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Foxx to address 'outrageous' IRS allegations
By Jim McNally

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx will host a telephone town hall meeting for her constituents next Monday, with the topic of “government oversight and accountability.”

In a written statement, Foxx said the topic was inspired by recent revelations by the Internal Revenue Service regarding an apparent focus on conservative groups such as those affiliated with the Tea Party movement.

“The American people should not have to question whether their government is unfairly targeting them based upon their personal political beliefs,” Foxx said. “Yet in the aftermath of the outrageous revelations from the IRS that groups of Americans were, in fact, subjected to higher scrutiny based upon their political associations, the confidence of taxpaying citizens is dashed.”

Top officials with the IRS have admitted that some in the agency used certain words and catchphrases typically associated with the Tea Party in the course of their investigations into tax exemption status requests.

“On Monday, I hope to update 5th District residents on the oversight efforts currently underway within the House of Representatives to hold the federal government accountable,” Foxx said. “Additionally, I look forward to speaking with local families about their concerns and ideas to provide accountability for how tax dollars are spent.”

Residents of the 5th District – which includes Statesville and a good portion of Iredell County – who wish to participate in the town hall discussion Monday , June 17, at 5:30 p.m., may call 1-855-312-2107.



Pittenger has issues with Farm Bill



U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger decried the action by his Congressional colleagues of consolidating social programs – like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps) – with omnibus legislation commonly referred to as the Farm Bill.

“Like true Washington pork, the so-called farm bill gobbles up every special program in sight, becoming so bloated that effective management is impossible,” Pittenger said in a statement. “If this is a farm bill, it should focus specifically on farms and agricultural issues. If other programs included in this bill are worthy, they should stand on their own merit, not be hidden inside the farm bill.”

Pittenger, whose 9th District includes a good portion of Iredell County, said separating the individual programs would allow Congress to be more watchful over all the programs involved.

Congress is expected to vote on the farm bill later this month.



Burr, Hagan submit bill to help Lumbees



Both of North Carolina’s U.S. senators introduced a bill aimed at extending full Native American rights and benefits to a tribe based in the state.

Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan worked together in introducing Senate Bill 1132. Known as the Lumbee Recognition Act, the legislation would provide federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

“I am proud to reintroduce this legislation, continuing my efforts to ensure that the Lumbee Tribe receives long-overdue federal recognition,” Burr said in a statement. “I hope that the Senate will fulfill its commitment to achieve fairness and justice for the Lumbees.”

Hagan said that for more than 55,000 members of the North Carolina tribe, “federal recognition is critical to (their) heritage and cultural identity.” She said “economic vitality of the entire Lumbee community” would greatly benefit from the recognition.

“I am committed to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation to give the Lumbee Tribe the full recognition they deserve,” Hagan said.

According to a history of the tribe contained on its official website, the Lumbees have been in a struggle for full Native American recognition by the federal government for 125 years. The tribe was recognized by North Carolina in 1885 and three years later sought the same imprimatur from Washington.

More than 70 years after that, in 1956, Congress passed a bill that recognized the tribe but still denied it the benefits accorded to every other federally recognized tribe.

Indeed, Lumbee Act of 1956 goes to the length of disallowing the tribe from seeking full recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The 57-year-old bill has arguably hampered more than helped the plight of the tribe because of a single partial sentence: “Nothing in this Act shall make Indians eligible for any services performed by the United States because of their status as Indians...”

And this state of affairs, that both Burr and Hagan view as an injustice, can only be rectified by an act of Congress.