David Young
Congressman-elect David Young says President Obama’s plans for immigration reform do not address what he says is the most important issue. “For me, I’ve always said first of all in any immigration package, we have to secure the border first, first and foremost the border. And that comes in conjunction with securing the homeland and then enforcing the rule of law, whatever it is, and right now we’re not enforcing the rule of law,” Young says.
The Republican who is preparing to represent the third district, was asked his definition of securing the border. “It means nobody is flowing through the border, whether it’s the northern border or southern border,” Young replies. “The president I believe on his own could be working to secure that border on his own with the border patrol agents and the funds.”
Some Republicans say they may have to shut down the government to stop the president’s actions on immigration, Young is not ready to do that. “I want to make sure the government is open, I don’t think that helps in any real manner, I think it costs money in the end. I think there are some tools that we can possibly use. There are some defunding mechanisms that we can probably use,” Young says. “But what we have to understand with what the president is doing, it is going ot be hard to use funds — or lack thereof and the power of the purse — to do that because what is happening now is those application fees are funding what’s going to be happening with the president’s action.”
Young says he has talked with the Latino community in his district about the issue. “For the most part they want the rule of law enforced,” Young explains. “This really gets at those folks who came over here legally, man of them in the Latino population, the African population, the Asian population. They are a little bit disappointed that some folks are getting this favoritism, while those folks came through the right way.”
On other issues, Young says he wants to see spending and tax bills come forward, and he wants to see the Keystone pipeline approved. “I think that we’re going to have the votes in the 114th Congress to pass that and possibly override any veto, I am hopeful of that. But that’s something that I want to make sure that we get passed as well,” Young says.
He also expects with the House and Senate both now controlled by Republicans, that they will try to repeal Obamacare. “I’m assuming that there is going to be an up or down vote on repeal, and I would vote for repeal,” Young says, “because I thought it was a bad law and a bad policy. And if that doesn’t succeed, there are ways to dismantle this law and make it better.” Young says there are some things he would like to keep in the federal health care law, such as making sure that people with preexisting conditions can stay on insurance, and allowing kids to stay on their parent’s health care plan up to the age of 26.
Young made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa Public Television.