Get To Know U.S. Representative Buddy Carter
This month, we’re sitting down with Congressman Buddy Carter, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who has represented Georgia’s 1st District since 2015. Himself a small business owner, Rep. Carter is acutely familiar with the specific challenges facing America’s hoteliers and has made it his mission to help ease the pain of doing business in today’s economy.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR THIS SESSION?
Given my background as a pharmacist, one of my top priorities has always been lowering prescription drug prices and combatting the vertical integration in health care that’s destroying independent pharmacies and driving up the costs of medicines.
I’m also chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials, meaning I have an expanded role in shoring up America’s energy security, critical mineral supply chains, and permitting reform, to name a few. Permitting is a pressing issue in our country. Not only does it affect Americans’ access to broadband connection, but it also impacts our national energy security, with many aspects of our national energy sector being controlled by China and Russia. This session, the House passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which will tackle some of the burdensome regulations preventing America’s energy sector from thriving. I hope to see it signed into law.
WHAT SORTS OF POLICIES, SUCH AS TAX AND REGULATORY REFORMS, DO YOU HOPE TO WORK ON TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY?
Georgia’s 1st District has a rich hospitality and tourism industry. From River Street to the Okefenokee Swamp, our district is a destination for people across the country. It’s critical we implement pro-growth economic policies that allow these families and businesses to thrive. Let’s face it, inflation is crushing all Americans, including our friends in the hospitality industry. That’s a pressing issue we must address. As a member of the Budget Committee, I’m constantly working to curb federal spending and bring relief to families fighting to afford the basic necessities. Inflation is directly impacting people’s purchasing power, and we must get a grip on it so more of your money stays in your wallet.
One of the ways we’re doing this is through H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which I mentioned previously. By increasing domestic energy production and reversing some of the anti-energy policies of this administration, we’ll bring down costs in all sectors. There’s no industry that can function without energy. It’s important this vital resource be both affordable and reliable.
Additionally, there is a bipartisan bill in the Senate that will help build up Main Street, called The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. It does this in part by cutting red tape, expanding the small business expensing cap, and reducing families’ tax burdens so they have more disposable income and can afford to take trips and support local businesses. I hope to see this bill signed into law before the end of the year.
WHAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST ABOUT SERVING IN CONGRESS?
As I say often, the shine hasn’t worn off for me. I’m excited every time I land in Washington, D.C., and I mean that. It’s always an honor to be able to hold public office, but it’s a special honor when you get to represent your home, the place you’ve lived all your life and intend to live the rest of your life.
I got my start in local government, serving on the city council and then as mayor of Pooler, GA. Through that experience, I developed a love for constituent service, and I’ve maintained my commitment to helping, meeting with, and recognizing the great people who call our district home. One of the ways I do this is by delivering speeches on the House floor, called one minutes, where I talk about constituents’ accomplishments and honor those who have passed. For that reason, I’m consistently among the most active speakers on the House floor, because when you represent such great people from such a great district, it’s hard not to talk about it.
WHAT INDUSTRY (OR INDUSTRIES) DID YOU WORK IN BEFORE YOU WERE ELECTED TO CONGRESS?
My very first job in high school was as a landscape engineer, a fancy way of saying that I cut grass, for Travis Field Airport, now known as the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. In college, I also worked at Union Camp Paper Mill, now International Paper Mill, in our district. Let me tell you, that put a fire under me to continue my education, because that work was no joke.
Like many AAHOA Members, I’m a former small business owner. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s of pharmacy degree – GO DAWGS – I opened Carter’s Pharmacy, which I owned and operated for more than 30 years. I also served as a consultant pharmacist for nursing homes for many years. I no longer practice, but I still retain my pharmacy license to this day.
WHAT LED YOU TO RUN FOR CONGRESS?
Opening Carter’s Pharmacy was my American Dream. I was able to raise all my sons in Pooler, GA, which is only a short drive from where I grew up in Port Wentworth, in a home my father helped build. I was able to give my family opportunities that generations of Carters before me worked their entire lives for, and I wanted to give back to the people and community that gave me so much.
That’s why I ran for Congress, to give others the same opportunity to live the American Dream that I had. Public service is exactly that, a service. Whether you serve our nation in the form of military service, public service, or by being an active and engaged citizen, we all have a role to play in ensuring tomorrow’s youth have more opportunities available to them than we did.
WHAT DO YOU MOST ENJOY ABOUT STAYING IN HOTELS?
I love hotels that have a good, firm mattress. Oh, and warm chocolate chip cookies!
WHY ARE HOTELS AND HOTEL OWNERS IMPORTANT TO YOUR DISTRICT/STATE?
Our district is a major travel destination. We have many great attractions and a rich history that folks from across America, and the world, enjoy. Our hotel owners do so much for our community by giving these people a place to rest after a long day on the beach, walking through historic Savannah, or trips out to the Okefenokee Swamp. Hotels also help the surrounding local businesses by bringing in customers, and the economic impact is major.
In fact, AAHOA Member-owned hotels alone impact more than 152,000 jobs in Georgia and contribute $11.9 billion to our state GDP. Frankly, our district and state wouldn’t be the same without our hoteliers.
THE HOTEL WORKFORCE WAS ONE OF THE INDUSTRIES MOST AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC. DO YOU SEE CONGRESS PLAYING A ROLE TO SUPPORT BUILDING BACK THE HOTEL WORKFORCE?
House Republicans have been raising the alarm on pandemic-related policies that are crushing small businesses. In the 117th Congress, while battling the pandemic, I supported an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program and opposed tax increases, new mandates, increased legal liability, and problematic employment law revisions that made it harder for small business owners to survive and thrive. Even still, there are far too many “help wanted” signs, and that’s a major problem.
Congress needs to ensure our policies incentivize businesses to grow and people to reenter the workforce. One of the ways we do this is through adopting smart tax policies that don’t punish success. Additionally, inflation has got to get under control. The federal government cannot continue spending the way we are, which is driving up costs for everyone on everything. That’s a major problem, and it’s keeping our economy from roaring back the way we all hoped it would.
is the Vice President of Patel Partners, a bipartisan, bicameral government affairs consulting firm located on Capitol Hill, and he can be reached at [email protected].
