Congressman Bob Good: Congressman Good Update: Getting America Back on Track

Pro-Hamas Rallies Infecting Universities Antisemitism has been spreading like wildfire on college campuses across the country. Our Education & Workforce Committee has held hearings in recent weeks, challenging the presidents from Harvard, Penn, MIT, and most recently, Columbia, regarding their failure to address the pro-Hamas protests that have taken over their campuses. None of them provided acceptable answers on why they have permitted these hateful and even violent protests. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act requires universities receiving federal funding to protect students from discrimination and other consequences on the basis of their race, religion, or nationality. Unfortunately, these antisemitic demonstrations are also taking place in our commonwealth. I sent a letter to the president of the University of Virginia (UVA) demanding that appropriate and decisive action be taken to protect Jewish students in the midst of pro-Hamas protests on campus. Leadership at UVA and on other campuses should have the courage to prevent terrorist sympathizers from illegally occupying our campuses and threatening Jewish students.

Working to Bring Tyler Wenrich Home Tyler Wenrich, a Louisa County resident who works in emergency services in Powhatan, is currently detained in Turks and Caicos for accidently traveling with two rounds of ammunition in his carry-on bag. He is being held in a detention facility, awaiting a hearing, and is facing up to 12 years in prison. My staff and I have been in direct contact with Tyler and his family, and I am doing everything I can to bring him home as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I am calling on the Biden State Department to issue a formal travel advisory for Turks and Caicos, warning Americans of the risk of excessive and unreasonable consequences for accidental offenses in this country.

Department of "Labor" Loopholes IIn our Education and Workforce Committee hearing this week, I questioned Acting Secretary Julie Su about Department of Labor employees who are taking advantage of four-year-old COVID policies to refuse to come to work. This is offensive to the people that they are supposed to serve, and prohibits constituents from getting adequate and effective assistance.  My office solves nearly 40 cases a week for people across the 5th District who were not receiving an adequate response from one of the nearly 500 federal government agencies. We never stopped working in person – please reach out to our district office if we can help you!

Promoting Apprenticeship Freedom A common theme I hear from businesses across the 5th District is the difficulty finding employees who are prepared with the job skills necessary to succeed. Apprenticeship programs are one tool employers can use to develop a strong workforce.  Currently, 83 percent of apprenticeship programs in America are run by business owners, but they are still subject to strict government regulations to qualify for available federal funding. I recently introduced the Apprenticeship Freedom Act to permit businesses to operate their own apprenticeship programs without federal government interference. Read more about my legislation at The Center Square.