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Less than two months after President Barack Obama unveiled an executive order aimed at protecting millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, U.S. House Republicans passed a bill to roll the action back. Western North Carolina Reps. Mark Meadows, Patrick McHenry and Virginia Foxx all cast votes supporting the rollback. The measure also attached amendments for repealing the… Read more »

Last week, President Barack Obama announced a proposal that would provide two years of free tuition to anyone at community colleges across the nation. “Every American, whether they’re young or just young at heart, they should be able to earn the skills and education necessary to be able to compete and win in the 21st century economy,” he said in a video posted on the White House… Read more »

Legislators representing Rowan County in U.S. Congress returned to Capitol Hill this week, with some of the top issues being the Keystone XL Pipeline, free community college and the amount of hours in a work week. Sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 6, all of Rowan County’s U.S. Representatives had taken the oath of office before. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5, first took office in 2005, making the… Read more »

A day after President Obama unexpectedly unveiled a plan offering more than $34 billion in subsidies for community college tuition to millions of Americans, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th District, chastened the president for his “bad habit” of creating programs without funding mechanisms. “As a former community college president, I am a huge fan of community colleges and the great… Read more »

It was just weeks ago- that North Carolina's newest member of Congress was sworn in as the record breaking 100th woman in the 113th Congress. When lawmakers take the oath of office on Tuesday-- there will be a new record, 104 women serving in the Capitol. “I think people still consider it alarmingly small but I think for the women it’s a small step,” says Dr. San Roberts with… Read more »

This past year in politics saw lots of questionable -- if not flat out false -- claims. But don’t get too depressed: There were also more than a few comments that earned a True rating from the Truth-O-Meter, including statements by members of both parties. Here’s a sampling: Facebook Post: Congress has 11 percent approval ratings, yet 96.4 percent of incumbent lawmakers were re-elected… Read more »

The Obama administration will soon publish its plan to rate more than 6,000 colleges nationwide based on the value they provide to students and to society. The goal is to steer billions in federal financial aid toward the colleges that rate highly — and to yank funds from those that fail to meet administration standards on yardsticks such as the graduation rate, the cost of tuition or… Read more »

Gridlock and dysfunction may be common in Washington, but two of Rowan county’s representatives in the U.S. House say the recently ended lame-duck session was productive. The lame-duck session ended for the U.S. House last week. The Senate is still considering the $1.1 trillion “cromnibus” that would avert a government shutdown. One of the most significant measures considered during… Read more »

As was probably expected, both of Iredell County’s Congressional members were less than pleased with the announcement made by President Obama Thursday night regarding his plans to take executive action on the matter of illegal immigration. U.S. Representatives Virginia Foxx and Robert Pittenger – both Republicans who have been outspoken on the matter of undocumented residents of the… Read more »

Rowan County’s  two Republican U.S. representatives say next year’s majority in both the U.S. House and Senate could be a positive indicator of coming productivity, but say that the coming lame duck session could be exactly what its name implies — uneventful. Congress returns to Capital Hill this week for the first time since the midterm elections, which saw a number of Democrats… Read more »