By William Singleton
During a recent town hall meeting, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Alabama, shared his outlook on various national issues, including his concerns about the Iran nuclear deal, his outlook on repealing the Affordable Care Act and his efforts to reduce government waste.
The freshman congressman has been holding town hall meetings throughout his Sixth Congressional District, which encompasses the southwestern portions of Jefferson County and all of Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Coosa and Shelby counties.
The one held at the Vestavia Hills City Hall was his first in the city. About 30 people attended the Vestavia town hall meeting to hear an update on pending issues in Congress and Palmer’s strategy on long-term change on Capitol Hill.
Palmer expressed concerns about the Iran nuclear deal that would make available to Iran nearly $150 billion in frozen assets. The agreement, which is designed to discourage Iran from pursuing a nuclear bomb, would do the opposite, Palmer said.
“By giving them the whole $150 billion, it gives them the ability to circumvent anything we try to do later on down the road,” he said. “It will allow them to buy and sell arms.”
Palmer said he spoke with a foreign official who believes Iran accessing a nuclear bomb would have a domino effect.
“He made it quite clear, if Iran gets a bomb, the Saudis will get one; Egypt will get one; I believe Turkey will get one; The United Arab Emirates will get one, and we’re going to have a nuclear arms race in the Middle East we cannot contain,” he said. Palmer said he will push for national town halls to explain the issue “so the American public knows where this is heading.”
Palmer said the appropriation process has gotten “derailed,” and he expects the House to pass a series of continuing resolutions to fund government at current levels until the end of the year.
The Republican congressman also said he plans to introduce legislation that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing any new regulations until at least five years after the last regulation had been put in place. Palmer expressed concern about overregulation that burdens the economy.
Palmer also said he and other like-minded congressmen would like to work on tax reform but he doesn’t know whether they will get to it by the end of the year. He said there’s a move to address regulatory reforms, but that too is a long-term issue. Palmer said 180 federal agencies have been identified as being duplications or having inherent inefficiencies.
“We’re not in there to slash and burn,” he said. “We’re in there to reduce the scope and size of government and the cost of government and starting this long process of getting our budget under control.”
An audience member who identified himself as a retired Army officer asked Palmer about his opinion on the use of medical marijuana and how to handle crowding of state prisons. Palmer said both are state issues, but he said he doesn’t support the use of medical marijuana, although he does support the use of cannabis oil.
He also said the think-tank he helped found, the Alabama Policy Institute, recommends policy to educate and prepare non-violent prisoners for the workforce and provide a path for early parole.
Responding to another question, Palmer said failure of Republican leadership to act on meaningful legislation and counteract some of President Obama’s initiatives has been a “huge frustration.” He said that frustration is leading many to support non-establishment candidates such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson, Republican presidential candidates.
“That’s why Trump and Carson and these others are drawing these big crowds,” he said.
Palmer also said he believes that, if a Republican is elected president, there would be enough impetus to address Obamacare, “but it’s not going to go away immediately. You can’t just stop cold turkey. You have to phase … that out. And there are going to be some parts that stay. ”
He said the bigger issue is dealing with Medicare and changing the way Americans look at healthcare.
Jim Thomas, 73, said he has attended town hall meetings held by other congressional officer holders. But he likes the format of Palmer’s town hall meeting.
“In some of them I’ve been to, they (the representatives) shield themselves from certain questions or they will give you a non-answer and move on,” he said. “With Mr. Palmer, he gives you the straight answer whether you’re for him or not. That’s what you’ve got to admire about him.” ϖ
