One of the principal responsibilities I have as a Member of Congress, is keeping in touch with the people I have the honor of representing. Last week I did so by holding a telephone town hall meeting, just before President Obama delivered his State of the Union Address. (Here’s a photo that was taken at the State of the Union Address. See if you can find me. Like where’s Waldo!) I thought you might be interested in some of the questions I was asked, and the answers I gave in response. Here goes.
Question: I am a small business owner in Cincinnati – about 45 employees. What is your opinion on President Obama’s push to increase the minimum wage?
Answer: Unfortunately, raising the minimum wage oftentimes ends up hurting the very people it was intended to help. Because so many small businesses have been hit by higher costs and expenses in recent years, they often end up cutting positions and people lose their jobs, or aren’t hired in the first place. And arguably, the marketplace should determine wages, not the government.
Question: Why hasn’t the Keystone Pipeline moved forward?
Answer: The Obama Administration has stopped it. Because it crosses a border (Canada to the U.S.) it has to be approved by Obama’s State Department. Some environmentalists continue to oppose it and they’ve had Obama’s ear. We should have approved it years ago. The most recent environmental study, which just came out a week ago, confirmed that there are no legitimate environmental concerns. If we don’t build the pipeline soon, Canada is likely to build a pipeline to their west coast, and ship the oil to China. We can’t let that happen.
Question: Thank you for being pro-life. Why do our tax dollars continue to fund abortions?
Answer: They shouldn’t, and the Hyde Amendment has prevented tax dollars from going to fund abortions in many instances. But the Obama Administration has done everything it can to get around the Hyde Amendment. Funding abortion through Obamacare is an example. I co-sponsored, and the House recently passed, a bill called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. It would go a long way towards stopping our tax dollars from funding abortions. Unfortunately, Harry Reid probably won’t even let the Senate vote on the bill.
Question: What’s Congress going to do about reining in President Obama’s abuse of executive orders?
Answer: This is one of our greatest challenges this year. Obama has already acted on his own, I believe outside the law, in refusing to enforce existing immigration laws and welfare laws, and in changing Obamacare extra-legally. Congress needs to stand up for Constitution.
Question: Do you think the President has committed any impeachable acts?
Answer: No. And no one in Congress to my knowledge has seriously brought that up.
Question: Will a comprehensive immigration reform bill be passed into law this year?
Answer: I doubt it. The Senate did pass so-called comprehensive immigration reform, which included a “pathway to citizenship” (some would call it amnesty). Democrats in the House support it, but I’d estimate that at least 80% of Republicans in the House oppose it.
Question: Are we ever going to get to the bottom of Benghazi?
Answer: We owe that much to the families of the four dead Americans. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, continues to press for answers, but the Obama Administration, in my opinion, continues to drag its feet, trying to run out the clock. There needs to be a full accounting in this matter.
Question: Are there any things in Obamacare that you agree with?
Answer: Yes, I would have supported allowing young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plan until 26; and I believe help on preexisting conditions was appropriate. But you didn’t need a federal takeover of healthcare to accomplish these things.
Question: Do you support term limits?
Answer: Yes, I have voted for term limits every time they’ve come up in Congress. Unfortunately, a Supreme Court decision ruled that in order to have term limits apply to Congress, it would take passage of a Constitutional Amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, and ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. That’s a huge challenge.
Question: We lost our healthcare due to Obamacare. Then before we could get signed up through the Obamacare website, my husband had a major heart attack and a stroke. We’re now a quarter million dollars in debt – what can we do?
Answer: I’m so sorry to hear of your misfortune. Please call my office at 513-684-2723, and we’ll try to help.
Well, that gives you a taste of the questions I received, and the answers I gave, at my recent telephone town hall meeting. Hopefully you can participate in one in the near future.
