecessary. Congress should have never gotten to the point where the government was shut down and on the verge of a default crisis, and neither Republicans nor Democrats should attempt to take a victory lap after last night’s vote. However, I am glad the Senate passed a bipartisan plan to re-open the government and avert a default crisis that would have been disastrous for our economy and our middle class families. I wasn’t elected to …

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman G.K. Butterfield (NC-01) today applauded Greene Early College High School in Snow Hill, North Carolina for being honored as a 2013 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.  Greene Early College High School is one of only six schools in North Carolina, and the only school in eastern North Carolina, to receive the 2013 National Blue Ribbon School designation for academic excellence from the Department of Education. Greene Early College High School was …

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) held a telephone town hall meeting to answer First District residents’ questions on the Affordable Care Act and on open enrollment in the new Health Insurance Marketplace, which began on October 1.  The live telephone town hall started at 6:30 p.m. and lasted over an hour with more than 8,500 district residents joining the call. “The high number of participants shows that people are eager to get the information they …