NEWS RELEASES AND EVENTS
Thursday, February 10, 2022
BIDEN’S CRACK PIPE DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM IS SHAMEFUL
Republican candidate for Congress (CD-31) Abhiram Garapati, released the following statement today:
“News coming out of Washington shows just how detached from reality the Biden Administration really is.
In the name of “safety” and “racial equity,” they’ve announced a $30 million program to send CRACK PIPES into communities across the country to “underserved” minorities, particularly African-Americans and LGBTQ Americans.
At a time when inflation is skyrocketing, businesses are struggling with the effects of the pandemic, and war in Europe seems immanent, it’s hard to believe Pres. Biden has time to make sure crackheads have fresh drug paraphernalia.
In 40 years, we’ve gone from Nancy Reagan saying, ‘Just Say No to Drugs” to Joe Biden saying, “Have a free crack pipe, sponsored by US taxpayers!” That’s shameful.
It’s not the role of the Federal government, nor American taxpayers, to make it easier or safer for drug users to consume illicit drugs.
When I go to Washington, I will speak out against the warped values and misplaced priorities of this administration every day and stand for the Texas values we all hold dear and wish to protect.
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Monday, January 31, 2022
GARAPATI: I WILL NOT TAKE A CONGRESSIONAL SALARY
Republican candidate for Congress (CD-31) Abhiram Garapati, released the following statement today:
Pres. Trump, when he started his term in office in January 2017, sent a signal to Washington DC that he was going to “drain the swamp.”
One of the many things that he did differently was to not take his $400,000 presidential salary.
It set the right tone for his presidency, and I intend to emulate that positive step by not taking the $174,000 annual congressional salary when I go to Washington.
As a successful businessman, I don’t need a salary, and it can be left in the US Treasury for other expenses.
When Congressman Carter was first elected in 2002, the salary was 150,000. Congress has given itself a pay raise six times since then, and they are now being paid 116% of that 2002 salary.
This government is over $29 trillion in debt. We cannot afford to be paying congressmen at this time.
I’m running for Congress to bring strong, vigorous and effective conservative leadership to Washington.
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Monday, January 3, 2022
BIDEN HAD A RECORD-SETTING YEAR IN 2021
Republican candidate for Congress (CD-31) Abhiram Garapati, released the following statement today:
In 2021, President Biden had a record year, but not in a positive way.
In 2021 Biden created a record number of illegal immigrants entering our Southern border because of his open borders policies.
In 2021, Biden oversaw record inflation numbers that we haven't seen in over 40 years, which is making it harder for working families to put food on the table.
Because of his war on fossil fuels, in 2021, Biden created record high energy prices, which have already affected the price we are paying at the pump and will affect what we pay for heat throughout this winter.
In 2021, Biden and the left-wing Democrat Congress added a record amount to the long-term national debt of our country, trillions of dollars that our great-grandchildren will have to pay back.
In 2021, Biden oversaw record infections from coronavirus, despite his unwarranted criticism of Pres. Trump in 2020.
In 2021, Biden created record delays of our nation supply chain, after years of positive trade policies under Pres. Trump.
In 2022, let's send him a message: a strong, vocal and active Republican Congress that will set our nation back on the path towards record prosperity."
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Tuesday, December 21, 2021
GARAPATI SAYS BIDENFLATION HURTING TEXAS FAMILES
Republican Congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati (pronounced “Abraham Gara-PATTI”) (TX-31) released the following statement today:
“The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures increases in wholesale prices, rose last week by 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. And the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, is up 6.8, the fastest rate since 1982.
This is hurting Texan families. We’ve all seen this at the supermarket. Food prices are all rising, making it harder for families to put food on the table and hurting us in our wallets and pocketbooks. After last year’s forced lockdown drained household bank accounts, we don’t need any more economic “surprises.”
But Pres. Biden and his progressive allies in Congress have created this problem with their reckless spending. Over $5 TRILLION in new spending has been passed by the Democrat-controlled House since Biden took office, and a proposal for a $1.7 Trillion “Build Back Better” plan (now hopefully killed by Sen. Joe Manchin.)
Now, more than ever, we need TRUE conservative leadership in Congress to speak out against Biden’s reckless agenda.
As your congressman, I will be the loudest voice against the Progressive spending spree, and will be a strong voice fighting for conservative principles like a Balanced Budget Amendment, Zero-Based Budgeting, and eliminating our National Debt by 2050.”
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Thursday, December 2, 2021
GARAPATI CONDEMNS CARTER VOTE FOR “ORWELLIAN” FEDERAL UNVAXXED DATABASE
Republican candidate for Congress Abhiram Garapati (TX-31) released the following statement today:
"I was very disappointed, but not surprised, that Congressman John Carter this Tuesday voted in favor of creating a vast new Federal bureaucracy to catalog and track all unvaccinated citizens of the United States.
Once again, Carter has proven he cannot be trusted to protect our conservative values in Washington. With over 19 years in Congress, he has lost touch with his constituents. Support for this Orwellian intrusion into the medical history of American citizens is unacceptable.
The bill, H.R. 550, was written by a Democrat congresswoman from New Hampshire. Seventy-nine Republicans voted with Carter to support the bill, with 130 voting No. The bill passed the House with no Democrats voting against it.
The bill will initially cost taxpayers $400 billion. Its author says that the federal government will send “reminders” to citizens to be vaccinated or to take booster shots.
This is reminiscent of the Democrat-authored bill Carter supported recently that made teenage girls subject to the military draft and set up Woke kangaroo courts in the military to "root out extremism."
As your congressman, I will never support legislation written by Progressive Leftists like AOC and Nancy Pelosi that damage our families, our military, and our right to medical privacy.
Our incumbent congressman should be ashamed of himself for voting for such bills.
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Wednesday, November 16, 2021
GARAPATI PLEDGES TO FIGHT FOR CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS
A Statement by Abhiram Garapati, Republican candidate for Congress (TX-31):
“Our Nation’s Founders envisioned a Republic in which citizen legislators were elected to serve the public in office for a limited time, and then return to their homes and private professions.
Today, however, we have career politicians like John Carter, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden who spend 20, 40 or even 50 years in Congress, and lose touch with the voters back home.
John Carter has been in Congress nearly 20 years, first elected in 2003. And for nearly 20 years before that, he served as a judge. That’s FOUR DECADES – half of his life - in public office! That’s far too long.
In Congress, I will be the strongest voice for a Constitutional Amendment calling for term limits of two terms for senators and 6 terms for congressmen, which is 12 years for each house of Congress.
This is not a new idea. The House Republicans’ “Contract With America” in the early 1990s had a promise to vote on Congressional term limits. That vote failed. It’s time to make another attempt.
I believe this will cycle into public life more citizen legislators who are focused on serving for a time, then leaving office to return home, not staying in Congress for decades, growing more and more distant from the people they supposedly represent.”
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Monday, November 1, 2021
GARAPATI CONDEMNS PLANNED BIDEN PAYMENTS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS
Statement from congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati (TX-31):
“Just when you thought the Biden Administration’s policies couldn’t get any more crazy, it was reported yesterday by the Wall Street Journal that the administration was considering PAYING illegal immigrants' families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border back in 2018 $450,000 per person in settlements.
That’s PER PERSON, meaning that some of these illegal alien families could receive a million dollars or more for the crime of breaking into the US illegally.
There is one sure way to ensure that no family is separated at our borders: come here legally!
The Biden administration has signaled loud and clear that is totally acceptable to them if illegals attempt to break into the country who are without papers or legal authorization to do so. Open borders are never acceptable, and we must never allow our borders to be violated like this.
I believe strongly in protecting our border and securing it, so that only those authorized to come here legally are granted entry.
Further, as your congressman in Washington, I will work to make it easier for those who wait in line, don't jump the fence, and obey our laws to legally obtain citizenship efficiently and without long delays.
We need to fix our immigration system, and getting control of our open borders is vital to the future of our nation.”
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Tuesday, October 12, 2021
SEPTEMBER JOBS REPORTS SHOWS BIDEN’S BUILDING BACK, BARELY
The September jobs report is out, and it shows that Biden’s America continues to have a weak economy.
An anemic 194,000 jobs were created nationwide, less than half of what markets were expecting. Biden praised the numbers, showing just how out of touch he is with the economic realities Americans face every day.
Job creators are clearly pessimistic about Biden’s economy, and are unsure of our nation’s economic future under his administration’s anti-business policies.
Add to this growing inflation in the supermarkets, and Biden’s War on Oil and Coal, which has seen energy prices spiking nationwide, and middle class families have been left scrambling to make ends meet.
Biden says he’s “Building Back Better,” but it looks more like he’s Building Back, Barely.
Now more than ever, we need a Congressman from central Texas who stands for conservative principles and shows up to vote against Biden’s far-Left Democrat agenda in Washington. We need Abhiram Garapati in Congress.
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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
A VOTING GUIDE FOR CONGRESSMAN CARTER
In the coming weeks, District 31’s congressman, John Carter, will be called upon to attend sessions of the House of Representatives to cast some important votes.
The campaign of Congressional Candidate Abhiram Garapati hopes he attends (he has among the worst attendance records of any Congressman) and if he does, we hope he votes the right way.
This is a necessary warning, because he recently voted for a Democrat-authored defense spending bill that was filled with politically correct, Marxist ideological baggage, such as making young women subject to being drafted into the military, setting up a military tribunal to judge whether our armed forces have “extreme” views – and discharge those whom they claim do have such views - and “Red Flag” laws that could disarm our military without due process.
In May, Carter failed to appear on the House floor to vote for a $1.9 billion dollar “security” spending bill (which had little to do with security) and that bill passed by ONE VOTE. Nancy Pelosi gave him permission to cast a vote by proxy, but his proxy, a California congressman, “forgot” to cast Carter’s vote.
With this background, we encourage Carter to not only show up in person, but to actually VOTE against the new $3.5 TRILLION “infrastructure” bill, that is being billed by Pelosi as “bi-partisan,” but includes many spending programs designed to grow the Welfare State and codify the “Green New Deal” into law.
Biden falsely claims this bill costs “zero dollars” because he’s going to hike taxes to pay for part of it. That’s a lie, and we hope Carter isn’t fooled by it.
Let’s keep a watchful eye on how our congressman votes. We need a congressman in District 31 who represents the Conservative Principles of smaller government and fiscal restraint. We need Abhiram Garapati in Washington to represent our Texas values.
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Sept. 29, 2021
GARAPATI CONDEMNS VACCINE MANDATE FOR BORDER PATROL
Republican Congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati (TX-31) today released the following statement:
“The U.S. Border Patrol has encountered over 1.26 million illegal aliens along the southern border since January of this year – the highest in twenty years. Now, the Biden Administration says it is going to fire all border patrol agents that do not get coronavirus vaccinations before this November.
Threatening to fire those who bravely stand watch on our borders, trying to control this Administration’s flood of illegal migrants is grossly irresponsible.
Biden’s threat comes just days after he and other Administration officials falsely accused border patrol agents of whipping migrants from their horses and threatened to prosecute them.
The Biden Administration has been derelict in its duty to secure the border, but our Border Patrol is doing all it can, and they deserve our praise and support, not threats from this president to fire them.”
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Sept. 22, 2021:
CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE GARAPATI CONDEMNS CARTER’S VOTE FOR “WOKE” MILITARY SPENDING BILL
Last Thursday night, Congressman John Carter voted for a $778 billion military spending bill that included support for girls being drafted into the military, “woke” racial codes, and Green New Deal mandates.
The National Defense Authorization Act for 2022 passed by a 316-113 vote, with the support of 134 Republicans, including Carter.
The bill includes the drafting of women into the military for the first time in American history. Currently, all males at the age of 18 must register for the draft. Those who don’t aren’t eligible for student loans or any other government benefits.
The bill includes “Red Flag” Laws that allow the military to disarm soldiers without due process, requires the military to buy only “zero emissions” vehicles for non-combat uses, and creates an “Office of Countering Extremism” which could dishonorably discharge troops who engage in so-called “extremist activities” or belong to an “extremist organization.”
District 31 Republican congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati condemned Carter’s vote:
“John Carter should be ashamed of his vote for this bloated spending bill, which was loaded with ‘woke’ provisions put in by Leftists like AOC. Expanding the draft is unnecessary, because more than enough men and women serve already, and I want women to join if they choose to serve, not to be forced to serve.
I also don’t want our troops to be indoctrinated into ‘woke’ philosophies. I don’t want their speech regulated or their Second Amendment rights taken away by a rogue committee. This is the most far-Left legislation ever passed in Congress, and as your Congressman, I would have been a strong voice against it.”
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Sept. 10, 2021:
Congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati (Dist. 31) released the following statement today:
“Yesterday, Pres. Joe Biden announced his plans to impose vaccinations on nearly a two-thirds of working Americans – nearly 100 million people who work for the Federal government and in businesses with 100 or more employees. His dictates will include fines of thousands of dollars per employee for not complying.
This is an unconstitutional and authoritarian mandate that overreaches his authority and should be fought in the courts by every state. Congress should make it clear that Biden is acting illegally and is one more reason why he should be impeached and removed from office.”
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Sept. 9, 2021:
CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE ABHIRAM GARAPATI TO HOLD “IMPEACH BIDEN” RALLY
ON CONSTITUTION DAY
Congressional candidate Abhiram Garapati (Dist. 31) will hold an “Impeach Biden” Rally at the Williamson County Courthouse in Georgetown on Friday, Sept. 17, Constitution Day, from 4 to 6 p.m. to call for the impeachment of Pres. Joe Biden.
Citizens are encouraged to bring American flags and join their voices in exposing the president’s failures.
Garapati said the American people should rise up and demand Pres. Biden’s impeachment.
“Pres. Biden should be impeached by Congress because of his already long record of failure in the first eight months of his presidency. These failures include:
- The avoidable deaths of 13 American soldiers and Marines at the Kabul Airport;
- Biden made the Taliban great again with his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left billions of taxpayer dollars in military hardware behind for them to use for terror;
- Over 1,000 Americans are dying due to Covid-19 every single day, and his administration has no plan to deal with it;
- Biden has created an unprecedented immigration crisis on our southern border;
- Under Pres. Trump, America had energy independence, but Biden has made war on the domestic oil and gas industry, while encouraging foreign powers to sell more oil to us;”
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Sept. 3, 2021:
CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE BIDEN’S INCOMPETENT WITHDRAWAL
Over the past week, America and the rest of the world has witnessed the horrifying incompetence of Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
While most Americans support leaving this 20-year-long exercise in nation-building, the way we pulled out was poorly executed, left Americans and our allies behind with the Taliban, and gave up millions of taxpayer dollars in military hardware.
The Biden Administration continues to blame Pres. Trump for the withdrawal plan, but they substantially changed his plan, which would have held the Taliban to benchmarks for a withdrawal, and would have pulled the military out ONLY AFTER all American citizens were evacuated. And I know Pres. Trump wouldn’t have abandoned Americans after an arbitrary Aug. 31 deadline set by the Taliban for us to leave.
That’s why I’m calling for the House and Senate to convene hearings to investigate this disastrous, incompetent withdrawal.
I know Nancy Pelosi’s House will not act, but the Senate must take action to ensure that the American people understand what went wrong, and why.
We need to get to the bottom of this, one of the worst military episodes in American history.
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April 26, 2021
THE #BIDENBORDERCRISIS AT OUR SOUTHERN BORDER MUST BE ADDRESSED
District 31 Republican Congressional Candidate Abhiram Garapati released the following statement today:
"The disaster at our Southern border is entirely the fault of the Biden administration, which has signaled that illegal entry into the US is now acceptable. It is never acceptable, and I will oppose this Open Borders policy in Washington.
As a first-generation American, I have lived the American Dream. I came to the US in my 20s with $500 in my pocket, and by the time I was 30 years old, I was a millionaire.
I want to make it easier for legal immigrants, like I was - those who wait in line, obey the law, and don't jump the fence - to obtain citizenship. But we must insist that they follow the legal process. We cannot allow people who jump the fence to benefit from their abuse of our system of laws.
In Congress, I will be a strong, clear voice for legal immigration and the Conservative Texas values we hold dear."
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April 20, 2021:
REPUBLICAN ABHIRAM GARAPATI ANNOUNCES DISTRICT 31 CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN
Abhiram Garapati (pronounced "Abraham Gara-PATTI") has formally announced he is running as a Republican for Congress in Texas's District 31.
"I'm running for Congress because Texas needs strong, vigorous, and effective leadership in Washington to stand up against Nancy Pelosi and the "Squad," and fight for the conservative principles and values that Texans hold dear," he said.
Garapati, who spent his childhood in India, came to America in his 20s and by the age of 30, was a millionaire. He runs an Austin-based property management company that owns property in 12 states. He is also a farmer and cattle rancher, and understands the struggles that families and small businesses face today.
He will go to Washington to fight for lower taxes, fair trade policies, term limits for Congressmen and Senators (a maximum of 12 years for members in each chamber) and an end to the Biden border crisis.
"I will use my voice in Washington to represent this district and speak up for those who aren't being heard by the lifetime politicians and bureaucrats in "the Swamp." I will work with other Republicans in the House and the Senate, and even reasonable Democrats, who wish to make this nation and its economy stronger, more prosperous, and healthier. I will fight for maintaining a strong military, defending our borders, and a growing economy.
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