ICYMI: Congressman Allen Hosts Telephone Town Hall

May 12, 2023

For Immediate Release | Contact: Carlton Norwood (202) 225-2823

icymi: Congressman allen hosts telephone town hall

In case you missed it, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) held a telephone town hall earlier this week to answer questions from residents across Georgia’s 12th District. More than 13,000 constituents joined Tuesday’s call where Congressman Allen provided updates on the southern border crisis, unleashing American energy, and legislation he’s introduced to modernize our nation’s labor laws and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to Israel.

For those unable to participate in the call, here are some of the highlights:

Gary from Columbia County asked about the debt ceiling:

Congressman Allen: “Obviously, we would love to work with the other side to come up with a solution… What the Limit, Save, Grow Act does is limit future government spending, reclaim unspent Covid funds, reduce the federal regulatory state, and promote pro-growth energy and economic policies… The bottom line is that the pace with which we are spending money is unsustainable. We do not have a revenue problem in this country; we have a spending problem in Washington, and I truly believe my colleagues on the other side of the aisle should realize this as well.”

Ricardo from Swainsboro asked about the weaponization of social media and censorship of conservative viewpoints:

Congressman Allen: “As far as the Energy and Commerce Committee, we recently held a roundtable looking into the role big tech is playing in the ongoing fentanyl crisis. We held a hearing on preserving free speech and reigning in big tech censorship. We have also had six hearings this year on data privacy. I’m increasingly concerned with the social media platforms censoring information, particularly from conservative think tanks. Republican House Energy and Commerce Committee [members] released a framework to regulate big tech as well as bring much-needed oversight and reform. This framework will target new obligations to big technology companies, it will reform section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and provide transparency to protect our children online and create a collaboration with law enforcement.”

Tom from Martinez asked about veterans’ care:

Congressman Allen: “I believe taking care of our veterans, those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country, is a top priority for me and my office. If you need help navigating any of the VA’s red tape, we have case workers available in the district to help you. Taking care of those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice…needs to be a priority in this country.”

Annabelle from Grovetown asked about the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party:

Congressman Allen: “China is our number one adversary right now …they want to surpass us economically. And they are trying to frankly destroy our economy. They are trying to destroy the dollar as a currency of record and if that’s the case then our debt is going to be a much bigger problem than it is right now… Their tactics are very, very concerning.”

Meredith from Martinez asked about protecting women in sports:

Congressman Allen: “Just weeks ago, I was proud to be a cosponsor on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. We passed this bill first out of the Education and Workforce Committee, and I am happy to announce that we were able to pass this bill on the House floor with overwhelming support. Unfortunately, not one of our Democratic colleagues on the other side voted to protect women and girls in sports… as parents, aunts, and uncles, we need to be doing everything we can to look after the wellbeing of our children.”

Michael from Augusta asked about electric vehicles and Democrats’ rush-to-green technologies:

Congressman Allen: “I am totally against this government pushing this agenda. It should be a free market, that’s the way our economy should be… When the government starts running the economy from the White House, that’s what creates all the problems we’re currently dealing with. Free market means if there is demand for an EV, that’s great, but why would this government decide that by 2030 we’re all going to be driving electric cars?... I am totally against the way this administration has approached this and it’s just some ideology they’re driving… But I can tell you it’s unsustainable. And we have got to get back to free market.”

Kayla and her 7-year-old son from Hephzibah joined the call to ask about inflation and rising costs:

Congressman Allen: “Just three years ago, we had the best economy in our generation. What created this problem is the war on energy. Oil and gas are in everything, and they move everything… The other problem we’ve got is workforce. We have 10 million open jobs in this country right now that are going unfilled. When there is significant demand in the workforce, wages will increase which means costs will go up as well… We also need to limit unneeded government spending.”

If you’d like to participate in future Telephone Town Halls, please sign-up HERE.

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