Congressman Rick W. Allen (R-12) ducked out of Washington, D.C., on Aug. 15, to visit his district and made stops in Augusta at the Georgia Cyber Center and Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Allen attended the Congressional Start-Up Week Roundtable at the Cyber Center and then held talks with veterans and administrators at the VA.
“We are in our August work period, so I felt it important to visit here and discuss clinic care for our veterans, and we discussed every aspect of healthcare, from mental health to homelessness,” Allen said.
According to Allen, Congress has passed a $138 billion dollar bill to directly fund the VA, as well as a $161 billion bill that mandates funds for veteran’s health expenses. Both measures must make it through the Senate before moving on to President Biden’s desk.
Allen says one topic discussed was the fentanyl crisis and its effect on veterans. Allen chided the Biden Administration for not getting a handle on the issue and stopping the dangerous drug from crossing the border.
“The ingredients are made in China and manufactured by the drug cartels who make billions of dollars. Over 100,000 people died last year from fentanyl, many of them veterans. How in the world can this administration let more and more people become addicted?” Allen said.
The problem of homelessness among veterans was also discussed with Allen stating that some veterans need to rediscover a purpose in life after leaving active duty. Allen pointed to states that have a work requirement to receive state waivers and that, in his mind, that is the approach that successfully prevents homelessness.
“Part of mental health care is helping them find out what their passion is, otherwise, there is no hope, no purpose,” Allen said.
Allen did devote some time to discussing current events within the Beltway in Washington, stating that he supports efforts to impeach President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland and went even further, saying that Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached as well.
According to Allen, Mayorkas has broken the law by defying a federal judge’s ruling stating that those crossing the border illegally cannot be dispersed throughout the country, but must remain in the border state where they filed for asylum until their hearing is set.
“The law states that if a person misses that court hearing, then they are to be deported and cannot apply again for 10 years, and this needs to be enforced,” Allen said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
