Even though the legislative session has ended, work continues on some proposed new laws. In the past week, the governor has signed nearly 50 bills into law. Nine bills were pending as of Thursday afternoon. The governor has until Aug. 2 to sign these bills, allow them to become law without her signature or veto them. If she vetoes any bills, the General Assembly could come back to Raleigh to consider an override. This week, I want to share with …
Category: Press Release
Butterfield Applauds East Carolina University’s Receipt of Nursing Anesthesia Grant
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for awarding East Carolina University (ECU) with a Nurse Anesthesia Traineeship grant in the amount of $12,516. The university will use the funds to support nurses who wish to obtain advanced educational preparation at ECU’s Nurse Anesthesia Program. “There is currently a local and national shortage of nurses and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists,” said Congressman Butterfield. “Research shows that the quality of …
Bono Mack, Butterfield Lead Efforts in House to Reauthorize, Extend U.S. SAFE WEB Act
WASHINGTON, DC — Calling it vitally important to efforts by the federal government to fight online fraud, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, and Ranking Member G. K. Butterfield (NC-1) today introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 6131) to reauthorize the U.S. SAFE WEB Act of 2006. Passed unanimously by the House and signed into law by President Bush, the U.S. SAFE WEB Act – set to expire next year – has become …
Butterfield on the Passing of State Representative William Wainwright
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement on the passing of North Carolina State Representative William Wainwright: “I join with so many others who knew William in offering my deepest sympathy to his family on his passing. A devoted public servant of more than 20 years, Representative William Wainwright was an unwearied advocate of the people and communities he served. He lived a Christ filled life and possessed the extraordinary ability to make a …
Butterfield Cosponsors Farm Service Accountability Act to Halt Future Closures of FSA Offices
WASHINGTON, DC – The Office of Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today announced the Congressman’s co-sponsorship of H.R. 4313, the Farm Service Accountability Act, which would halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from future closures of Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices without first assessing the workload volume of each office and the needs of the residents they serve. “The FSA offices in Chowan, Warren, and Hertford counties provide critical access to USDA services for hundreds of farmers,” said Congressman …
Senator Richard Burr Updates
Preventing Leaks About Covert Actions to Protect American Lives and Missions This week, I introduced a bill that I never thought would be necessary, but unfortunately, leaks of confidential information about American covert actions have become so common and pose such a threat to our national security that I was forced to introduce legislation to combat it. Such reckless disclosures of top-secret information compromise our national security, jeopardize the work of our intelligence officers and overseas partners, and risk innocent …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Fighting to Repeal Obamacare
This week, the House voted for the full repeal of Obamacare. Unfortunately, just as he has done with dozens of other bills passed in the House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid does not appear likely to allow a vote on Obamacare repeal in the Senate. Immediately following our vote in the House, I sent a letter to Senator Reid (also signed by over 100 fellow Members of the House) urging him to allow a vote so that all Americans will …
White House Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Pass the Middle Class Tax Cut Extension
President Obama calls on Congress to act now to extend tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year This week the President signed the MAP-21 Act to extend funding for transportation and infrastructure projects and stopped student loan interest rates from doubling. He also urged Congress to cut taxes for the middle class, while the White House announced the 2012 Save Award initiative, and played host to a Google Plus Hangout
More Than 12,000 Residents Attended Butterfield’s Telephone Town Hall on Healthcare Reform
WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) held a telephone town hall meeting to answer residents’ questions on how the Affordable Care Act will affect North Carolina families. The live telephone town hall began at 6:00 p.m. and lasted over an hour. More than 12,000 district residents joined the call. “There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation surrounding the costs and benefits of healthcare reform,” said Congressman Butterfield. “Because of this, I thought it was important …
President Obama Signs McCaul-Butterfield ‘Creating Hope Act’
WASHINGTON, DC — President Obama signed legislation into law yesterday that included the bipartisan Creating Hope Act, authored by Congressmen Michael McCaul (R-TX) and G. K. Butterfield (D-NC). The Creating Hope Act of 2011 provides market incentives to pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs for children with rare pediatric diseases, such as childhood cancers and sickle cell. Originally H.R. 3059, The Creating Hope Act was passed as Section 908 of S. 3187 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation …
White House: Extending Middle Class Tax Cuts for 98% of Americans
Monday, the President called on Congress to extend the middle class tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year. In fact, the President’s proposal extends tax cuts for 97 percent of all small business owners in America. If Congress fails to act, a typical middle-class family of four will see its taxes go up by $2,200, and America’s small business owners would take a big hit. The President refuses to let that happen. This should be …
White House Weekly Address: Pushing Congress to Create Jobs, Keep College in Reach for Middle Class
President Obama discusses legislation he signed on Friday that does two important things: It keeps thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and it stops interest rates on federal loans from doubling this year for more than seven million students. Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President traveled to Colorado Springs to survey fire damage and honor responders, he also celebrated Independence day …
White House: Why We Won On Student Loans
It’s July, and because Congress finally took action, 7.4 million students no longer have to worry about the interest rates on their Stafford loans doubling. That’s great news, but it was far from certain. Just a few weeks ago, it wasn’t clear that it would happen. We got this done because of you. Americans like you spoke up on this issue. You took to Twitter and Facebook. You sent emails and talked to your friends and neighbors. And in the …
Representative Michael H. Wray’s Raleigh Report
The General Assembly adjourned its 2012 session Tuesday, but not before it overrode the three latest vetoes issued by the governor. The decisions to reject the governor’s vetoes without attempting any compromise cleared the way for implementation of a mostly bad state budget; continued racial bias in our courts; and fast-tracked drilling for natural gas, despite environmental uncertainty and the objections of many people who own the deposits. I will provide you with additional information about each of the vetoed …
Photo: Fireworks at the White House
July 4th, President Obama welcomed more than 1,200 military service members and their families to the White House to celebrate the Fourth of July. The event, organized by the USO, featured a performance by country music star Brad Paisley. As Paisley and his band finished their final song (“Welcome to the Future”), fireworks began over the National Mall.
Butterfield to Attend Bill Signing Impacting US Transportation and Student Loans
WASHINGTON, DC – July 6th, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (D-NC) will join President Obama for the signing of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 Century Act, the bill to fund long term transportation related projects and prevent the doubling of interest rates on certain student loans. “For months, Democrats have been fighting to pass this bipartisan legislation that will boost a struggling construction sector, give certainty to a range of small business owners, and pave the way for …
White House: The Affordable Care Act by the Numbers
Upheld last week by the Supreme Court, President Obama’s health reform law — the Affordable Care Act — ensures hard-working, middle class families will get the security they deserve and protects every American from the worst insurance company abuses. Insurance companies no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women more than men. Soon, no American will ever again be denied care or charged more due to a pre-existing condition, like cancer or even asthma. Preventive …
Butterfield Dismayed by State Democrats Support of Racial Justice Act Overhaul
WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier today the North Carolina General Assembly voted to override Governor Perdue’s veto of SB 416, a bill that would repeal the Racial Justice Act by no longer allowing the use of statistics to demonstrate racial bias in North Carolina’s capital punishment system. Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) released the following statement in response to the legislature’s overhaul of the Racial Justice Act: “While I am not particularly surprised that the Republican-led General Assembly was successful in …
Senator Richard Burr Updates
Supreme Court decision on the President’s health care law – individual mandate is a tax While this was a busy week legislatively in Washington, the biggest news of the week came from the Supreme Court. On Thursday, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the President’s health care law claiming that the individual mandate included in the law is, in fact, a tax. While the Court has been reviewing this law for months, American families and businesses have been reviewing it …
White House Weekly Address: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires
President Obama speaks to the American people from Colorado, where he toured areas impacted by the devastating Waldo Canyon fire and met with first responders as well as families affected by the fires. The President thanks the brave firefighters and countless volunteers who are providing food, water, and shelter to those in need, and makes clear that his administration will continue to bring all resources available to assist efforts to combat the fires. This week, the President spoke at the …