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BY NIC MILLER
STAR STAFF
nic.miller@elizabethton.com

Wednesday morning was a special one for the people of Carter County as House of Representatives Congresswoman for the first congressional district of Tennessee Diana Harshbarger paid a visit to Roan Mountain for an event known as “Coffee With Your Congresswoman.”

The venue was one that has seen many politicians come in and speak to members of the community, Bob’s Dairyland. And it was a very well received event for the people of the area, as there was little to no room with people packing into the establishment to hear the Congresswoman speak while enjoying some delicious home cooking.

The event had an emphasis on the Congresswoman addressing issues across the nation, as well as engaging in thoughtful discussion and answering any questions that those in attendance may have had.

Throughout the event, there were two main topics that Congresswoman Harshbarger covered, with those being the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan as well as issues with the United States southern border.

Congresswoman Harshbarger opened up her discussion speaking about what has happened and what is still ongoing in Afghanistan, saying, “The President has kept his word to the taliban, but he has not kept his word to the American people. There should be no one left behind, and there are private organizations now that are the ones going in and rescuing these people that were left behind. 

“I have spoken to President Trump, and he told me about a conditions based withdrawal where you first get the Americans out, then the interpreters, afterward, the military equipment needs to be moved out. And finally, the bases need to be dismantled and the military should be moved out.”

Congresswoman Harshbarger went on to further explain the situation in Afghanistan to those in attendance before moving on to her next point of emphasis, the border.

“We went to the Rio Grande Valley at night, and we were able to see how people crossed over into America. One thing that I noticed and have realized is that no one is able to come over into America unless the cartel knows about it.

“In April, the cartel was making $4,000 per person and $15 million per day to smuggle people across the border, and today that number is around $6,000 per person. I received a video of raft after raft full of cartel members letting people off across the border and the National Guard would have to help these people off the rafts. They could not do anything about it because of the threats that the cartel would make.”

After discussing both of these topics, Congresswoman Harshbarger answered questions from the crowd, sparking lengthy discussion with those in attendance before the event would wrap up.

The event turned out to be a success for both Congresswoman Harshbarger and Bob’s Dairyland, and the establishment hopes to continue to host more things similar to Wednesday’s “Coffee With Your Congresswoman.”