Congressman David Kustoff Visits County on Good Friday

HUNTINGDON (April 18) — Congressman David Kustoff (R-Germantown) spoke at a forum hosted by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce on April 18 at the Carroll County Shooting Park.

Local political leaders, Chamber members, and members of the Carroll County Leadership Carroll County class were in attendance. Brad Hurley, president of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Kustoff. The congressman visits Carroll County each year on Good Friday

During the congressman’s address, he brought up Community Funding Requests. He noted that he has asked Congress for $1.75 million for Carroll County. The funding would go towards a battery energy storage system. This is a type of energy storage technology that uses a group of batteries in the grid to store electrical energy. Battery storage can be used for short-term peak power and ancillary services, such as providing operating reserve and frequency control to minimize the chance of power outages, especially for hospitals and/or lift stations.

Congressman Kustoff stated a lot has been done in the last 88 days since President Donald Trump took office. He added that there are currently three major issues that he (Kustoff) wanted to speak about: Issues at the Border, the Economy (mainly inflation) and Crime.

He stated that two important bills have come through the House of Representatives. One bill is the Laken Riley Act which requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

The second is the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. First, the bill establishes that a non-U.S. national is inadmissible if the individual has admitted to or is convicted of acts constituting the essential elements of stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, a sex offense, conspiracy to commit a sex offense, a violation of certain protection orders, or domestic violence (including physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships).

Next, the bill establishes additional grounds for deportation. Under current law, a non-U.S. national is deportable for certain criminal convictions, including domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse. The bill makes any sex offense (including crimes against minors) or conspiracy to commit a sex offense a basis for deportation. The bill also expands the domestic violence crimes that make a non-U.S. national deportable to include physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships.

Congressman Kustoff stated that arrests have increased 627%. He added arrests at the border in February 2024 were roughly 141,000; a year later they were at 8,300.

On the economy, he touched on President Trump’s tariffs. He, like the President, believe in the power of free and fair trade but cited countries like China were placing tariffs on the goods exported from the United States. Thus, it was necessary for the United States to respond in kind and bring nations to the negotiating table. The Congressman said 75% of the countries globally have come to proverbial agreement.