Congressman Tom Graves keynote speaker at August Chamber Luncheon

Congressman Tom Graves (R-GA 14th District) spoke to Paulding business leaders in Dallas at last week’s Georgia Power Luncheon. Graves gave an update on the nation’s capital and he noted that media perception vs. reality of the current administration in Washington continues to be two different things, and added that the narrative continues to be on the negatives and is almost never on the positives.
Graves said that a lot was being accomplished by the Trump administration, despite the negative profile depicted on television. “It is not a true reflection of what is happening. We should celebrate success...it should never be about personalities, it should be about results,” Graves told Paulding business leaders.
Graves said the economy is re-energized and jobs are exceeding applicants. The economic engine “...is starting to roar,” he said.
“More people are employed in northwest Georgia today than at any time in [state] history,” he said.
Also, Graves noted that President Trump signed into law the largest investment in military spending in a decade. Last April his administration put forth 68 billion to rebuild America’s military, the largest increase in military spending since the Reagan administration.
Graves said bipartisan support with regard to legislation has been absent in only about 16 cases since the President took office. Graves also touched on health care and immigration, noting that the choice of Health Care providers is back for those who didn’t want to be compelled by the federal government to purchase Obamacare. On immigration, Graves noted that more spending will go toward border security, technology, and construction to secure the county. U.S. Representative Graves entered Congress in 2010 after winning a special election to represent Georgia's 9th Congressional District.
He was re-elected in 2012 in the newly created 14th Congressional District, which spans from the northwest borders with Alabama and Tennessee down to the suburbs of Atlanta. Through reapportionment Graves took over the Paulding area from former representative Phil Gingrey.
In Congress, Graves serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which determines how the United States Government spends taxpayer dollars. On this committee, he serves as chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee, where he authors the annual bill funding our nation's financial infrastructure, such as the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration. Graves also serves on the Defense Subcommittee, which funds our national defense, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee, which funds our nation’s transportation and infrastructure programs, as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And Graves also serves on the House Republican Steering Committee, which is responsible for committee assignments for all Republican members of the House as well as selecting committee chairmen.

Photo: Paulding Chamber/ G&E Studios