A DAY ON THE HILL
Michael Shinholster, Legislative Assistant to Earl “Buddy” Carter
Recently, our Virginia State Leader, Jake Buscher of Waynesboro, and Jim Bennett attended five meetings on Capitol Hill, three of which grew from constituents in the Congress Members’ districts. The first meeting was at the request of our Texas FAIRtax activist, Whitney Hammond. Jake and Jim met with Michal Davis, Legislative Assistant to Chip Roy, TX-21. The tone was friendly.
The next meeting was with Matt Arthur, Legislative Assistant to Andy Harris, MD-01. Jake and Jim had met with Matt before, and this meeting was to thank Congressman Harris and Matt for signing onto the bill again following an absence. Congressman Harris is the Chairman of the Freedom Caucus and might open doors to other members of that caucus. Matt greeted Jake and Jim enthusiastically and spent time brainstorming about the FAIRtax.
Jake and Jim met with Dan Butler, Senior Legislative Assistant to Tom Kean, Jr., NJ-07, Jim's Congressman. Kean is in a competitive district and is not expected to take risks. But keeping the FAIRtax in front of him is important.
The surprise of the day was the meeting with Benjamin Rakes, Legislative Assistant to Ben Cline, VA-06, Jake’s Congress Member. Cline had previously told Jake that he, Cline, would not support the FAIRtax. Jake and Jim left the meeting unsure of the result, but Jake received a call when he was about to head home, saying that Congressman Cline had returned to the office and wanted to meet. Jake met with the Congressman and his Chief of Staff. There was no commitment to cosponsor the FAIRtax, but the tone was friendly, and the Congressman was clearly more open to the idea and agreed to talk further.
Jake and Jim met with Michael Shinholster, Legislative Assistant to FAIRtax sponsor Earl “Buddy” Carter, GA-01. Michael recently replaced Tommy Reynolds, who had handled the FAIRtax in the House for several years. It was important to quickly connect with Michael, and Jim and Jake found Michael enthusiastic and eager to learn. Michael was pleased to put faces to names.
Several years ago, our President had stopped making regular trips to the Hill because there was no parallel effort in the districts. We think the situation now is different. FAIRtax does not have a D.C. office, but Jake and Jim are a day’s drive away. They are willing to travel, especially to reinforce contact in the Congressional District from a grassroots volunteer.
I would love to know if you make contact with your Senator or Representative and would like us to visit your Senator’s or Congress Member’s D.C office.
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As a reminder, event insurance coverage is available, but you must let us know. Once the event is underway, it's too late. If you are planning an event, let me know the who, what, when, and where, and I will get you a certificate of insurance.
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TAKE BACK CONTROL!
🇺🇸 Call For Pictures & WriteUps - We need more of you to send in pictures and news. If you have something to share, please send your material to me, Jim.Bennett@FAIRtax.org, (908) 578-4975, or fax (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members, Senators, and even the President start to listen.