Farm-related and nonfarm-related small businesses and small agricultural cooperatives in Avery and Mitchell counties are eligible for assistance. Local small businesses who experienced significant financial losses resulting from the drought of 2008 may qualify for loans up to $2 million. Read more »

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 »

Congressman McHenry has sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Chuck Conner urging him to improve the quality of crop insurance available to Tenth District farmers from the Department of Agriculture.Under current guidelines, the Department of Agriculture offers insurance benefits to farmers whose crops are totally dead.  However, many Western North… Read more »

Congressman Patrick McHenry today announced he will host a live, unprecedented Virtual Townhall on Monday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tenth District residents interested in participating can visit the Congressman’s website – http://mchenry.house.gov – at 7:30 p.m. next Monday and click the banner located across the top of the home page. "In addition to holding townhalls in every county in our… Read more »

More than five months after taking control of Congress, Democrats in the House and Senate have made no progress on addressing any of the major issues confronting the United States, according to data published by the Legislative Information System. Despite their highly-touted “Six for ‘06” agenda, Democrats have failed to pass into law a single piece of substantive legislation. “So far… Read more »

Congressman Patrick McHenry today issued a letter to Governor Mike Easley, requesting he petition President George W. Bush and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns for natural disaster assistance. The federal designation will help local farmers recoup their losses due to the Easter weekend freeze. “Over the coming days, more data will become available as to the extent of the damage… Read more »

Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) sent a letter Tuesday to North Carolina Governor Mike Easley, requesting a meeting involving local leaders from western North Carolina – deemed the “IBT Task Force” – to discuss stopping the proposed Interbasin Transfer (IBT). Congressman McHenry organized the task force to fight the IBT proposal. The meeting request is Congressman McHenry’s latest… Read more »

Editorial by Congressman Patrick McHenry Read more »

Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced the release of $1,370,000 to help eliminate future flood losses like those occurring in Avery County during the heavy rains of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan last year. McHenry was actively involved in securing these funds and worked with several federal agencies to hasten the release of the money. Read more »

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act, a bill that authorizes studies for water and wastewater issues throughout America. A portion of the legislation included a provision to conduct an Army Corps of Engineers study of existing water and water quality-related infrastructure in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Read more »