Congressman Patrick McHenry

March 8, 2015

Congressman McHenry Weekly Update

The No Free Rides Act

While President Obama's executive actions on immigration is currently on hold thanks to the decision of a federal judge in Texas, the fight against these actions continues. This week I took an important step in that fight by introducing H.R. 1249, the No Free Rides Act to ensure no illegal immigrants who receive Social Security numbers via President Obama's executive actions are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

The Weekly Standard recently reported that illegal immigrants who receive Social Security numbers could receive up to $24,000 in taxpayer money via the EITC. The EITC was designed to give low income American families a little extra help and it must not be exploited by illegal immigrants whose first action on American soil was breaking the law and who have not paid the taxes that fund the EITC. You can read more about H.R. 1249 here and can view my comments on the bill by clicking the image below.

Welcoming Prime Minister Netanyahu to Congress

Israel is America's closest ally and throughout my time in Congress I have always stood with and supported the Israeli people. Now, the Obama Administration is working on a nuclear arms deal with the Iranian government that could pose a grave threat to both Israel and world peace.

This week I was honored to join my Congressional colleagues in welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Capitol where he addressed a joint session about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli people know first hand the dangers Iran poses to their safety. It was important for the Prime Minister to share that point of view with the American people. I remain committed to defending Israel and will work with my Congressional colleagues to ensure our government does not agree to a bad deal with Iran. Click the image below to see full video of Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress.

Stopping AR-15 Ammo Ban

President Obama failed to guide gun control legislation through Congress so now he is again resorting to acting unilaterally to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of the American people. This time he has tasked the ATF with working to ban a popular form of ammunition used by millions of American sportsmen and women for recreational shooting and hunting. The ATF claims this type of ammunition poses a threat to law enforcement but the head of the Fraternal Order of Police has said this is not the case. In response to this overreach, a bipartisan group of 239 House members sent a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones asking that he reconsider and reverse this ban. Full text of that letter, which I signed, is here. Click the image below for details on this developing story.


	What I Have Been Reading
	A n Off-Ramp From Obamacare The Wall Street Journal This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case King vs. Burwell that deals with whether Americans are eligible for subsidies under Obamacare if they signed up through the federal exchange. Much has been made about what will happen to those receiving care if the Court sides with challengers and earlier this week three leading House Republicans laid out what that plan would look like. Inside the Silence at Belmont Abbey College Our State Magazine As a proud graduate of Belmont Abbey College I thoroughly enjoyed this profile on the unique campus atmosphere at my alma mater. Please take a moment and read this story about one of the many great four year colleges that call the 10th District home. Brewery tourism becomes hot topic in Asheville Asheville Citizen-Times Western North Carolina's booming craft beer industry has been great for the area providing residents with a wide variety of delicious craft beer options. But perhaps its greatest impact has been as a job producer, employing area residents in the breweries but also the secondary jobs and economic investment that has come to the area thanks to brewery tourism as this story from the Citizen-Times outlines.

WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE
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Telephone: 202.225.2576
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HICKORY DISTRICT OFFICE
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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