Richard Wayne Allen (born November 7, 1951) is an American politician who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Career

Allen attended Auburn University and earned a degree in building construction. He is the founder of R.W. Allen and Associates, a construction company headquartered in Augusta.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Allen ran in the Republican primary for the 12th district against three other candidates. He advanced to the runoff, but lost to State Representative Lee Anderson, 49.7% to 50.3%. Anderson went on to lose the general election to incumbent John Barrow. Allen ran again in 2014, this time making it to the general election. He defeated Barrow in the November election, a result considered an upset even though the 12th district had been made significantly more Republican by redistricting. Allen was reelected with 62% of the vote in 2016. In 2018, after winning the Republican primary with 75.99% of the vote, Allen defeated the Democratic nominee, lawyer and pastor Francys Johnson, with 61% of the vote. Allen was reelected with 58% of the vote in 2020.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry ** Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management *

Committee on Education and the Workforce The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

** Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training ** Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Caucuses

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...

Tenure

LGBT rights

In 2015, Allen cosponsored a resolution to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Allen also cosponsored an amendment disagreeing with the Supreme Court ruling in

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution. During a closed-door Republican meeting about an amendment that prohibited discrimination against

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

workers, Allen read a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

verse that says of homosexuals, "they which commit such things are worthy of death." He told the assembled Republicans that they were "going to Hell" if they voted for the amendment. After the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a ...

, Allen offered prayers to the families of the victims but did not apologize or retract his past comments. In 2022, Allen voted against H.R.8404 - the Respect for Marriage Act -- which would codify same-sex and interracial marriages.

''Texas v. Pennsylvania''

In December 2020, Allen was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

to sign an

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

Foreign policy

In 2019, Allen was one of 60 representatives to vote against condemning President Trump's withdrawal from Syria. In 2020, Allen voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

without congressional approval.

Personal life

Allen lives in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

. A

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

, he is married to Robin Allen and has four children.

References

External links

Congressman Rick Allen
official U.S. House website
Rick Allen for Congress
* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Rick 1951 births 21st-century American politicians American construction businesspeople Auburn University alumni Living people Politicians from Augusta, Georgia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)