After a full week in Chesterfield County, I had the opportunity to visit with Fourth District residents in Wakefield, Virginia. At a meeting with my Farmers Advisory Board at the Virginia Diner, we discussed the overreach of new EPA air quality regulations and how to create a stable supply of workers for the agriculture industry in the long term and short term, among other key issues impacting farmers (read about my work on agriculture issues here).

Hurricane Awareness Week (May 22-28) comes at a time when the United States has encountered some of the most deadly and destructive weather conditions in the past month: devastating flooding in the Deep South, deadly tornados in the Southeastern region, and strong winds and hail in the Midwest.

Hurricanes develop when pre-existing weather conditions, such as warm tropical oceans, moisture and relatively light winds, persist long enough and combine to produce violent winds, towering waves, torrential rains and floods.

Many of us remember the destruction that Hurricanes Floyd and Isabel left in the Fourth District, and we understand that it is essential to be well-informed when preparing for hurricanes. The following are hurricane safety tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

·         Make a family disaster plan that includes out-of-town contacts and locations to reunite if you become separated.  Be sure everyone knows home, work and cell phone numbers, and how to call 9-1-1.
·         If time permits, prepare your home before the storm by covering windows with steel or wooden storm shutters.
·         Make sure every family member wears or carries identification.
·         Turn your refrigerator and freezer to the maximum settings and keep them closed in case of power outages.
·         Be sure to have at least 3 days worth of food, water and medicine.
·         Turn off propane tanks.  Shut off other utilities if emergency officials advise you to do so.
·         Constantly listen to the radio or television for instructions to evacuate the area.

Do you know other ways we can keep ourselves and our families safe during hurricane season?  Weigh in to share additional hurricane safety tips.

Wall Street Journal Editorial: Who Pays for ObamaCare?
An April analysis by Patrick Fleenor and Gerald Prante of the Tax Foundation reveals how right they are. ObamaCare's new "health-care funding plan" will shift some $104 billion in 2016 to Americans in the bottom half of the income distribution from those in the top half. The wealth transfer will be even larger in future years. While every income group sees a direct or indirect tax increase, everyone below the 50th income percentile comes out a net beneficiary.

AP: Judge permits US trial of 1st Guantanamo detainee
The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be prosecuted in a civilian court was cleared for trial Tuesday by a judge who said a lengthy interrogation and detention were not grounds for dismissal because they served compelling national security interests. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was interrogated for two years by the CIA for important intelligence information, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote in a decision that rejected defense requests to toss out the indictment on the grounds that Ghailani was denied a speedy trial.

Washington Times: Salazar puts new ban on deep-water oil drilling
Saying oil companies still are at risk of another catastrophic spill, the Obama administration announced a new moratorium Monday on drilling in the outer continental shelf, three weeks after a judge rejected the first ban.

The Hill: President's recess appointment has reignited the debate over healthcare
President Barack Obama's recess appointment of Donald Berwick to lead Medicare was intended to avoid another high-profile congressional fight over healthcare reform. Instead, it’s renewed — at least temporarily — the well-worn partisan debate over the government's role in medicine.

American Chronicle: Navy Shipbuilding: Numbers Just Don't Add Up
If you looked at the U.S. Navy's recently released annual report for its longterm goals for ship construction and how its aligns with its fleet size requirements, you are probably scratching your head. Why? Well, put simply, the Report to Congress on Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY 2011 outlines a larger required fleet size - 323 ships - as opposed to 313 in the three previous years annual reports, but reduces the number of ships that it will be purchasing over the next 30 years. The numbers just don't add up.

Washington Post: Federal Reserve weighs steps to offset slowdown in economic recovery
Federal Reserve officials, increasingly concerned over signs the economic recovery is faltering, are considering new steps to bolster growth.