On the recordOctober 4, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I come here today to speak from the heart of a true story that's happening really right now in my district. It's a story of an innkeeper, Bruce O'Connell, who's operated the Pisgah Inn since 1979. It's an inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and that inn has been operated really at no cost to the Federal Government for years and years and years. In fact, as he operates it, he sends money to the Federal Government. So this government shutdown shouldn't have anything to do with the Pisgah Inn. The Blue Ridge Parkway is open for business. It continues to allow cars to go both ways on the parkway. But yet what we see is under the direction of this administration, the edict has come out to close the inn down. Yesterday, they had to close it down at 6 clock. So I got a call this morning from Bruce, and he says Congressman Meadows, I just want to let you know that I'm going to open my inn back up. Now I expected to hear all kinds of just heartfelt hurt and concern from Bruce. But what he said is that you're fighting for the right thing. You're fighting for our future. You're fighting for our children. You're fighting for our grandchildren. And I'm going to open back up knowing that the cost of this particular thing may cost me a business that I've had for many, many years. But you know, Congressman Meadows, it is the right thing to do, that we must stand together and fight. We must make sure that what we do is, our voice is heard.…





