Rick W. Allen was elected to represent Georgia’s 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. Prior to his election to Congress, Rick spent his career starting and building his own business from the ground up. At the age of 25, he founded the construction company R.W. Allen & Associates, which has enhanced economic development in Georgia and created thousands of jobs in the Augusta and Athens communities for more than 35 years.
As a conservative, small businessman, Rick knows firsthand what it takes to live within a budget, make payroll and successfully grow a business. His extensive business background guides his commitment to promoting policies that allow the private sector to thrive and fighting against regulatory burdens the federal government is placing on the backs of business owners.
Georgia has consistently been ranked as one of the top states for business, just recently being named the best state to do business for the eighth consecutive year by Area Development magazine—and as a small business owner for almost 40 years, I understand the effect that not only creating jobs but jump starting our economy can have on our nation and its people. That’s why one of my primary focuses during my tenure in Congress is to always promote conservative economic policies that spur growth. By supporting legislation that grows the economy, creates jobs for hardworking Americans, and reduces the size and scope of the federal government for everyone, we can ensure Georgia remains a top state for business and families and America remains competitive around the world.
During the 115th Congress, I am proud to say that President Trump and a unified Congress delivered an early Christmas present to the American people in December 2017. We kept our promise to jumpstart the economy and put more money into family’s pockets by passing the largest tax reform in 30 years. Our tax plan provides bold reforms that will increase paychecks, grow local businesses, and expand our economy in ways that we have not seen in a long time. Specifically, this plan provides relief and simplification for families by doubling the standard deduction, lowering both the individual and corporate rates, eliminating special-interest deductions that increase rates and complicate Americans’ taxes, and reducing the tax rate on the hard-earned business income of Main Street job creators. These beneficial changes make filing taxes so simple that Americans will now be able to file their taxes on a form as simple as a postcard, while also allowing Americans to enjoy more of their paycheck.
President Trump followed through and exceeded his promise to roll back two regulations for every new one created. President Trump’s Administration surpassed the 2:1 ratio in 2018, eliminating 12 regulations for every new one in 2018. In 2017, the Trump Administration eliminated 22 regulations for every new one. Since taking office, this Administration's deregulation efforts have achieved $33 billion in regulatory savings, and in 2018, these efforts alone delivered $23 billion in benefits to American families and business owners.
On May 22, 2018, President Trump signed S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, into law. This legislation rolled back harmful regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act on small and mid-size banks. Community banks’ doors were shuttering, bankers’ abilities to lend was being strangled by Dodd-Frank, small business owners were unable to build or expand their business, and while traveling Georgia’s 12th district, I heard time and again that Dodd-Frank must go. Consumers were facing more red-tape than ever when attempting to work with a bank or credit union and it was increasingly difficult to access credit. I was very pleased that we were able to get this legislation over the finish line to get banks back in the business of lending and allow our community banks of all sizes to return to the personalized level of service that consumers deserve.
President Trump and House and Senate Republicans have once again implemented free market values that empower hardworking Americans and fuel the American Dream, leading to the historic economic boom we are experiencing across our nation. The goal of Congress should be to fuel growth for hardworking Americans; not to hinder it with burdensome taxation and regulations. During the 116th Congress, rest assured I will continue to support legislation that will spur economic growth and will fight proposals that hurt the tremendous growth we have achieved under President Trump and the Republican-led Congress.
I believe in a free, market-based system that incentivizes businesses to come to the U.S. and remain here in order to grow the economy and create good-paying jobs for Americans. Whether it’s reforming a broken tax system or freeing the economy from harmful regulations, I will always promote policies that will reignite manufacturing, bring companies back to America, and grow the workforce at tremendous rates.
As a senior member of the House Education and the Labor Committee, I have the unique opportunity to work directly on meaningful reforms to education in a manner that will best serve Georgia and the nation as a whole. A quality education is vital to the success of our nation’s youth and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our nation has a modern education system that puts students first.
Under the jurisdiction of the House Education and Labor Committee, I have been selected to serve on the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee for the 117th Congress. This subcommittee addresses a variety of issues ranging from early childhood programs like Head Start, to career and technical education, to school safety – issues I have been a passionate advocate for during my time in Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that K-12 education remains local, while also providing appropriate federal support so that our nation’s bright young scholars are sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce and achieve the American Dream.
Building on this notion, I have also been a vocal supporter of school choice throughout my tenure in Congress. God created every child to be unique, each with special gifts and ideas that only he or she may have. I believe that families should have the opportunity to select a K – 12 education environment that is best suited for their children, whether that’s through a traditional public school or homeschooling. By empowering parents with education options, less children are stuck in underperforming schools and have access to a quality education. States and local communities remain at the forefront of this great effort.
That’s why I introduced the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act alongside my House Education and Labor Committee colleague, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04). The bill expands quality elementary, secondary, and career and technical education opportunities for students by providing a federal tax credit to encourage individuals and businesses to donate to nonprofit scholarship funds. This is a common-sense way to help some of our most vulnerable students who, without a scholarship, may be unable to afford tuition and other education expenses.
Furthermore, we have a mental health crisis among our nation’s youth, and the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures have taken a toll on our students, only worsening this tragic situation. Schools know best the needs of their student bodies and should have flexibility in how they use funding to better meet those needs. That’s why I introduced the Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act, legislation that provides school districts with increased flexibility in how they can use funds to better provide mental health services for students.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit we had the greatest economy in the world. I firmly believe that we must expand our skilled workforce to get our economy back to pre-pandemic prosperity. There is no doubt skilled workers will play a key role in economic recovery, and ensuring our future workforce is equipped with the right education and training to meet workforce needs is essential.
As a small business owner in the construction industry for about 40 years, I have experienced firsthand just how hard it can be to find skilled and qualified workers. That’s why I was proud to support H.R. 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the 21st Century Act, andI was honored to stand by President Trump as he signed this critical legislation into law on July 31, 2018. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act helps to change the narrative that a four-year college degree is the best option for all of our students. This bill bolsters Americans who wish to pursue different paths, such as career and technical programs, which are leading to some of the most in-demand and high-paying jobs available today. As the law of the land, this legislation has already begun to bridge the gap between our business and education communities, and is leading to a renewed sense of optimism that we will see for years to come in our workforce.
With regards to higher education, the Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee developed a vision for the future of higher education. Our vision is aimed at simplifying and improving student aid, promoting access to postsecondary education, empowering students to make informed decisions by strengthening transparency, and limiting the role of the federal government by reducing bureaucratic red tape.
With this in mind, I was proud to support H.R. 4508, the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act during the 115th Congress, a major overhaul of the higher education system and 9 years since the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. This bill made significant student loan reforms to help tackle this growing issue of student debt in a responsible manner.
Additionally, since 2013, the total of student loan balances in the United States exceeded $1.6 trillion; over quadruple what it was in 2003. Furthermore, the average debt for an undergraduate degree has exceeded $32,000.
I believe we must enact market driven reforms, so we can empower students to take fiscally responsible steps to tackling the growing student debt. Students should be fully informed of the responsibility of taking out loans and what that can mean for their financial future. Depending on the chosen career path, debt can be more difficult to pay off over time. Financial education is the key to avoiding excessive amounts of debt.
As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I will continue to work with my colleagues on meaningful reforms to higher education in a manner that will best serve the students in Georgia and across the nation.
Agriculture plays a key role in the economy of Georgia’s 12th district, and is oftentimes the main economic driver of the rural communities which make up so much of our great state. The continued vitality of this sector of the economy has ramifications far beyond that of the families that make their living growing a wide range of commodities like cotton, peanuts, corn, timber, onions, and livestock.
As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I have a unique opportunity to help form policies that impact the agriculture industry. Foremost, the Agriculture Committee is tasked with crafting a new farm bill every five years which authorizes hundreds of programs that are vitally important to the agricultural interests of our state and our country. These programs include research, farm credit, rural development, nutritional programs, food safety, and agricultural support programs, among dozens of other provisions.
In December 2018, President Trump signed the most recent Farm Bill into law. As law of the land, the 2018 Farm Bill has strengthened the farm safety net, provided more flexibility for our producers, protected and expanded crop insurance, improved the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – including program integrity, strengthened our efforts to provide quality broadband in rural areas, and much more. As we continue to implement this farm bill, I remain committed to ensuring that we can continue production of the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply in the world.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our agriculture industry has faced unprecedented challenges. Sixty percent of our food supply chain is normally wholesale; this was shut down virtually overnight at the beginning of the pandemic. Congress has been able to provide funding both to support farmers who no longer had ready markets for their commodities, and to distribute those fresh foods to people in need, through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. As of January 19th, 2021, 132.9 million food boxes have been distributed in America in eight months.
In the CARES Act, which became law in March of 2020, Congress appropriated $340 million for rural broadband and telehealth infrastructure. This is in addition to over $1.4 billion which Congress has appropriated for the USDA Reconnect program, which awards grants and loans to fund broadband connectivity projects across rural America. Universal access to highspeed internet is paramount for community development and education, and improving rural broadband access is one of the most important issues I support in Congress.
In the 117th Congress I have sponsored the Better Agriculture Resources Now (BARN) Act, as I did in previous Congresses. This legislation, if passed, would drastically improve our food supply chain by moving administration of the H-2A visa program from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture. Too often, unnecessary delays in the application process and overall neglect of the program hurt the very people that the program was designed to help – our agriculture producers who provide our nation’s food security. H-2A certification must be managed by an agency with a deep understanding of the food supply chain and its time-sensitive operations, like USDA.
I look forward to continue advocating for America’s farmers as a member of the House Agriculture Committee.