Monday, January 29, 2018: After arriving back in Washington this afternoon, I have the opportunity to meet with Sam Gaston, a student at Young Harris College where I did my pre-pharmacy work and where I have served on the Board of Trustees for a number of years. Sam is doing an internship in Washington at this time and I enjoyed getting to know him. Next, I have my weekly staff meeting after which I have a conference call with Mel Baxter, President of the Brunswick-Glynn County Development Authority and Bill Brunson, Chairman of the Glynn County Board of Commissioners, to discuss the LCP Superfund site in Glynn County. Afterwards, I head to a Messaging Advisory Group meeting with House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) where we hear from the Director of White House Message Strategy, Cliff Sims, who discusses tomorrow’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. Next, I head to our weekly Whip Team meeting before heading to the House Chamber for our only vote series of the day.
Rep. Carter at an Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing |
Tuesday, January 30, 2018: I start my morning off by traveling over to the Senate for a joint Senate-House Doctors Caucus meeting where we discuss high risk insurance groups and potential solutions to this dilemma. Afterwards, I head back to the House and to our weekly GOP Conference meeting where we talk about the SOTU address tonight and what we as a group will be doing. Next, I head to a meeting of the Georgia delegation as we meet with various Georgia businesses regarding the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and hear from them about the importance of this agreement to their businesses. My next meeting is with representatives from Amerisource-Bergen, a pharmaceutical wholesaler who also owns a 503B pharmacy business, followed by a meeting of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee where we have a hearing on “Examining Implementation of the Compounding Quality Act (CQA).” This is an especially important hearing for me as I am currently the only pharmacist serving in Congress and a large part of the CQA has to do with compounding pharmacy. A link to my questions can be found here. Next, I head to the House Chamber for our first vote series of the day and afterwards I have a radio interview with POTUS XM radio to discuss tonight’s SOTU address. Afterwards, I head to my office where I meet with my special guest for the SOTU address tonight, Winston Hencely. Winston, a 2014 graduate of Effingham County High School and a soldier in the United States Army, was injured while stationed in Afghanistan in November of 2016 when a suicide bomber ignited an explosion at Bagram Airfield. I am honored that he and his mother Vicki, as well as his assistance dog Loki, have accepted my invitation to join me tonight. After visiting for a few minutes, Winston and I have FaceTime interviews with WJCL and WTOC in Savannah to talk about his visit and the SOTU address tonight.
Rep. Carter with Winston Hencely |
Next, I meet with representatives from Augusta University to discuss the 340-B drug program and its importance to their programs, after which I head to the House Chamber for our second vote series of the day. Once completed, I head back to my office where I meet with Trey Thompson from the Savannah Pilots and officials from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Next, I head to Statuary Hall for an interview with Fox Business to talk about immigration and the State of the Union. A link to my interview can be found here. Next, I head to Senator Johnny Isakson’s (R-GA) office where he and Senator David Perdue (R-GA) greet Winston Hencely and we have pictures taken. Afterwards, Winston and I head to Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) office where we have a picture taken with him. After enjoying a dinner with Winston and his mother in the House Members Dining Room, they are escorted to the balcony of the House Chamber for the SOTU address. President Donald J. Trump’s first SOTU address tonight is a smashing success. With the U.S. economy booming as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the President delivers a bi-partisan and unifying speech that touts many of the things that our great country has to be thankful for. After the SOTU address, I head to Statuary Hall for a number of TV interviews and call in to WSAV TV in Savannah for a live interview at 11:00 p.m.
Rep. Carter in Statuary Hall after the State of the Union |
Wednesday, January 31, 2018: I’m up early this morning as I have two radio interviews - one with Bill Edwards and Laura Anderson in Savannah and one with Scott James in Valdosta - to discuss last night’s SOTU address. Afterwards, my wife Amy and I, along with other Republican Senators and House members and their families, head to Union Station in Washington and board a train headed to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia for a retreat sponsored by the Congressional Institute. The Congressional Institute is a bipartisan, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to helping Members of Congress better serve their constituents and helping their constituents better understand the operations of the national legislature. Opportunities for House and Senate members to meet and discuss initiatives are rare and we all look forward to this time together to plan for the year. During the train ride, I have an interview with Medill News Service to discuss the LCP Superfund site in Glynn County that was discussed at last week’s E&C Environment Subcommittee hearing with the EPA. At 11:18 a.m., shortly after passing through Charlottesville, VA, in an area near Crozet, VA, we experience a sudden, significant jolt and the train comes to a gradual stop. While Amy and I are sitting in our seats at the time, some on the train are standing and are thrown around, suffering bumps and bruises as well as twisted ankles, etc. Amy and I are in the next to last train car and when we come to a complete stop and regain our composure, we can see a trash truck next to us that has been cut in half. We quickly surmised that the train and truck have collided and the truck has been cut in half. Looking back behind the train I can see the other half of the trash truck, including the cab, near the road crossing and I can see at least one person lying near the wreckage. We have a number of doctors and nurses serving in Congress who are on the trip with us and they quickly jumped off the train to help the victims, performing CPR and other lifesaving measures. Once emergency personnel arrive on the scene they tend to the victims and, after working valiantly for a long period of time, they place a tarp over one of the victims and continue to work on the other two. An airvac helicopter arrives a little later, and once the victims are stabilized, they are air vaced to the hospital. At least four people on the train are taken to area hospitals for observation. After several hours, hundreds of phone calls/interviews and thousands, upon thousands of prayers, we are pulled back to the Charlottesville station and board buses that take us the remainder of the trip. Once we arrive at our destination, we quickly assemble and have a devotional and are led in prayer by House Chaplin Father Patrick Conroy and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), who is a Baptist minister. We are deeply torn between cancelling the conference or continuing on but, after hearing from a number of members, we decide to continue on. Later in the evening, we hear from Vice-President Mike Pence who is a man of great faith and offers his prayers to the victims before bringing us up to date on White House issues.
Thursday, February 1, 2018: After a radio interview this morning on the Butch and Bob show in Jesup where we talk about a number of different things, I head to our first session of the day. Before we begin, we have an opening prayer and learn the name of the victim of yesterday’s tragic accident. The victim, Christopher Foley, was a 28 year old who has a one year old child. Our hearts break upon the news and we pray even more.
Rep. Carter on MSNBC |
Later, we hear from Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Both of these gentlemen are great leaders and we are fortunate to have them serving our country. After sessions to discuss infrastructure and workforce development, we head to lunch where our guest speaker is President Donald J. Trump who, fresh off a great SOTU address Tuesday night that is receiving rave reviews, has a bounce in his step and proceeds to detail his initiatives for this year. During the afternoon, I have a number of radio and TV interviews sandwiched between sessions on government reform and tax reform. A link to one of my interviews, with MSNBC, can be found here. Later in the evening, we hear from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley who gives us a great review of the world stage.
Friday, February 2, 2018: This morning we hear from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway as she brings us up to date on recent polling numbers on issues that the President has identified as part of his initiatives for this year. Our only session this morning is with House leadership as we discuss immigration and next week’s looming budget deadline. Afterwards, we board buses and head back to Washington after what has been a very tragic few days.
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