Congressman Walter Jones Takes Action | Eastern North Carolina Now

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Jones Votes To Hold Lerner In Contempt Of Congress, Investigate Irs Scandal

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) issued the following statement after voting in favor of two House resolutions relating to the Internal Revenue Service's unfair targeting of conservative groups during the 2012 election cycle. The first resolution held Lois Lerner, the former head of the IRS division responsible for the agency's discriminatory practices, in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The second resolution (H. Res. 565) calls on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate the IRS's unlawful scrutiny of conservative groups' tax-exempt applications.

    "A government agency must not be allowed to engage in discriminatory practices based on political preference without serious consequences for those in authority," said Congressman Jones. "The American people deserve the truth surrounding the systematic targeting of conservative groups, and unfortunately, Ms. Lerner has been unwilling to cooperate with congressional oversight procedures. To ensure that this abuse of power does not happen again, it is imperative that we receive full and honest testimony from Ms. Lerner and that Attorney General Holder appoints a special counsel to fully investigate this incident."

Six Jones Proposals Included In House National Defense Authorization Act

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee voted to include six proposals introduced by Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015. Notably, Congressman Jones' efforts resulted in measures addressing military religious freedom, transparency in congressional travel costs, and service members' access to health care.

    To ensure that military chaplains are not denied their constitutional right to religious freedom, Congressman Jones successfully introduced an amendment that would allow chaplains to close their prayers as they see fit. A longtime leader in the fight for religious freedom in the military, Congressman Jones introduced a similar proposal last year, which passed the House but was removed from the Senate version of the NDAA.

    "I know of multiple chaplains who have been reprimanded for closing their prayers 'in Jesus' name,'" said Jones. "This provision is absolutely necessary to prevent the constitutional rights of these individuals from being trampled in the future. Military chaplains provide an invaluable service to our men and women in uniform, and their work should not be hindered by a blatant disregard for religious freedom."

    A second amendment supported by Congressman Jones would bring transparency to the cost of taxpayer-funded overseas travel by members of Congress. Currently, when a senator or representative takes an international trip using U.S. military aircraft, the Department of Defense is not required to disclose the cost. Under Congressman Jones' provision, these costs would be made public, with the exception of trips to visit U.S. military installations on foreign soil or U.S. military personnel in a war zone.

    "It is my belief that members of Congress should save money whenever possible by using commercial airlines," said Jones. "Even if my colleagues disagree with me and continue to travel by military aircraft, I think it is perfectly reasonable for them to let the taxpayers know how much this practice costs. Requiring this disclosure will allow constituents to hold their elected officials accountable for their expenditures."

    The following proposals were also supported by Congressman Jones and included in the NDAA:

    •   A provision preventing Tricare from decreasing reimbursement rates to health care facilities designated as sole community hospitals. Lower reimbursement rates could prevent such hospitals from adequately serving the veterans, active duty military personnel, and their families who depend on the hospitals for care.

    •   A provision that would officially change the name of the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps in order to appropriately recognize the service of Marines in the Third District and across the country.

    •   A provision stating that before putting in a new outlying landing field (OLF), the Department of Defense (DoD) must consult the chief executive of the state or territory in which the OLF would be located. This is particularly important to the Third District, where the DoD has been attempting to place an OLF in the northeast corner of the state despite requests for the field to be located closer to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

    •   A provision that would end the illegal taxation of American contractors in Afghanistan.


    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