Manitowoc County’s Congressman in Washington stopped at the Valders Community Center yesterday (April 23rd) morning.
6th District Congressman Glenn Grothman held a town hall meeting, talking about several topics but saying the issues at the southern border are still his number one concern.
Grothman told constituents that over 200,000 people are crossing every month, which is unsustainable.
House Republicans passed a bill known as H.R. 2, a bill that redefines the word asylum, continues building the border wall, and adds more Border Patrol Agents.
No Democrats supported the bill, and it hasn’t been taken up in the Senate.
Grothman told Seehafer News, “I think Joe Biden likes having so many people coming here, and until he’s forced to, he will continue to have hundreds of thousands of people come here every month. It’s a sad state of affairs but I think it’s something he wants.”
Constituents also asked about healthcare, veteran services, and the US Debt issue.
Grothman says if a new administration comes in, he wants to get US debt down by looking at the safety net because he says the amount of money being added every year keeps going up.
“They should look at areas of the federal budget that are really none of the federal government’s businesses,” he said. “Like the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Commerce all should be looked at.”
When asked if that meant cutting some parts of the program, Grothman said, “Right.”
There was also bipartisan support for passing a bill to fund the war in Israel and Ukraine to which Grothman voted no on the Ukraine aid portion.
A small group of Republicans want House Speaker Mike Johnson out as speaker for working with Democrats on passing the bill.
Grothman says he’d be shocked if that happened.
“I think the vast majority of Republicans are supportive,” he described. “And I think a given number of Democrats are supportive as well.”
He also continued to express his frustration with the Biden Administration’s approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, especially in the military, where he claims the administration wants to “restrict the number of white men joining.”
Grothman says he feels the town hall went very well and agrees with the issues discussed.
