Congressional Ethics

WASHINGTON – Each August, Members of Congress get the opportunity to go home for the entire month. Rather than take a break, Rep. Brat chose to spend August travelling throughout all 10 counties in the seventh district, so he could listen to his constituents. “August gave me time to connect and speak in-depth with the constituents of the 7th District about the issues that matter most to them like health care, immigration, government spending and the economy,” said Rep. Dave Brat. “We talked a lo... Read more

WASHINGTON -- Today, Congressman Dave Brat, chairman of the House Constitution Caucus, issued a statement of support for Judge Kavanaugh as he endured tedious questioning from obstructive Senate Democrats. “Judge Kavanaugh is easily one of the most qualified and distinguished originalist jurists in America. Any Republican president would have considered him at the top of their lists. It is sad to see Senate Democrats grasp at straws by complaining about the process of the nomination (a process t... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dave Brat introduced the following bipartisan amendment, the Brat-Blumenauer-Titus Amendment No. 24, that would establish restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs to ensure greater transparency and accountability. Federal checkoff programs fall under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996. Funding for checkoff programs comes from producers, often in the form of mandatory per-unit assessment taxes. “The mandatory checkoff program h... Read more

The following op-ed appeared in the April 29, 2018 edition of Richmond Times-Dispatch. What voters hate more than anything are politicians who say one thing on the campaign trail, and then abandon those promises when they get into office — especially on big-ticket items. That’s why it was disappointing to see Gov. Ralph Northam go back on his word to Virginians about sanctuary cities. A 2017 Harvard-Harris poll showed that 80 percent of voters say, “Cities that arrest illegal immigrants for crim... Read more

The following op-ed appeared in the March 24, 2018 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They say the good news rarely makes the news. It is certainly true that most of the work a congressional office does never makes headlines. Serving in Congress goes beyond casting votes on the House floor, attending committee hearings, or office meetings. For me, representing the 7th District means listening to constituents and seeing how my office can assist. It is the tireless hours staff dedicate to cas... Read more

WASHINGTON - Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) led a bipartisan letter with 51 of their colleagues to support defunding the painful and wasteful experiments on dogs at the Department of Veteran Affairs. In it, the Members requested that the House Appropriations Committee include the Brat-Titus amendment in their Fiscal year 2019 spending bill. Last July the Brat-Titus Amendment received unanimous support in the Making America Secure Appropriations Act that passed the House. Thi... Read more

WASHINGTON - Rep. Brat issued the following statement in response to the memo released by the House Intelligence Committee on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. “During a time when movies like The Post are praised for their depictions of the media chasing down the truth about government actions, it is startling to see so many individuals opting for the narrative of ‘just trust the government,’ leading up to the release o... Read more

The following op-ed appeared in the January 27, 2018 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Too often the American people have been excluded from the process while politicians in Washington vastly expand the federal government, run up huge debts, and accept anemic economic growth as the new normal. As wages remained stagnated for 30 years, I saw the college kids I taught unable to find jobs where they could utilize their God-given gifts and talents and provide a better life for their own childr... Read more

WASHINGTON - Rep. Brat (R-Va.) released the following statement upon passage of H.Res. 630, legislation to require all employees of the House of Representatives, including Members of Congress, to take anti-harassment training in workplace rights and responsibilities. Rep. Brat is an original cosponsor of the legislation introduced by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.). “Today, we took an important step to address the serious issue of sexual harassment in the congressional workplace. While my office s... Read more

The following op-ed appeared in the November 25, 2017 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Over and over again I hear the request from friends, neighbors, and colleagues on both sides of the aisle: Why can’t Congress unify and get things done? But this begs the question: What are we unifying around? Unity requires an established set of first principles to back up our policy positions. In other words, unity without any shared common beliefs or principles is impossible. When it comes to unity a... Read more