Republican lawmakers are using the occasion of John B. King Jr.'s nomination to become secretary of education to revisit the controversy over the Education Department's enforcement of campus sexual assault law. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) broached the subject in a House hearing Wednesday (and swiftly posted the video to her Twitter). And it's likely to surface again today on the Senate side — probably, insiders say, from HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, who has a close relationship with ... Read more

North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx questioned the Education Department's overreach when it comes to campus sexual assault during a hearing on Wednesday. The congresswoman directed her question to Dr. John King, the acting secretary of the Education Department, who is currently going through the confirmation process to officially become head of the department. "I'm very concerned about what's happening within your department's Office for Civil Rights and its impact on college campuses acr... Read more

WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is encouraging high school students in North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District to submit entries for the 2016 Congressional Art Competition, which is a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize talented young artists and promote the valuable role meaningful art plays in our society. “Every year our country’s top young artists have the chance to display their work in the United States Capitol where it will be seen by visitors from arou... Read more

Rep. Virginia Foxx said in a heated exchange with Acting Education Secretary John B. King Jr. this morning that she thinks the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is out of line. Foxx, the leading candidate to become the next chair of the House education committee, said that “for too long, the OCR has gone around Congress,” and she isn’t sure about the “legitimacy and effectiveness” of the agency’s actions. And “the office has used the Dear Colleague process and implied threat of inve... Read more

WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay and transfer up to 60 prisoners to the United States mainland: “Bringing dangerous terrorists to the American homeland has been consistently rejected by bipartisan majorities in Congress. President Obama’s stubborn insistence on fulfilling an ill-advised campaign promise to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay distracts fro... Read more

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and other Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation said Tuesday that they would try to stop President Barack Obama’s effort to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Advocates of closing Guantanamo say that the prison has long served as a recruiting tool for militant groups and that holding extremists suspected of violent acts indefinitely without charges or trials sparks anger and dismay among U.S. allies. Opponents, however, say cha... Read more

Omega Construction of Pilot Mountain recently welcomed U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC 5th, along with 15 students from the Appalachian State Sustainable Technology and Built Environment department to one of its job sites. The purpose of the visit was to give Appalachian students who are interested in pursuing a career in construction the chance to tour an active job site so they could see the real-world application of what they are learning in the classroom. The students were able to hear persona... Read more

Representing the Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and Western Youth Network, Hollie Storie, Gretchen Summerville and Tommy Boyd were among 2,700-plus substance abuse prevention specialists and advocates from across the country in the Washington, D.C., area Feb. 1-4 for the 26th annual National Leadership Forum of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. Considered the premier training event of its kind, the annual forum offered 70 sessions on a variety of topics — from preventi... Read more

WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today released the following statement regarding the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "The United States has suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Antonin Scalia. A passionate defender of the Constitution, Justice Scalia was a patriot who brought great intellect, character and wit to our highest court for nearly three decades. My prayers are with his family. His service to God and country will not be forgotten." ### U.S. Rep. Virg... Read more

WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2017: “The national debt is nearly $19 trillion – that’s approximately $58,000 for every man, woman and child in America. Our country is in the middle of a fiscal crisis driven by reckless borrowing and runaway government spending. However, President Obama continues to ignore these realities and the magnitude of the problems we face. “Despite proposing to rai... Read more