This week in washington...

In honor of National Police Week, the House of Representatives passed two bills designed to ensure that these brave men and women will have the tools needed to do their jobs and keep the public safe. I was proud to support these important pieces of legislation.

The House of Representatives passed:

The Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017 – This bill protects public safety by giving probation officers the authority, while in the performance of their official duties, to arrest a person if there is probable cause to believe that the person has forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, or interfered with the probation officer, or a fellow probation officer.

The Thin Blue Line Act – This legislation adds the murder or attempted murder of a state or local police officer, firefighter, or first responders as an aggravating factor for a jury to consider in deciding whether to impose the death penalty in federal capital cases. The murder of a federal law enforcement officer is already an aggravating factor under current law. The legislation sends a simple message that the stalking and killing of law enforcement officers must not and will not be tolerated.

I spoke on the House floor in honor of National Police Week http://bit.ly/2qzq0a0

Thank you to all law enforcement officers in the 12^th district of Georgia!

Recently I was able to meet with Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams.

I was proud to welcome former Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue to testify before the House Agriculture Committee in his new role as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture!

To hear my full questions to Secretary Perdue, please click here.

President Trump signed an executive order delivering on a campaign promise to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity capabilities.

This action is particularly important for the 12^th district of Georgia with the new Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon. The executive order focuses on building a stronger cybersecurity workforce, which is an important long-term goal for Americans across the nation.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee unanimously passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act. I released the following statement in support of the bill:

“As a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee with over 40 years of experience in the business world, I am proud to send this legislation to the full House of Representatives for consideration. Getting an education is extremely important, but it is equally important that our education efforts are aligned with the in-demand jobs of today. This legislation ensures that local business leaders are involved in the development of career and technical education, thereby giving students the skills they need to compete for jobs in their local communities. It is critical to prepare America’s future workforce early on by bridging the gap between the business community and education. I believe this legislation will do just that, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that 34 Georgia counties will receive disaster assistance following the March freeze that devastated a number of Georgia farmers. The following 12^th district counties are included on the list: Appling, Coffee, Jeff Davis, Montgomery, Tattnall, Toombs, and Wheeler.

The House of Representatives recently passed the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act.

I was proud to support this common commonsense legislation that strengthens and expands the economic sanctions currently in place and cuts off access to economic drivers in the country, such as ports and slave labor. By choking off funds for North Korea’s destructive activities, we deny the regime the necessary resources to conduct nuclear research and weapons tests—and these are the toughest sanctions yet.

This week I also voted on legislation to establish new sanctions on the Assad regime and its supporters- those responsible for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Specifically, the legislation would impose sanctions against the Central Bank of Syria and require President Trump to sanction individuals who have knowingly provided goods or money to the regime, assisted in a way to help them acquire weapons, or who have been complicit in human rights abuses against the Syrian people.

I held a telephone town hall on Thursday evening and it was a pleasure to speak to constituents of the 12^th district!

To see what you missed read the highlights here.

Share your thoughts with me. You can email me ⇒ HERE, contact any of our offices or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for my Telephone Town Halls. Click HERE to register your name and number to ensure that you’re contacted for all future calls from me. I hope you had a great week!

Sincerely,

Rick Allen
Member of Congress