“I never want to see the Washington values come to Georgia. I want to see the Georgia values go to Washington,” Andrew Clyde said Saturday in Epworth.
Clyde, who serves Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, spoke during the Republican Fall Festival.
Clyde, along with District 7 Representative Johnny Chastain and Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King talked of party values in separate addresses.
Clyde said he went to Washington on promises to “reduce the size, scope and cost of the federal government,” He said he as done that and will continue to do so.
He talked of his support of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) saying, “How do you make things better? You fight for it.” He told how the bill made changes to Medicare that require the able bodied to work, and the fight required the new regulations to begin next year.
Clyde told of saving $1 trillion by reducing government subsidies for solar and wind energy by 90%.
As he spoke, the House had approved a seven-week continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown October 1. The resolution was being fought in the Senate by Democrats asking for $1 trillion in additional spending.
While against a shutdown, Clyde told how it would give President Donald Trump “the power of the purse,” which the president could use to force the spending cuts that he had not been able to get through Congress.
The U.S. Congressman reminded the crowd that “rights are given by God, not by men” as he referred to the U.S. Constitution.
He specifically noted the First and Second amendments, saying life starts at conception and liberty includes the right to own guns. “We are going to protect the First and Second Amendments and our Constitution,” Clyde said.
Chastain said that separation of church and state was designed to keep the state out of the church, not keep the church out of the state.
He told of Georgia’s legislative support of this principle through the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law prohibits government entities in Georgia from burdening a persons’ religious exercise.
Chastain also talked of passing the legislation that keeps boys out of girls sports.
He told the audience how Georgia is “one of the only states that’s still sending money back” to taxpayers, referring to the annual rebates of $500 and $250. The refunds total $1 billion in tax dollars given back to Georgia workers.
Chastain also said Georgia has once again been named the best state in the Union to do business in. He credited the work of the legislature and governor’s office in making this happen.
King talked of his military and law enforcement history, saying he is not “an insurance guy,” but his job is to “be the advocate for the consumer.”