Fake News Alert: Nancy Pelosi Caught Lying About Richard Hudson
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A campaign ad attacks U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-North Carolina), for missing a vote on the annual spending bill for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hudson is facing Democratic challenger Patricia Timmons-Goodson in the race in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District.
CBS 17 took a closer look at some of the key claims in the ad as part of our political pledge to test the factual accuracy of public communications offered by candidates, political action committees, or partisan groups.
THE CLAIM: The ad says Hudson “skipped out on a vote to give our troops a hard-earned raise.”
THE FACTS: No one disputes that Hudson did not cast a vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395) over the summer.
But the ad, produced by the Democrats’ House Majority PAC, leaves out some critical context.
Hudson was under quarantine for COVID-19 concerns from July 9-23 after having contact with a person who tested positive for the disease. Hudson’s office provided CBS 17 with a letter from Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, that outlines the specifics of his recommended 14-day quarantine.
The bill easily passed the House by a 295-125 vote on July 21.
A day later — and a day before Hudson’s quarantine ended — the congressman entered into the Congressional Record a personal explanation to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, that says he would have voted in favor of the bill had he been present.
“The fact remains that Congressman Hudson did not ‘skip out’ on this bill or pay raises for troops, and this ad misleads the public about his record of helping to write this bill and support our military,” campaign spokesman Robert Andrews said.
The campaign has also sent a cease and desist letter, calling the ad “a low-brow attempt to deceive the voters.”
Caitlin Legacki, a spokeswoman for the PAC, raised the issue of proxy voting, pointing out that the House passed a measure in May and extended it until Aug. 18 to allow lawmakers to vote and take part in committee meetings remotely during the pandemic.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with 20 Republican members of Congress and four constituents, sued Pelosi in May over the practice, calling it unconstitutional and saying it dilutes members’ votes. Andrew says Hudson has joined the lawsuit.
In a statement posted May 31 on his Congressional website, Hudson said he would not vote by proxy.
“If healthcare workers, first responders, truck drivers, and grocery store clerks are on the job, lawmakers should be on the House floor voting,” he wrote.
The Hudson re-election campaign also says the congressman helped write the bill. In remarks to the House Armed Services Committee on July 20, U.S. Rep Trent Kelly, R-Mississippi, credited Hudson for the inclusion of a provision that increased hazardous duty pay by 10 percent — from $250 per month to $275 — for active-duty military members in eligible locations.
Kannapolis veteran recognized at President Trump rally in Charlotte
A veteran from Kannapolis who recently celebrated his 100th birthday got some special recognition from Commander-In-Chief Donald Trump at a rally held in Charlotte on Monday night.
“We’re also honored tonight to be joined by a true American hero. A veteran of World War Two and the Korean War who just turned 100-years-old, and his name is George Washington Perry…legit,” President Trump said. “George, thank you very much for being here, thank you George, 100-years-old.”
Last week, Rep. Richard Hudson, (R-08) helped Perry celebrate his 100th birthday and read that his only other wish was to meet President Trump.
“When I heard about George “Buck” Perry’s life of service and his 100th birthday last month, I was honored to enter remarks into the Congressional Record honoring his commitment to our nation during WWII,” Hudson said. “When I heard he had two wishes on his 100th birthday — to renew his drivers license one more time and to meet President Trump, I thought the timing couldn’t be more perfect since we had a rally scheduled for March 2nd. I’m proud to report mission accomplished.”
Hudson added that President Trump signed a photo for Buck while on Air Force One prior to the rally, and Buck was also able to fulfill his goal of meeting President Trump backstage.
Gerrymandering decision will mean new Harnett representative
The political tug of war over gerrymandering of congressional districts was settled on Dec. 2 by a North Carolina Appeals Court decision that leaves congressional districts as they were drawn by the Republican-led state legislature. That means a change for voters in most of Harnett, parts of Johnston, Lee, Moore and all of Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery and Cumberland counties, who now make-up the 8th U.S. Congressional District. It also means a new face will be representing most of those voters in Washington, D.C.
Current 8th District Congressman Richard Hudson, who officially filed to re-gain his seat shortly after the new districts were declared valid, visited Dunn recently in an effort to bring awareness to residents of the pending changes to their representation. Hudson has served as the representative for the district since 2013.
“My philosophy is if I’m you’re a congressman, I need to know you and you need to know me,” Hudson said. “So, I got here as soon as I could.”
Voters will have a bit of a foggy path to travel until the changes take effect. While voters in the re-drawn 8th district will choose their representative in the 2020 primary and general elections, the candidates chosen and eventually elected, won’t actually represent the new district until it becomes official in January of 2021.
“I’m going to represent my old district until January 3, 2021,” Hudson said. “I’ll be campaigning here, but if you need help with the federal government, I’m not legally allowed to help you until then. It’s going to be confusing for people because they’re going to see my ads and my signs thinking they can come to me, but I’m not really allowed to help them. But I can help direct people and we won’t turn anybody away.”
Hudson defines himself as “a conservative, but common sense person who likes to get things done.”
He is ranked as the 12th most conservative member of the House by the National Journal, he also carries another distinction according to one survey that dubbed him the “most effective North Carolina Congressman.”
The University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University did a study on the subject and Hudson was rated as most effective among all Republicans and Democrats in the state.
“I think I demonstrate you can stand on principle,” he said. “But you can also reach across the aisle and get things done for the people.”
Among his duties in the house, Hudson serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as on sub-committees for health care, energy and digital privacy.
As far as a primary focus currently, Hudson says veterans and the military are high on his list. Fort Bragg sits in the heart of his district. That fact, combined with the large number of veterans who have made North Carolina their home, has made Hudson want to focus on them and the issues concerning them, he says.
“We probably have more veterans in this part of the country than anywhere,” he said. “Then, I represent the largest Army base in the world, Fort Bragg, the epicenter of the universe, and that’s a big priority for me: making sure we’re giving those men and women everything they need to do their jobs well, get home safely and also take care of their families.”
Hudson spoke on the latest efforts by the House to pass a needed spending bill. He noted a continuing resolution, which allowed spending to continue temporarily at current levels, was recently passed. That handcuffs the military, though, and doesn’t afford them the chance to start new programs or get needed funding increases, he said. It expires on Dec. 20.
“When we do continuing resolutions, in which we say keep spending at the same levels as last year, it’s devastating to the military,” Hudson said. “They can’t start new programs, they can’t buy new systems. It’s really bad news for our troops.”
Hudson said the largest obstacle to get a new spending bill passed comes in the ongoing argument between Democrats and Republicans over funding President Donald Trump’s border wall. He said the stalemate has led to a lack of negotiation between the two sides.
“The biggest sticking point is the Democrats in Washington refuse to give the President any money for the border wall,” Hudson said. “And if there’s no wiggle room there, there’s no negotiations. I don’t know how you get out of that.”
He quotes former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms when speaking about the matter.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to compromise,” he said. “As Senator Jesse Helms, one of my heroes, used to say ‘I won’t compromise my principles, but I will compromise my preferences’ and at the end of the day you’ve got to be willing to compromise some of your preferences and come back and fight for more later.”
Hudson says the ongoing impeachment inquiry by Democrats is hindering efforts to resolve other issues, just as important, if not more. He says the focus is preventing getting anything done.
“They’re so focused on that, we’re not getting things done like funding the government,” Hudson said. “There’s a lot of things we can agree on like funding infrastructure, like dealing with drug pricing. There’s so many things that we could be doing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on that the people here expect us to be doing, and that’s the frustration for me.”
After filing for reelection on Dec. 2, Hudson released a statement.
“I’m running for reelection to continue to be a conservative, common sense voice for the people of North Carolina’s 8th District,” Hudson said. ”I’ve always been clear on my priorities for the district – creating an environment where folks can find good-paying jobs, rebuilding our military and being a voice for our veterans. I look forward to continuing to share our positive message from Cumberland to Cabarrus and everywhere in between.”
Health Care
Concerned about the rising cost of health care and prescription drugs, Richard has led the charge to reform our broken health care system. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee charged with writing most of our nation’s health care laws, Richard has distinguished himself as a leader in health care who will pursue bipartisan solutions to the most pressing issues.
A remaining priority for Richard is dismantling the top-down, government-heavy approach of the Affordable Care Act. Richard has outlined his principles for reforming our health care laws—
- Maintain strict protections for consumers such as prohibiting annual or lifetime coverage limits, gender rating, and denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
- Providing assistance to individuals without employer-sponsored coverage to buy health insurance.
- Bolstering health savings accounts and allowing their use with high deductible plans.
- Increasing cost-transparency so patients can be better-informed consumers and hold our health care providers accountable for the prices they are charging.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Richard was named the Republican leader on preparing our nation for the next pandemic. He introduced the Commitment to Defeat the Virus and Keep America Health Act to strengthen our national PPE stockpile and expand future vaccine development. Richard has also been a leader on combatting the opioid epidemic and has championed the Lower Costs, More Cures Act to boost innovation in health care.
Through bipartisan action, Richard is committed to improving our health care for every patient and family.
Bipartisan initiatives offer new hope in war against cancer
Carolina Journal
Veterans
Richard believes the Veterans Administration should honor its promise to our nation’s veterans—to care for the soldier who has endured battle. Richard fights every day he’s in Washington to hold the VA’s bureaucracy accountable and get rid of the red tape that prevents the hardworking men and women of the VA in Salisbury and Fayetteville from doing their jobs.
Richard also believes that veterans should not be denied access to care because the Washington bureaucracy at the VA is getting in the way. He has long championed supplementing care at the VA with access to outside providers to ease congestion. He has never advocated for privatizing the VA as he believes veterans should have access to a health care system that can cater to their unique needs, but he does believe veterans should never be delayed in accessing care.
This is why he wrote the Care Veterans Deserve Act, a bill designed to increase and enhance access to outside providers from the VA. This bill was used as a foundation for the VA MISSION Act, a bill signed into law by Donald Trump that reformed the VA’s health care system and enhanced access to outside providers for veterans.
Rowan county congressman visit Emergency Operations Center, Landis
As bright skies and warm temperatures evaporated lingering puddles on Tuesday, Rowan County’s two congressmen took time to learn how locals fared during the weekend storm.
Reps. Richard Hudson, R-8, and Ted Budd, R-13, were briefed on county impacts by Chief of Emergency Services Chris Soliz.
Across the county, 264 storm-related phone calls have been recorded since the weather began late Friday. Most of these have addressed down power lines, trees and similar hazards.
Some 147 field reports have been collected by what Soliz called “field liaisons,” identifying areas with high flooding and other storm-related issues.
“We had all these different departments here,” said Soliz as he showed the two men Rowan’s Emergency Operations Center, established to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Florence as it approached. “… In this situation, everybody dropped titles and we were all one team.”
FALSE: Pelosi’s claim the House GOP is ‘inviting’ violent criminals to carry concealed weapons
The Pinocchio Test
Pelosi’s tweet focuses on a possible loophole in the law and then uses inflammatory language such as “inviting.”
But the reality is that most states already allow for reciprocity agreements with other states. Federal law also already prohibits violent criminals, abusers and stalkers from having guns; the issue is that some states already have tougher laws than at the federal level that could be overridden by permits from more lenient states. Still, the differences among most states may loom larger in the gun debate than in reality.
Pelosi’s tweet inspired such anger because responsible gun owners believe their rights are being curtailed, even if they follow the concealed-carry rules — while violent criminals who want to have a gun are not going to be bothered with following such rules in the first place.
We wavered between Two and Three Pinocchios but ultimately settled on Three because her last line — “the @HouseGOP just voted to do exactly that” — is so over the top and exaggerated. One can have a respectful political debate, raising the issue of a lower common denominator for concealed-weapons permits, without accusing the other side of voting to let violent criminals and stalkers have guns.
Three Pinocchios
Hudson Has Record-Breaking Second Quarter Fundraising
CONCORD – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) today announced that his re-election campaign raised nearly $310,000 in the second quarter of 2017 with the vast majority of those donations coming from individuals in North Carolina. This is the second quarter in a row that he has raised over $300,000, bringing his total raised so far this cycle to $658,435.27.
Hudson’s campaign has raised more money from North Carolina donors in the first six months of this year than in any previous year.
“The generous support of my fellow North Carolinians means so much to me,” said Hudson. “It shows that the work we are doing to fight for commonsense, conservative values is really resonating with the folks at home, and they believe in our efforts.”
Hudson’s July 15 Second Quarter Report, filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission shows that during the period between April 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017, Congressman Hudson raised a total of $309,350.91. Over 86% of Congressman Hudson’s individual contributions came from North Carolina.
N.C. Rep. Richard Hudson To Receive NAEMT’s 2017 EMS Legislator of the Year Award
NAEMT will present Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) with the 2017 EMS Legislator of the Year Award on April 25 during EMS On The Hill Day, the largest national advocacy event for emergency medical services (EMS) professionals.
This prestigious award recognizes a member of Congress who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to, and support of, high quality prehospital and emergency medical care, as well as the EMS professionals who dutifully serve our nation’s patients.
Read the full article here…
An Update On National Reciprocity
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., joined NRATV’s Grant Stinchfield Wednesday to give an update on the push for national reciprocity: “We have 129 co-sponsors, including three Democrats. So, I feel like we’re moving along very well with it,” he said.
Hudson introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 on Congress’ first day in session for 2017. The bill, also known as H.R. 38, would eliminate the disorder of state carry laws by allowing individuals who have a license to carry permit from their resident state to exercise those rights across state lines.
“We’re using this time to prepare, to build support, and when we get our window of opportunity later this year, we’re going to take it,” assured Hudson.