MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Brad Knott

Republican NC 3 statements translated

House of Representatives

Saluting Little League Softball World Series

2026-09-02

“Some girls from my district won a softball game. They played well. They are from a specific area. They trained together. They won their last game 2-0. A player got injured, but they still won. I like them. They make us proud.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to recognize and salute the Little League Softball World Series Champions from Johnston County, North Carolina, today. Earlier this month, they won a rigorous contest to become the champions, making all of North Carolina's 13th Congressional District proud. The team is out of Clayton, North Carolina, and all of these girls and their coaches are from the greater Johnston County area. Many of them are classmates, neighbors, friends, and family. For the entire season, they worked, competed, and improved together. On August 8, they took the field against Kentucky in the championship game of the Little League World Series. They did not just win. They won in dominant fashion. Pitcher Anna-Lynn Clark threw a complete game and also completed a shutout. The team's defense allowed one Kentucky runner to reach scoring position for the entire game. The final score was 2-0. This was, remarkably, their second straight shutout of the tournament. But the scoreboard is not the whole story. In the first inning of that championship game, the girls from Johnston County lost their starting second baseman to a serious injury. Her team did not fold. They rallied around her, dug in, and secured the victory. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate these champions, their families, their coaches, and the greater Archer Lodge community. All of North Carolina is proud of them.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Main Street Capital Access Act

2026-07-21

“I want this bill to pass. Community banks are good. Big banks are bad. There used to be many community banks. Now there are not as many. It is hard for community banks to lend money because of rules. The current market only helps big banks. My state used to have many community banks. Now there are not as many. I want community banks to survive. This bill will help community banks. I want more competition. I want community banks to serve people. I strongly support this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6955, the Main Street Capital Access Act. For the vast majority of our Nation's history, community banks were the primary artery into progress for all Americans. That reality is being threatened today by sloppy and ineffective policies that originate right here in Washington, D.C. Whether it is the Dodd-Frank regulatory structure or the millions of rules and regulations that are in existence today, community banks have been choked out by these all-encompassing regulations. With administrative costs rising every year, local banks simply cannot afford to operate. We can see this most clearly in 1980 where there were more than 14,000 community banks in the United States. Now because of the regulatory structure of the current market, there are roughly 4,000 community banks. This stifles lending, reduces competition, and makes it harder for Americans, especially in rural communities, to access capital. Put plainly, the current regulatory climate punishes community banks, and it benefits larger international banks. My home State of North Carolina has long had a proud history of vibrant community banks. Today, there are very few exceptions to this, but there are really only two choices for community banks in today's market if they want to survive. That is to grow large enough to be acquired or to merge with another institution. Whether it was Wachovia, First Citizens, BB&T, or Bank of America, each of these began in North Carolina as a local community bank before growing and becoming a key player in our economy through a merge or an acquisition. It is time to restore a market that welcomes and protects community banks, a market that encourages competition, and most importantly, one that serves the American citizen. H.R. 6955 does just that. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hill for his important work on this legislation, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill today.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Government Is Too Big, Powerful, and Unaccountable to American People

2026-07-14

“I want my bill to pass. It will make government smaller. It will make government less powerful. It will make government more accountable. People will not have to wait for the government to decide. People can go to court faster. People can keep working while they wait. It will be better for farmers, contractors, builders, and states. They can design, build, and advance in a compliant and reasonable manner. The government should have to prove they acted reasonably. People should not have to prove the government acted unreasonably. The economic miracle was not from central control. It was from private individuals and freedom. We need to rein in the bureaucracy and eliminate excessive regulatory burdens. People deserve a government that works for them, not against them.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government has been too big, powerful, and unaccountable to the American people for far too long. This is most clear in our Federal agencies, which have spent years acting as the investigator, prosecutor, and judge simultaneously and all without any accountability. Put plainly: If a Federal agency wishes to stop a particular project or activity, it may do so at any time without regard to the cost that such actions incur on the parties who are being stopped. All leverage and power rests with the regulator, and there is no real recourse for the regulated. This week, I introduced the Limiting Excessive Government Obstruction Act, also known as the LEGO Act, to stop this overreach. My bill is part of a broader effort to rein in the administrative state, to protect constitutional rights, and to eliminate the Federal bureaucracy that burdens so many Americans through restricting the creative genius that comes from real liberty. Right now, administrative enforcement cases start and end inside the very agencies that write and enforce the rules. Government officials decide both who to target and then sit as judges over those very people. Very few, except for specialized and expensive lawyers right here in Washington, D.C., have any idea of how to navigate a challenge to an agency action that halts a project. As an example, let's say a farmer is visited by the EPA and instructed to stop farming, simply because the EPA alleges that the farmer is violating a specific rule. Right now, the farmer cannot challenge the order to stop farming in a court of law down the street from his home. He cannot continue farming. His only recourse is to file a challenge here in Washington before a ``judge'' that is funded by the EPA. Before the challenge can be dismissed, the farmer must exhaust all administrative remedies before the EPA to show that the EPA overstepped its bounds. Not only is this unfair, but it can take years and cost millions of dollars. That is not how our government is supposed to work. Whether a farmer on their land or a local municipality building a bridge in a small town, we do not work at the mercy of a Federal agency or a nameless Federal bureaucrat. My bill changes this broken system by giving the regulated party the power to proceed quickly when stopped by a governing agency. To continue with my example, a farmer is stopped by the EPA for farming the exact same way that he has farmed for decades. Rather than having to wait on the EPA's timeline, my bill empowers the farmer to pursue the agency order in an Article III court in front of a jury of his peers and then continue on with their livelihood. There, the farmer can seek to dismiss the regulatory effort simply by showing reasonable compliance with the law and/or the subject regulation. The effects of this bill are all favorable: Regulated parties will no longer be bound by the whims of the regulators. Harmless and sound economic activity cannot be stopped by a whim. More certainty in economic activity and projects will increase efficiency and lower costs. The bill will compel the regulating agencies to focus only on unreasonable activity. The farmers, contractors, builders, and States will develop many more ways to design, build, and advance in a compliant and reasonable manner. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, it will restore the balance needed between the regulator and the regulated. If unreasonable activity is occurring, the government should be forced to prove it in an independent court, rather than a regulated party being forced to prove the government acted unreasonably in an agency forum. Mr. Speaker, the economic miracle that we have enjoyed in the United States was never achieved by a centrally controlled planning and regulatory force. The miracle of the United States' economy was conceived by private individuals and entities who had the freedom to build, experiment, farm, and progress in a system rooted in freedom. When the government can stop free people on a whim without any consideration of the cost, we will solidify the decline that so many of us in this country feel today. Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a government that works for, not against, them. It is time that we rein in the bureaucracy and eliminate excessive regulatory burdens imposed by our Federal Government. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗