Representative Rick Allen

ICYMI: CONGRESSMAN ALLEN HOSTS TELEPHONE TOWN HALL

In case you missed it, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) hosted a telephone town hall earlier this week to answer questions from residents across Georgia’s 12th District. More than 9,000 constituents joined Monday’s call, where Congressman Allen provided an update on the 2026 Farm Bill, several bills that he introduced which have been advanced by the Education and Workforce Committee, funding ICE and CBP, one year of results from the Working Families Tax Cuts, and much more. For those unable to participate in the call, here are some of the highlights:

Lynn from Columbia County asked about the VA hospital in Augusta, Georgia:

Congressman Allen: "...There's been a tremendous transformation of the VA hospitals across the country under Secretary Doug Collins' leadership. As your Congressman, I am eternally grateful for our servicemen and women who have put their lives on the line to protect our nation. I believe that our servicemen, women, and veterans deserve the highest quality of care and respect following their service. The Fiscal Year 2027 [Military Construction] VA Appropriations Act champions our brave servicemembers and veterans by fully funding veterans' health care programs and benefits. We've met with leadership and have agreed with what they're doing to improve services for our veterans."

Randy from Laurens County asked about immigration under the Biden Administration:

Congressman Allen: "...The Biden Administration was breaking the law, and the Department of Justice was going along with it. There should be people held responsible for that... and you see what we're going through trying to get rid of these criminals, particularly in these large cities. There's a lot of division on this. It's going to be a fight, but I'm going to tell you, I am fighting it as hard as I can fight it."

Charles from Laurens County asked what Congress can do to end robocalls:

Congressman Allen: "You know, this is one of the things that I hear most of when I'm in the district. And I am Vice Chair of the Energy and Commerce Communication and Technology Subcommittee. We have primary jurisdiction over this issue. The committee's and my priorities are to create more solutions to address this robocall problem. Last year, the Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on stopping illegal robocalls and robotechs. I participated in that. And even though multiple robocall bills that I have supported have been signed into law during my time in Congress, these harassing calls remain a nationwide issue. These people are figuring out a way to get around the law. The FTC has been waging a war on robocallers for nearly two decades. Taking out robocallers is like whack-a-mole. It's so cheap to run a robocalling operation with today's technology. And that's why we need the industry to hear us loud and clear. We want to stop this. I mean, we can make all the laws in the world, but the industry has got to cooperate with the FCC in taking action and stricter enforcement of these laws that are already on the books."

Richard from Columbia County asked about the status of the Eisenhower Army Medical Center:

Congressman Allen: "The Defense Health Agency has confirmed a decision for a planned transition of Eisenhower Medical Center to an ambulatory care center. But to be 100% clear, I'm extremely disappointed and vehemently opposed to this decision. On May 6th, I sent a letter with five of my Republican colleagues colleagues to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth urging that changes to the Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon be halted immediately. On January 20th, I sent a letter to David J. Smith, Acting Director of the Defense Agency seeking answers about potential changes in the scope of services provided at Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon. Eisenhower Medical Center is a critical asset to the 12th District of Georgia... I'm working to include language in the National Defensive Authorization Act to reverse these actions to convert the Eisenhower Medical Center to an ambulatory care center and prohibit any future reductions in the scope of service. service. We passed it out of committee."

Cynthia from Toombs County asked what Congress is doing to ensure Medicaid tax dollars are not going to illegals:

Congressman Allen: "[The Working Families Tax Cuts] ensures that Medicaid only pays for American citizens and legal immigrants by strengthening citizenship verifications to determine eligibility, saving tens of billions of dollars."

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