WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the new representative of the Third Congressional District of West Virginia, I am honored to serve our great state and bring the values and concerns of hardworking West Virginians to Congress.

I took the oath of office last month with my family by my side, and I pledge to work every single day to help protect and create jobs for West Virginians, fight against President Obama’s war on coal, grow our economy, and build a better West Virginia.

 I am already working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that will help grow our economy and put more money into the pockets of West Virginia’s families. We have passed the Hire More Heroes Act, which would allow small businesses to hire veterans without fear of being forced into compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s 50-employee employer mandate threshold.

We also passed the Save American Workers Act, which would restore the federal definition of full-time employment to 40 hours a week. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, redefined full-time employment as 30 hours a week, jeopardizing the paychecks of many American workers facing cutbacks in hours. Ten hours of pay may just be a number to Washington bureaucrats, but those 10 hours make a huge difference for the working families of southern West Virginia.

I have been selected to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee that sets the funding levels for federal agencies and departments. On the committee, I will serve on three subcommittees: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch.

Given the Obama administration’s unrelenting war on coal in West Virginia, serving on the Interior and Environment Subcommittee will allow me to fight for West Virginia’s working families and small businesses to protect them from this president’s regulatory overreach. And the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee will offer me the opportunity to strengthen the fight against the drug crisis in southern West Virginia.

In addition to working in Congress on legislation to create a better West Virginia, providing quality, timely constituent service is a top priority of mine. I have hired three staffers who worked for Congressman Nick Rahall who have decades of experience in working with federal agencies to resolve problems for West Virginians, and my staff is committed to working for the people of the Third Congressional District.

My offices can help you with a number of requests regarding the federal government. My staff can help resolve problems with federal agencies such as Social Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs. My offices can also help you secure tours of the United States Capitol and the White House with advance notice and arrange for flags to be flow over the Capitol in honor of a person or occasion. It is also my honor as a member of Congress to nominate outstanding students from the Third Congressional District for admission to one of our nation’s military service academies, and more information on the nomination process will be available on my website in the coming months.

I currently have three congressional offices located in Huntington, Beckley and Washington, and plan to open several more in the coming months as leases are secured.

I welcome hearing from all West Virginians, but please note that mail sent via the United States Postal Service can take several weeks to reach my offices due to congressional mail security screenings. The quickest way to share your thoughts with me is an electronic message sent through my website, http://evanjenkins.house.gov. My website also includes my positions on issues important to West Virginia, more information on services my offices can provide, and links to my voting record and legislation I have introduced and cosponsored.

You can also continue the conversation on social media – I’m @RepEvanJenkins on Twitter and Rep. Evan Jenkins on Facebook. Social media is a great way to interact in real time, and I look forward to using these tools to share what I’m doing in Washington and West Virginia.

As your voice in Congress, I am committed to doing what is best for West Virginia and the people who call our great state home. I am honored by your trust in me to serve as your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives and pledge to work to make a better West Virginia for future generations.

Jenkins represents the Third Congressional District of West Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.