Brooks speaks on sequestration, economy at town hall meeting
U.S. Rep. Brooks (R-AL) spoke to Madison residents at a town hall meeting on Feb. 18 at Madison City Hall. (RECORD PHOTO/ALDO AMATO)
By Aldo Amato
Staff Reporter
MADISON – Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) held a town hall meeting at the Madison on Monday, Feb. 18 to discuss topics ranging from sequestration to the national economy.
Brooks’ town hall meeting packed out the Madison City Council chambers Monday night to a standing only room crowd. The main talking points that Brooks talked about applied directly to the people he represents in Madison County. Especially those in the armed forces.
“We are nearing sequestration,” Brooks said. “I am doing everything I can to see that we can avoid that.”
On March 1, 2013, if Congress fails to reach a deal, the national defense industry, including those at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, could see nearly $1.2 trillion in cuts.
Abner Merriweather, president of the American Federation of Goverment Employees (AFGE Local 1858) at Redstone Arsenal, said that he is worried about those he represents as the March 1. deadline approaches.
“It’s the uncertainty and it’s the unknown,” he said. “Nobody know’s what is going to happen yet on March 1. so they are bracing themselves. They are not spending in the housing market, nobody is buying new cars now and everyone is just trying to cut back.”
Merriweather urged Rep. Brooks to take action in Washington to protect thousands of jobs during the public Q&A.
Residents also posed questions ranging from Bengazhi to the national economy. Brooks said that he believes that the attack in Libya could have been prevented and he did question now former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week. Brooks added that he is totally against ‘Obamacare’ and that the money going to programs like ‘Obamacare’ could go to prevent sequestration.
“We’re not doing this because we don’t like Barack Obama,” he said. “We’re doing it because we love America.”
Councilman Steve Smith said that despite the various opinions in the room, it was important that Rep. Brooks came to Madison to speak to the people he represents.
“I think it’s huge and I think it shows his dedication to our city and the whole area he represents,” he said. “[The turnout] was much better than I thought it was going to be.”
