This is why it was encouraging to hear that Congressman Patrick McHenry voted this week in favor of replenishing the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which covers the cost of extended unemployment benefits for jobless workers. The Department of Labor anticipates the fund will run out in August. It is obvious the 10th District congressman recognizes the importance of helping jobless workers and their families in these tough economic times. Read more »

THUMBS UP to Congressman Patrick McHenry who this week co-sponsored a resolution that, if approved, would require members of Congress who vote for the health-care reform plan now being debated in Washington to enroll in the program. Read more »

"The $1.2 million SAFER grant is the largest grant that any agency in the 10th Congressional District has received since I have been the representative of the 10th District," McHenry said. "That says a lot about the city of Hickory and the fire department that worked diligently on the grant and obviously showed the need and importance of having a second ladder company in Hickory." Read more »

"Oh lord," he said, "'it's been a challenge. And there have been some challenging issues." McHenry, consistently ranked among the most conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives, noted those issues would be difficult ones for either party to deal with. Read more »

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the panel that oversees the Census Bureau, is demanding that the bureau explain how the partnership with Acorn fits its stated mission of selecting partners that will not "distract from the Census Bureau's mission." Read more »

“For this congress to cut jobs and raise energy costs on working families at a time like this truly boggles the mind,” he said in a statement. “The economy is shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs every month and families are struggling to pay their bills. So I fail to see the wisdom in eliminating 88,000 jobs in North Carolina alone, raising energy prices by $1,400 annually on every household, and hiking gasoline prices by 77 cents per gallon. For what? So we can possibly lower the Earth’s temperature by two-tenths of a degree by the end of the century.” Read more »

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) says that snappy comebacks are “effective at breaking through the clutter.” So now, it’s the snarkiest wheel that gets the grease. “Most politicians are not known for edgy comments, and society has become much more vanilla with the 24-hour news cycle,” says McHenry. “You have to be punchy, tight and different. And that is why this strategy can be effective.” Read more »

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, raised a very intriguing question this week. Is the Obama administration erroneously counting census jobs in their claims that the stimulus package will “save or create” 600,000 jobs over the next 100 days? “As hiring for the 2010 Census continues, the American… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Hickory, said the deal is still a huge question mark. “With the financial crisis we’re facing, we’re all concerned about jobs. We’re all concerned about the health and safety of our financial institutions and small businesses across North Carolina.” Read more »

McHenry said, however, that the issues that drove Reagan — the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union, high tax rates, a welfare system that many said entrapped the poor — are gone and this has left the party struggling. “We have to use the same Reagan principles but the issue set has to meet today’s challenges,” he added. Read more »