U.S. Rep. Guthrie visits Mammy’s Kitchen to meet and greet constituents

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, 3 p.m. — Congressman Brett Guthrie visited Mammy’s Kitchen during the lunch hour for “Conversations with Your Congressman,” providing constituents an opportunity to meet one-on-one with Guthrie or his staff in a familiar setting.

Congressman Brett Guthrie talks with Bardstown attorney Tom Hall during his visit to Mammy’s Kitchen.

Guthrie said the “conversations” have replaced the town hall-style meetings he has done in the past.

The format is proving successful — Guthrie spent nearly an hour going table-to-table talking with Mammy’s customers, including the lunchtime regulars. Members of his staff were available to assist with constituent services during the visit as well.

About two-thirds of the conversations deal with legislative matters, he told reporters as he ate lunch. The other third of the conversations deal with constituent matters like VA or other services.

Bardstown attorney Tom Hall offered Guthrie a suggestion on how to improve the security at Armed Forces recruiting offices by installing Kevlar materials in desks or partitions. Vietnam veteran Gary Downs spoke with Guthrie and his staff regarding some issues with his VA benefits.

CONCERNS ABOUT IRAN. The main legislative item on most people’s minds lately is the international agreement with

Bardstown resident Margaret Simms, left, speaks with U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie and Guthrie’s constituent services assistant Kylie Foushee during his “Conversations With Your Congressman” Thursday at Mammy’s Kitchen.

The nuclear deal, which was announced in July, is intended to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons in exchange for relief on economic sanctions. But Guthrie said one of the problems with the deal is that not all of the details of the deal are public.

The United Nations still must negotiate with Iran on how it will inspect the country’s nuclear sites and how often they’ll be inspected, Guthrie said, who has been a vocal opponent of the deal.

If Iran complies with the known provisions of the deal, all of the sanctions and restrictions are lifted after 15 years.

“They could have a nuclear weapon at the end of 15 years,” he said. “We have no friends in the Middle East who have said the agreement is a good idea.”

The Obama administration is gambling that Iranian moderates will take control of the country within the next 15 years, Guthrie said.

“At the end of that time, you’ll have an Iran that is stronger economically, stronger militarily, and capable of delivering a nuclear weapon intercontinentally. I don’t think that’s a good deal for us.”

Guthrie is a cosponsor of House Resolution 357, which expresses Congress’s disapproval of the Iran nuclear agreement.

Congress has until Sept. 17 to approve the resolution, which President Barack Obama has threatened to veto.

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