Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline: April 20th, 2019

This week was the first of our two-week district work period. Personally, I think it’s ridiculous for Speaker Pelosi to recess the House for two weeks when her party can’t even pass a Budget plan as required by the Constitution. Nevertheless, I am glad to be home for Easter with my family and back in the Shenandoah Valley to catch up on the latest news. Additionally, in between all the meetings, events, and briefings, I was able to take a brief two-day trip to the Gulf Coast to see how we can use some of the exploration industry’s best practices to help lower energy costs for Virginia families.

Energy Tour

As my colleagues and I stood atop an oil rig 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana, I was impressed with the efforts in place to ensure oil is extracted safely with a focus on the protection of fragile sea life and ecosystems. Witnessing the hard work that goes into protecting our environment while at the same time extracting oil leads me to believe the same could be done off the coast of the Commonwealth. The hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs in the oil industry could further improve Virginia’s economy and open new opportunities for our citizens. All of this is possible while also protecting the ecosystems off our coast. It would truly be a win-win.

I went on this fact-finding mission to see firsthand the work being done off the Gulf Coast and push for the same off the coast of the Commonwealth. Any energy policy must be an all-in approach. As we saw this week, America can pursue energy independence while ensuring that important protections for the environment are in place.

Mueller Report

On Thursday, Attorney General William Barr made public the redacted Mueller Report. I voted last month to make the entire Mueller Report public, and I look forward to the Department of Justice making the full un-redacted Report available to all members of the House Judiciary Committee in accordance with Federal laws. In the meantime, I am taking the Easter weekend to read the redacted version of the Report.

While the talking heads in the media continue to chatter about what they think the Report means or doesn’t mean, I am more interested in the facts. As a former prosecutor, I refuse to rely on opinion, supposition, or jumping to conclusions.

Of course, I would prefer that the House move on to pressing issues like addressing the failure of Obamacare to lower health insurance premiums, the failure of our highway and infrastructure system to keep up with the booming US economy, and the failure of our Congressional leaders to stop the wave of illegal immigration that is flowing across our borders. But it appears that the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, now wants to investigate the two-year long Mueller investigation. Chairman Nadler has subpoenaed all evidence collected over the course of the Mueller investigation. I am confident that Mueller did a thorough job of investigating the attempt by Russia to interfere with our elections. However, if the Chairman deems it necessary, I welcome the testimony of both Attorney General Barr and Special Counsel Mueller before the Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks. As I consider the Mueller investigation, the Report, and its findings, I pledge to uphold the oath I gave on Day One of this job to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your congressman.