Energy the top topic at Deal town hall meeting

GAINESVILLE - Congressman Nathan Deal addressed a lot of issues and fielded a lot of questions Thursday night at his town hall meeting in Gainesville, but topping the list was energy.

Deal made it clear he supports drilling anywhere in the U.S. where Americans could renew dependence on their own oil and not on oil overseas; he said the Democratic-controlled Congress is a big part of the problem.

"The Speaker has locked down the House of Representatives," Deal said. "She has not allowed a single vote on the issue of drilling and that is why the protest of many of my colleagues is going on in Washington right now even after the House has adjourned."

BIRTHRITE BILL

Deal told constituents that grass roots support could make the difference on Fair Tax legislation and his own Birthrite Citizenship bill.

Deal said the measure is one way of dealing with the cost of illegal immigration, adding that the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries that allow citizenship by birth.

He said children born to illegal aliens in the U.S. are "anchor babies"; they give an anchor that opens opportunities to those illegals.

"The bill says that unless one of the parents is legally in the country, the child that is born to that family would not be a citizen," Deal said.

Deal said he is gradually getting support for the measure in the House with 104 sponsors, but he needs 218 for it to pass.

The Congressman from Gainesville ended a week-long series of town hall meetings across the district with his appearance at the Georgia Mountains Center, using the August break to visit constituents in 15 counties, including Hall.