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Politics & Government

Congressman Tom Graves a Hit at Town Hall Meeting

A two-hour town hall meeting with Republican Congressman Tom Graves drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Forsyth County Administration Building Wednesday.

An appreciative, standing-room-only crowd greeted 9th District Congressman Tom Graves for what could be the last time as their elected representative at a Wednesday night town hall meeting.

Every seat in the Forsyth County Administration Building was filled and those who came to listen to the conservative congressman from Ranger stood shoulder to shoulder along every inch of the back wall and out the commissioners' meeting room door.

For his part, the affable Graves spent more than two hours with his constituents, answering every question from a seemingly endless line of questioners.

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Graves said the nation's debt has reached $14.5 trillion and it is critically important to stop the deficit spending.

"Two days of interest we pay to China is enough to buy one joint strike fighter (jet)," he said.

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Graves said the president's idea of taxing the rich more is not the answer.

"For those who say they need to pay their fair share, let's put that in perspective. You would need 1,600 billionaires -- which we don't have in America -- and you would need to tax them 100 percent and you would still have deficit spending in Washington."

Graves said Americans now have to make some very difficult choices.

"If we don't do it now, we're putting a burden on the next generation. We'll be placing a debt on the children and grandchildren of this generation that is unbearable."

Graves fielded questions ranging from healthcare to term limits to how to stop deficit spending.

"The solution that 67 percent of Americans agreed with according to a CNN poll was cut, cap and balance," Graves said. "The Tea Party had the only solution that would have solved the problem and brought the nation together." That response generated the loudest applause of the night.

Once those boundaries are approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, Graves will represent the state's new 14th District in the northwestern corner of the state and will no longer represent Forsyth County.

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