Jim Cummings
March 20, 2007 07:30 pm
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When Congressman Mike Pence (R-Indiana) finished speaking about Honda’s big announcement Monday, he didn’t fall short of other topics to discuss.
The Congressman, in his sixth year, took questions in a town hall format and touched on many of the country’s most pressing issues.
First, however, he received kudos from Bill Wenning.
“As a veteran, I applaud your efforts on behalf of our troops in Iraq,” Wenning said. “We are doing good things over there.”
Pence’s reply included some previously undisclosed details.
“Thank you for your service to our country,” Pence said. “Also, this hasn’t been announced officially, but I will be returning to Iraq for my fifth tour as part of a congregational delegation. Once there, I’ll be interested in getting a progress update from General (David) Petraeus on the troop surge.”
Pence’s visit is expected to take place around Easter but, for security reasons, a specific date was not announced.
He said evaluating success is not going to include a full elimination of insurgence violence.
“Success will not be the absence of violence. By that standard, Indianapolis wouldn’t be viewed as a democratic success,” Pence said. “We’ll know it’s the right time when, with a moral certitude, that the Iraqis can take care of themselves. The first step is stopping the capitol city from falling apart.”
Pence also said he was against putting a timeline on an American presence in Iraq and he would be voting against an upcoming funding bill relating to the war.
“It pains me but, unless this bill is radically changed, I’ll vote against it,” Pence said. “There is funding for spinach in this bill. I have a problem with a war bill that’s not all about war spending”
From Iraq, all the way back to Decatur County, Pence also tackled some local issues. Joe rust, who has been fighting the incursion of the REX Pipeline through the area, asked for help and received both guidance and a congratulations in return.
“You’ve been a champion for property owners across Indiana,” Pence told Rust. “From one American to another, I thank you. You’ve been a champion like I’ve never seen.”
Pence said Indiana’s laws regarding eminent domain would become beneficial to Rust and others impacted by the gas-line project.
“Indiana law will be the controlling law even though this is a federal project,” the Congressman said. “Because of our rich agricultural history, our laws on eminent domain are some of the strongest.”
From pipelines of gas to illegal pipelines of people, Pence moved on to immigration.
“If we could create a temporary worker program which does not involve amnesty, that would benefit the country. I will not support amnesty for illegal aliens in this country,” he said. “It is inconceivable to me that we would grant 12 million people amnesty. That will bring in 25 million.”
Pence went on to say it will take a comprehensive approach to combat the illegal immigration dilemma.
“The only way to live and work in the most prosperous country in the world is legally,” he said. “A nation without borders is not a nation. I support tougher sanction on employers, 750 miles of fencing, surveillance cameras and increased border patrol. We can have complete security but that does nothing about the 10 million or 12 million people already here. Some 6 million of them are in the work force.”
Pence’s meeting ended on a high note when Greensburg fire Chief Scott Chasteen took the floor.
“Thank you for supporting the Assistance to firefighters grants. The city has received more than $300,000 for equipment and countywide we’ve received nearly $750,000.”
Pence said Chasteen and the county’s departments deserve much of the credit for that.
“These grants are handled through competitive bidding. Your departments do an outstanding job preparing these requests,” Pence said. “Some people call these programs pork but I call them homeland security.”
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