HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Wallace State Community College welcomed U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Alabama Thursday morning, the second of two meetings the college hosted in order for constituents to meet and ask questions of members of Congress. The first meeting was held Sept. 30 with Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama.
Byrne, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2020, began Thursday’s meeting with an update on Washington.
“It’s an interesting time in Washington right now,” he said. “We have to get control of that (health care pricing). We need to get control of our pharmacy costs. Let’s find ways to reduce the federal government’s footprint in health care. I think the federal government is way too involved with health care.”
Of immigration, Byrne said, “Eighty percent of immigrants that call asylum do not show up to their asylum hearings. This is a serious problem for our country.”
He was also steadfast in his support of President Donald Trump regarding the impeachment inquiry launched against the president Sept. 24 by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
“It reached a new level when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an impeachment inquiry on President Trump,” he said. “I have great concerns on the process. If we’re going to go down this way, we should go down the right way.”
He said, “Bribery, treason or committing a high crime or misdemeanor” are the only grounds for impeachment.
In a statement sent to The Tribune Wednesday, Byrne said, “With each unprecedented action, it becomes clearer that Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and their cohorts have been scheming since Day 1 to impeach President Trump by lying to the American people, violating the Constitution, and using whatever deceitful and nefarious means they can muster. By rejecting House rules and precedents to ensure fairness and transparency, Democrats are pulling away the veil from their long-held but long-denied intent to overturn the results of the previous election at all costs.
“Democrats’ impeachment push is not about oversight or transparency but is a viciously partisan coup against our very system of free elections. Their hypocrisy and neglect for the law reinforces the illegitimacy of this farce impeachment inquiry. Democrats should brace for a fight, because the American people will not stand for this attack and neither will I.”
When Byrne opened the floor to questions Thursday, an attendee asked about Byrne’s response to Trump ordering the withdrawal of some U.S. troops from Syria’s border with Turkey.
“Will you tell Trump it’s wrong to abandon our allies?” the attendee asked.
Byrne responded, “We should stick by the Kurds. I want us to stand by the Kurdish forces.”
Byrne also addressed the importance of the upcoming 2020 Census, saying “If we get a bad count, we lose a seat. That’s 15% of the population. Everybody needs to respond!”
To view a video of Byrne’s full remarks, visit: www.facebook.com/CullmanTribune/videos/2446351312085604/.
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