Congressman Patrick McHenry

October 19 , 2014

Congressman McHenry Weekly Update

Busy Day in Catawba County

I started this past week by spending the day touring businesses and meeting with constituents across Catawba County. I began my day by sitting down with Hal Row for my monthly appearance on his show First Talk on WHKY. This week the show was originating from Rock Barn Golf & Spa which is hosting the Champions Tour's Greater Hickory Classic. Hal and I covered a variety of subjects including national security, the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the threat ISIS poses both in the Middle East and here at home.

Following the interview, I headed over to Claremont for a morning of tours around town with Mayor Shawn Brown. Our first stop was at the Williams-Sonoma manufacturing facility. The Claremont facility is where much of Williams-Sonoma's furniture is upholstered.

Our next stop in Claremont was at the city's new Spec Building. The building is a brand-new, ready-to-use facility built with the goal of attracting new manufacturing jobs to the city. It is a great looking facility and is sure to attract a tenant quickly.

After the Claremont Spec Building, we headed to Cargo Transporters which has been doing business in Claremont since 1982. Cargo Transporters operates technologically enhanced trucks that serve clients' shipping needs throughout the continental United States.

For lunch, I visited Shuford Elementary School in Conover where they were recognizing National School Lunch Week. Thanks to the 3rd graders, 4th graders, and all the teachers that allowed me to join them.

For more details on my visits throughout Catawba County, check out this recap courtesy of the Hickory Daily Record. If you wish to see additional photos from my visits across the 10th District, be sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram.

Helping Out Catawba County First Responders

Having visited over 70 fire departments across the 10th District, I know the important role they play in keeping our residents safe. Spending time at these departments, I have recognized that in many rural communities departments are often small, staffed by volunteers, and resources can be scarce. Since taking office I have held annual workshops to assist these departments in writing applications for federal assistance grants.

This past June, those efforts again paid off as Catawba County Fire Departments received a grant for over $1.77 million. This represented the largest grant received since I came to Congress and this week I was honored to join other Catawba County elected officials and present the check to Hickory Fire Chief Fred Hollar and Catawba County Manager Tom Lundy.

What Do You Think?

Since this summer, we have been seeing news reports on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Only recently though has the effects of this outbreak begun to be felt here at home in the United States. First there was news of a man traveling to the United States from Liberia who was exposed to and later died from the virus. Now we learn that two healthcare workers who provided care to the ill man in Texas have also become infected by Ebola. Our federal government has stepped up screening at airports for those traveling from the countries most impacted by the outbreak but some claim that is not enough. With that in mind, I wanted to get your opinion on what should be done to control this outbreak. Please share your opinion by clicking the image below and voting in the survey found at the link.


	What I Have Been Reading
	New Asheville GE Aviation plant celebrates opening *The Asheville Citizen-Times* This past Wednesday brought exciting news for Asheville and Buncombe County as General Electric celebrated the grand opening of their aviation facility in Asheville. The opening expands General Electric's presence in Western North Carolina and is expected to create hundreds of new jobs for the area. I look forward to visiting the new plant very soon. Community raising money for Justice Family & organ donation awareness The Shelby Star Above is a great story of how one local family suffered the ultimate tragedy but turned it into a great cause. The Justice family lost their daughter Molly in September and have since started a charity in her honor to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation and also to support families who have children awaiting donations. Obamacare Is a Job-Slashing, Deficit-Deepening Disaster Bloomberg View As the second year of open enrollment under Obamacare begins, this piece provides a crushing indictment of the law and its overwhelmingly negative impact on our nation's economy and jobs. A recent study found the law will increase deficits by $131 billion over the next ten years through decreases in the supply and demand of labor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE
2334 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Telephone: 202.225.2576
Fax: 202.225.0316

HICKORY DISTRICT OFFICE
87 4th St. NW, Ste A, PO Box 1830
Hickory, NC 28603
Telephone: 828.327.6100
Toll-Free in NC: 800.477.2576
Fax: 828.327.8311

GASTONIA DISTRICT OFFICE
Suite 115
Gaston Co. Administrative Bldg
128 West Main Avenue
Gastonia, NC 28053
Telephone: 704.833.0096

BLACK MTN. DISTRICT OFFICE
160 Midland Avenue
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Telephone: 828.669.0600