Sessions addresses BSCC students in Fayette, Jasper
04-16-2009
U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., spent a little more than an hour Tuesday sharing his thoughts on the country’s current condition to a group made up mostly of Bevill State students at the college’s new building on its Jasper campus.
Sessions urged the students in the crowd of more than 130 to take an interest in what’s going on in Washington.
“Don’t let them stick you with this kind of debt,” Sessions said.
During his speech, Sessions said he’s against the amount of spending that is currently happening in Washington.
“I’m kind of worried about it,” Sessions said. “We keep pushing the debt higher and higher. We are seeing spending across the board and hopefully it will create jobs. In my opinion, it will not create enough jobs, but it will create massive debt.”
Sessions said if the country stays on its current path, the national deficit could be $17 trillion within 10 years.
“This stimulus may help us in the next two or three years, but it is far more expensive than we needed,” Sessions said. “I supported two or three bills that would have spent about $400 billion, but they were more for job creation and not just spending on every program.”
When asked about the possibility of states not taking stimulus money, Sessions said he understood why some states spoke out against certain things, but he felt like they should take the money.
“It is optional for states to take their portions,” Sessions said. “I know Gov. Riley and a number of states have said they didn’t want the federal government to dictate the unemployment compensation law to them. I understand that, but the states should take the money. Tax payers are paying for it, and each state should get its part, because they’ll still have to pay for it.”
While Sessions spoke at the community college, cities across the country were holding Tax Day Tea Party rallies against government spending and new taxes. Sessions said he supported those events.
“The tea parties sound like a good idea to me,” Sessions said. “People need to start talking about these things and let their voices be heard. The tea parties are a good way to do that.”
One audience member brought up the FairTax plan and asked the senator for his thoughts.
“I like the FairTax, but I haven’t signed off on it,” Sessions said. “I have signed off on some flat tax measures. The FairTax is a good idea, because it is basically a sales tax, but we’d have to look into it a little more. The sales tax would have to be so high to avoid a major reduction in federal funds.”
Sessions also told the crowd that he had just returned from an extensive tour of several countries in the Mideast. Sessions said he supported President Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, and that support was strengthened when he visited the country.
“The President was correct in sending more troops to Afghanistan,” Sessions said. “We are having a lot of success in Iraq right now and moving some of the numbers to Afghanistan is a good idea. I’m also worried about Pakistan. They’ve always been a strong ally, but the Taliban is getting stronger there and causing some uncertainty. I am happy to report that losses and casualties are down right now, and that is a good thing.”
James Phillips
Assistant Managing Editor
Thursday, Apr 16, 2009
Reprinted by permission of Daily Mountain Eagle |
