September 20, 2024

The Office of

Representative Mike Clampitt

House District 119

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Ribbon cutting at the Tsali Care Center

The Tsali Care Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held on Thursday morning of Sept. 19. There were recognitions at the ribbon cutting and Bo Taylor giving a smoke blessing to the Tsali Care Center

Whitewater rafters aim to bridge partisan divide on Nantahala River trip

by Major Garrett/CBS

On the western edge of the battleground state of North Carolina cuts the Nantahala River and an unlikely spot for an experiment in reconciliation.

About 30 Americans went there to navigate the Nantahala on rafts while probing the limits of political estrangement. They are liberals and conservatives, independents and libertarians — sure to oppose one another on all manner of ideas and issues.

But they're also willing to talk and paddle together toward something deeper.

Link for the article

Constitution Day

As we celebrate this 237th #ConstitutionDay let's be thankful for how blessed we are as a nation to have Founding Fathers who were committed to protecting our personal freedoms and rights.

Child Passenger Safety Week

Make sure your child is in back and in the #rightseat #ChildPassengerSafetyWeek

Here is a good resource for car proper seat usage: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/car-seats-and-booster-seats

Govt Waste Turned Cool Attraction

See how a federal "road to nowhere" was transformed into a magnificent attraction for Bryson City visitors.

It provides access to hiking trails, including the 33.5-mile Lakeshore Trail. How about our state!

https://tinyurl.com/y6hesseb

Voter ID Information

This is the recent updates to North Carolina State Board of Election's Voter ID Page. They have published a lot of new content on our Voter ID page. They also just published a new page: FAQ: Voter ID.

Press Release from NCSBE.

No-Fee ID Card:

Anyone who is 17 or older can get a “No-Fee ID Card” from the NC DMV. Information on this ID card is available on the DMV website: Official NCDMV: State IDs (ncdot.gov).

We will keep you updated when new information is available.

Veteran funding bill clears U.S. House

by Elyse Apel/The Center Square

A plan to cover a $3 billion budget shortfall in the Department of Veterans Affairs cleared a significant hurdle on Tuesday night.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act, leaving the Senate until Friday to act before benefit payments become delayed.

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Garcia of California, the bill has received bipartisan support from North Carolina lawmakers and passed overwhelmingly with a voice vote.

“I supported the passage of the Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act to ensure our veterans are taken care of, not because the Department of Veterans Affairs is deserving,” said Republican Rep. Greg Murphy in a statement.

Murphy’s comments echo concerns that many have with the department’s handling of its budget, especially as financial responsibilities increase.

Link for the article

Fed slashes interest rates by a half point, an aggressive start to its first easing campaign in four years

by Jeff Cox/CNBC

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates in an effort to head off a slowdown in the labor market.

With both the jobs picture and inflation softening, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee chose to lower its key overnight borrowing rate by a half percentage point, or 50 basis points, affirming market expectations that had recently shifted from an outlook for a cut half that size.

Outside of the emergency rate reductions during Covid, the last time the FOMC cut by half a point was in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

Link for the article

Proposed 10-year pact offers $110M savings to taxpayers

by David Beasley/The Center Square

A proposed new vendor contract will save the North Carolina State Lottery at least $110 million over the next decade, providing more money for education, lottery officials said Wednesday.

"That is a conservative estimate" of the savings, Terri Rose, the lottery's chief brand officer told a committee of the North Carolina State Lottery Commission.

The $110 million savings figure is based on no growth at all in scratch-off ticket sales over the next 10 years.

Under the new contract, IGT will also “fully refresh” all of the equipment retail locations where lottery tickets are sold. The state will also receive 500 ticket vending machines at no extra cost.

Since it was launched in 2006, the North Carolina lottery has raised $10 billion for education in the state, according to the lottery website.

Link for the article

Absentee ballots to be sent to military and overseas voters this week after RFK Jr. debacle

by WRAL

The North Carolina State Board of Elections has announced the new dates for absentee ballots to be mailed out.

All 100 county boards of elections must send absentee ballots to eligible military and overseas citizens who requested them for the 2024 general election on Friday, Sept. 20, under a new schedule released by the State Board of Elections.

The Board also set Sept. 24 as the date to start sending absentee ballots to other voters who have requested ballots by mail, including those who use the Visually Impaired Portal (VIP) to request and return their ballots.

This schedule ensures that North Carolina will meet the federal law requirement to distribute ballots to voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) at least 45 days prior to the election — Sept. 21.

Link for the article

Enrollment increases across the UNC System

by The University of North Carolina System

North Carolina’s public universities are serving more students than ever this fall, with enrollment up by 2.2% over last year and 3.5% since 2022. UNC System campuses added more than 5,400 students this fall, with every public university in the state making gains in enrollment.

The growth comes after years of focused investment in low tuition, student support programs to encourage retention and graduation, and improvements to financial aid, transfer programs and online learning.

Link for the article

UNC-Chapel Hill leads all NC public universities in DEI cuts

by Brianna Atkinson/WUNC

In the aftermath of the UNC Board of Governors DEI repeal, chancellors have closed at least seven central DEI offices, eliminated 59 DEI-related positions, and redirected nearly $17 million to “student success initiatives.”

Out of all the institutions that gutted DEI programs, UNC-Chapel Hill’s administration cut the most. Six DEI offices are no longer at the university. This includes the university and individual departments’ DEI offices.

Half of the shuttered offices were in the School of Medicine, which no longer has Offices of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement, Rural Initiatives, or Scholastic Enrichment and Equity. The remaining eliminations are from the Schools of Business and Pharmacy.

Link for the article

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Contact:

~ Phone: (919) 715-3005 ~ Email: Mike.Clampitt@ncleg.gov ~