This is View from the Hill’s weekly roundup of the most interesting news from Washington, D.C. pertaining to North Carolina and the UNC system.
Tillis gets Gingrich endorsement
Mr. Speaker, meet Mr. Speaker.
This week, N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, who is running for the GOP nomination to replace Sen. Kay Hagan, met with former U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Gingrich tweeted about the meeting and called Tillis a strong Senate candidate.
Had great meeting with North Carolina Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, really understands the country’s challenges,strong Senate candidate.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) January 22, 2014
Tillis retweeted the comments onto his own Twitter page.
Hagan calls for restoring military pension cuts
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has called for restoring cuts to military pensions.
In the budget agreement passed last month, pensions of military retirees were cut.
Though Hagan voted for the budget, she offered an amendment to legislation that would restore unemployment insurance.
“We’ve made a commitment to these brave men and women, many of whom have deployed overseas for combat missions multiple times,” said Hagan in a statement. “I will continue working to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they have earned.”
According to a 2012 Census report, North Carolina has 86,179 retired military personnel.
Putin cancels meeting with Pittenger
Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., had been scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin about security concerns at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
But Russia canceled the meeting with Pittenger.
Pittenger posted a local NBC news report on his Twitter feed about the event.
ICYMI: wcnc</a> interview on Sochi security, why US-Russia must cooperate in fight against common foe. <a href="http://t.co/mZp5EqQPKn">http://t.co/mZp5EqQPKn</a></p>— Rep Robert Pittenger (RepPittenger) January 23, 2014
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