Congressman Walter Jones Takes Action | Eastern North Carolina Now

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Jones Secures Hearing on North Topsail Beach Bill

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) has secured a subcommittee hearing on H.R. 187, legislation he introduced to correct a decades-old federal mapping error that has wrongly prohibited a significant portion of North Topsail Beach from accessing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In 1982, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) – enacted to discourage development of previously undeveloped U.S. coastal areas – incorrectly classified North Topsail Beach as "undeveloped," thus making the area ineligible to access the NFIP. Congressman Jones' bill would replace the existing CBRA map with an accurate one.

    H.R. 187 will be considered by the House Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Subcommittee during a hearing on April 8 at 2:00 p.m. The subcommittee hearing is the next step in the process to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.

    "North Topsail Beach has provided extensive documentation to prove that in 1982, the area was under development and in fact had a full infrastructure in place," said Congressman Jones. "There is no reason that North Topsail Beach should be prevented from accessing the NFIP, and it is my hope that the subcommittee will support my effort to correct this error."

Jones Statement on Supreme Court Hearing Religious Freedom Challenge to Obamacare

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments today in the case Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. The case challenges the mandate in the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, that requires businesses to provide health insurance that covers abortion-inducing drugs and devices – even if those medications and devices violate the business owner's religious beliefs.

    "Forcing an individual to provide employees with health coverage that violates their religious convictions is clearly unlawful under the First Amendment," said Congressman Jones. "It is my hope that the Supreme Court will recognize that Obamacare violates not only current law passed by Congress but also one of our nation's founding principles – the right to religious freedom."

    In January, Congressman Jones joined a bipartisan coalition of 71 House members and 15 senators in filing an amicus curiae brief in the case, arguing that Congress has a long history of defending against attacks on religious freedom, with the most notable example being the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). Hobby Lobby and its owners should be protected from Obamacare's infringing on their First Amendment rights by the RFRA, which states that the government "shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion."

    Congressman Jones voted against Obamacare each time it was considered in the House, and he has cosponsored every bill aimed at repealing all or part of the law.


    Sarah Howard
      Communications Director

    Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3)

     2333 Rayburn House Office Building
     Washington, DC 20515

     sarah.howard@mail.house.gov  •  (202) 225-3415