Nunes intern opportunities

Intern positions are available now in my Visalia district office, and I am seeking applications for Washington, D.C. interns who can begin in January 2014.

If you know someone who is interested in politics, wants to gain professional experience, and excels in a fast-paced environment, please pass along this message.

Interns provide critical staff support functions such as organizing events, conducting research, and helping with special projects. The application process is ongoing for both part-time and full-time positions.   

All prospective interns must have a high school diploma and must be enrolled or have recently graduated from a college or university. I have positions available in Visalia for fall, winter, and spring, while my Washington office is seeking applications for winter and spring only. Applications can be downloaded from my website here. 

If you have questions about my intern program, please call (559) 733-3861.

 

Separately, take a look at the updated Nunes Digest here, and watch a good, short video on tax reform here.

 

Syria update

Dear Friends,

Today Congress is continuing to discuss possible U.S. military action in Syria. The Senate is likely to vote on authorizing the use of force in the middle of this week, with a House vote to follow later in the week or early next week. Meanwhile, I am working with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin on a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would oppose the use of force at this time. You can read a short update on my efforts here and in the following write-up at National Review Online:

Representative Devin Nunes (Calif.)
Nunes, a member of the House’s right flank who is opposed to military intervention, is working with Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who is also opposed, to urge Congress to pursue a diplomatic response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Nunes, like McCarthy, comes from a Western district that’s deeply skeptical of the president, but he doesn’t want to ignore the civil war. Rather, he’d like the administration to come up with a long-term diplomatic strategy for the whole region. He and Manchin both hope that anti-war Democrats and conservative critics can jointly seek a third way on Syria.

Republican hawks are worried that the Nunes-Manchin proposal could peel away support for a strike, but no one knows at this point how much support their proposed resolution might garner. In the meantime, keep an eye on Nunes as he works the halls of the Capitol. If his plan gathers steam with conservatives, it could kill the White House’s hopes of winning an authorization for war. House Democrats, who are hardly rushing to support a strike, could be tempted to sign on, and House Republicans would be able to tell constituents that they have a plan to deal with Assad, even though they’re not for war. “If Obama’s resolution is defeated, you may see members from both parties rally behind this kind of legislation,” predicts one House Republican aide.

 

ObamaCare's flexible timeline

Just before the long fourth of July weekend, the Obama administration revealed in a little-read blog post that it would delay the employer mandate – a major element of ObamaCare – for one year. The administration had previously suspended other ObamaCare stipulations, and had offered more than a thousand “waivers” that temporarily exempted select companies, unions, and even entire states from various ObamaCare regulations.    

At an August 1 Ways and Means hearing, I asked Health and Human Services official Gary Cohen about other possible delays in ObamaCare. You can view the exchange here. Here’s a transcript:

Devin Nunes: Mr. Cohen, do you foresee any additional ObamaCare provisions that may not be ready for implementation?

Gary Cohen: No.  

That was Mr. Cohen’s entire answer. So you can imagine my surprise just eleven days later when the Obama administration announced it would delay until 2015 ObamaCare’s limit on out-of-pocket costs.

Nancy Pelosi famously said we’d have to pass ObamaCare to find out what’s in it. Well, now we’re finding out. They promised us this:

 

 

Instead, as Democrat Senator Max Baucus observed, we’re getting this:  
 

 

 

 

 

Odds and ends for your weekend reading

 

I’d like to draw your attention to a short video on the misguided policies and fiscal irresponsibility that are hobbling the state of California. As Victor Davis Hanson, Joel Kotkin, and other analysts explain, these problems are severe, but it’s not too late to change direction and save the Golden State from economic ruin. To watch the video, click here.

As the video notes, environmental regulations are a big part of the problem. Unfortunately, in his new global warming initiative, President Obama proposes intensifying these kinds of economically destructive policies. I discuss the president’s plans in an article on National Review Online available here. I also share my thoughts here on the president’s offer of corporate tax cuts for more government spending.       

On another note, I’d like to congratulate my alma mater, Liberty Elementary School, and its students, teachers, and board, for kicking off the school year yesterday at a brand new campus. I recently attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Tulare school’s new facility, where it looked like the Liberty Lions are in for a great year.

 

 

Finally, I’d like to thank readers for the boost in traffic to the revamped Nunes Digest. Updated on Fridays, the Digest is a compendium of the week’s notable news stories. To see the Digest, go to my website homepage here.     

 

Big Green Strikes Again

Yesterday I participated in a forum in Sonora convened by my colleague, Congressman Tom McClintock, on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed listing of the Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog and the Yosemite Toad as endangered species. Around 400 people turned out for the event, with the vast majority expressing opposition to USFW’s action.

 

With the listing, 2 million acres of land will be designated as a critical habitat for these amphibians. This action stands to drastically limit recreational and business activities in this enormous area, including timber harvesting, cattle grazing, fishing, hunting, mining, ranching, rafting, hiking, cross-country-skiing, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, and eco-tourism, among others.

This decision will damage local economies and local communities in exchange for little if any benefit. There is no clear evidence that human activity has caused any decline in either of these species, or that the proposed designations will arrest any projected decline in their populations. 

In other words, the proposed habitat has a low probability of improving populations of a low-value species, but there’s absolute certainty it will cost human beings their jobs and their freedom to enjoy this country’s natural treasures.  

Here once again, we see the environmental movement colluding with government to harass hard-working Americans engaged in productive business or harmless recreation. This decision is a travesty. But in light of the on-going damage wrought by the pernicious alliance of Big Government and Big Green – including the man-made drought that is plaguing farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley – I expect this destructive action won’t raise many objections in either Sacramento or the White House. 

Young Fresno pilot enters the record books

 

At a luncheon hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California today, I had the honor of introducing and presenting an honorary Congressional resolution to Jack Wiegand, an extraordinary young man from Fresno who recently became the youngest person to fly solo around the world. During the event, the 21 year old shared photo slides from his trip, which lasted 59 days and covered 21,000 nautical miles across twelve countries. Congratulations to Jack on his incredible accomplishment.