Representative Rick Allen

ICYMI: Congressman Allen Holds Telephone Town Hall

WASHINGTON – Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) held a telephone town hall Tuesday to answer questions from residents of Georgia's 12th District. Congressman Allen gave an update on the crisis at our southern border, inflation, health care, and more. For those who were unable to participate in the call, here are some of the highlights:

Carlton from Augusta asked about the surge in illegal immigration.

Congressman Allen: "Yes sir, it’s unlawful. These people are breaking the law…

“But there is much more to this… I mean we have illegal drugs coming across, we’ve got these cartels that are making billions of dollars, you’ve got human trafficking, you’ve got huge numbers of people that are trying to get across that border who don’t make it… it's a horrible thing. It is a humanitarian crisis. Unfortunately, because of President Biden’s dislike for President Trump, he reversed all the policies that President Trump had worked on for years. And as you heard, we are spending an enormous amount of money per day [when we could be constructing] the very wall that would stop this from happening.”

Uley from Sylvania asked why infrastructure discussions are leaving behind small towns.

Congressman Allen: “We are trying to do bipartisan infrastructure legislation. We are running into roadblocks, which pardon the pun, but we want infrastructure dollars invested in roads, bridges, and you know, environmental things, such as treatment plants, water treatment…. We need to get to work on that. That is what we are seeing as infrastructure. The problem is that there are people in Washington that think that infrastructure covers a lot of other things.”

Tommy from Augusta asked about defending the Second Amendment.

Congressman Allen: “I hate to tell y’all this, but it is easier to get things illegally in this country rather than legally.. .that is where we have got to support our law enforcement and stop that kind of stuff. You know, the problem we have here is there are certain people in power that want to choose who can have a firearm and who can’t. That is the kind of laws they are trying to pass. That is just wrong… Anyway, it is a fight. We will continue the battle.”

Ed from Evans asked about stopping the teaching of Critical Race Theory in our schools.

Congressman Allen: “We are going to be on our August district work period and of course school is getting ready to start. We are actually going to meet with our school systems throughout the district. The bottom line is, like you said, it’s very divisive.”

Lillie from Waynesboro asked about issues regarding Social Security.

Congressman Allen: “It may be that [our office] can look into that for you. If you would call our Augusta District Office, and talk with one of our constituent services personnel there. That number is 706-228-1980. That is for everyone on the call. If you are having a constituent services problem, with social security, I know passports have been a problem... Just call our office.”

If you would like to sign up for the next telephone town hall, please sign up here.