U.S. Rep. Labrador visits town

BONNERS FERRY — The parking lot was packed outside Chic-N-Chop on Main Street Tuesday morning in anticipation of a meeting with U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, who was stopping by town on his “Conversations with the Congressman” tour of North Idaho. Inside, the banquet room tables were filled with area residents who brought their ideas, concerns and questions with them.

Labrador appeared in shirtsleeves and shook a few hands before opening the session. He began by telling those present that the most important thing he does as a Congressman is meeting with constituents. “We only have an hour so I want to answer as many questions as possible,” he said, as he opened the floor to residents.

In response to a woman who asked about improving government, Labrador told the audience about the Freedom Caucus, a group of 40 Republicans who joined forces to get more done.

“We just got frustrated because you get 40 conservatives in a room and you get 40 different ideas. We had a good core group of conservatives, but we weren’t working together as well as we could,” he said. Since uniting, his group has been able to influence legislation, he added.

“Do you think you’d be more effective as the governor of Idaho?” someone asked.

“I am seriously thinking about it,” said Labrador, to scattered applause throughout the room.

Bonners Ferry American Legion Post 55 commander and veteran Kenneth Toline stood up and spoke about the epidemic of veteran suicides in the U.S. He said the Veterans Administration did not recognize the connection between returning servicepeople and suicide rates.

“What are we doing as a country to rectify their position on veteran suicides,” he asked Labrador. “I did not serve in the military,” said Labrador, “but we are watching what the VA is doing, and we know it is a problem.”

Barbara Rexford asked the congressman about his immigration policies.

“We have a problem with aliens and refugees draining our resources,” she said. “How do you feel about it?”

“I used to be an immigration lawyer,” said Labrador, who was born in Puerto Rico, “so I know a bit about it. The first thing we need to do is enforce the law. We need to finish the fence. And once law enforcement arrests somebody, officers need to be able to kick that person out.”

Labrador also said the country needs to revamp its immigration focus. He said that as much as three-quarters of the immigrants coming to the U.S. are admitted due to their family ties. Instead, he suggested a more practical approach that would admit immigrants based on what they would bring to the economy.

In response to a question about the national debt, Labrador said he considers it the number one issue in the country today. He would like to see the U.S. withdraw from the wars it is currently involved in.

“You can’t pay for military with a crushing national debt,” he said.

After the community Q & A, the congressman agreed to answer a few follow-up questions. Regarding his Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act, which originated with a group of county commissioners from Boundary, Clearwater, Shoshone, Idaho and Valley counties, he said the primary advantages of gaining state control of federal lands for the state would be financial and accessibility. Additionally, he believes state officials could control the threat of wildfires in National Forests more effectively than the U.S. Forest Service.

“We need active management, such as salvaging areas after wildfires,” he said.

On the topic of gun control, Labrador said he is a big proponent of the Second Amendment.

“The violence (in society) is coming from culture. We can solve a lot of the violence if we change the culture,” he said, denying the idea that stricter gun control laws would reduce the problem.

Finally, when asked about climate change, the congressman said climate change is an ongoing phenomenon, but he does not consider it to be man-made. If he were asked to vote on the provisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions set out in the Paris climate change summit, he said he would vote “no.”