The economy, Supreme Court and nation’s debt top town hall agenda

Sen. Rand Paul speaks during Friday morning’s town hall meeting at the Old Kentucky Dinner Train depot on North Third St. in Bardstown. About 50 people attended the event, which included a question-and-answer period. Paul has two town hall meetings scheduled for Saturday in Hardin County.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, 2:30 p.m. — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul visited Bardstown Friday as part of his weeklong town hall tour of eastern and central Kentucky.

Sen. Rand Paul talks with Bardstown Mayor John Royalty at the end of Friday morning town hall meeting.

Paul took time at his meeting Friday to update constituents on a number of matters, including his thoughts on Senate confirmation of the next Supreme Court justice, the national debt and how to rejuvenate the economy.

As part of his comments about confirming the next Supreme Court justice, Paul told the crowd of about 50 he was concerned about the steady erosion of the powers granted to the Congress.

“We’ve had a breakdown in the separation of powers,” Paul said. “There are three co-equal branches of government, but for a long time we’ve been losing this battle — not just during this president but going back probably 100 years.”

President Obama and other presidents have used executive orders as a way of creating law without Congressional approval.

An example, Paul said, is the president’s move on immigration and his decision to not enforce the existing immigration laws.

“You can agree or disagree with what he’s doing, but that’s not his prerogative to change the law. It’s Congress’ prerogative to change the law,” he said.

Regulations affecting coal was another example of the president creating law without the approval of Congress.

“Here in Kentucky we’ve lost 10,000 jobs because of these (coal) regulations, and the interesting thing is that (the Senate) didn’t vote on any of them.”

The recent Supreme Court ruling delaying the implementation of some coal regulations highlights the important role the next Supreme Court justice will play.

About 50 people attended Friday morning’s town hall meeting at the Old Kentucky Home Dinner Train depot in Bardstown.

That decision was a 5-4 vote, with Justice Antonin Scalia the deciding vote. While the president has the right to appoint Scalia’s replacement, doing so would be a conflict of interest because the new justice will be ruling on the constitutionality of the president’s actions with coal regulations.

The Constitution says President Obama has the right to make the appointment, but Paul reminded his audience it also states that the Senate gets to decide if they wish to approve the appointment.

PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT. Paul, who dropped his bid for the Republican primary for president earlier this month, told listeners he would not make an endorsement of any of the remaining GOP candidates.

Since dropping from the race, Paul said he’s heard from supporters who are now supporting some of the other candidates.

“There will be four or five candidates still on the stage that Saturday, and I don’t want them to think I’m trying to tell them what to do,” he said.

Paul said he will focus instead on his race and on the four special elections in the state House of Representatives coming up in April.

The timing of the caucus will mean Kentucky’s GOP votes will have more impact.

“It’s my hope the caucus will bring us together and allow us to be stronger,” he said.

CONSTITUENT CONCERNS. Paul said the nation’s growing debt was one of the top issues he’s been hearing during his town hall meetings this week. He was quick to point out that the debt problem was created by the actions of both major political parties.

“We’re borrowing $1 million a minute, and by the end of the president’s term, we’ll be $20 trillion in debt.,” he said.

The nation’s debt will have doubled during President Obama’s turn. The debt also doubled during the two terms of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The loudest voices in Washington to increase spending right now are Republicans, who advocate spending more money for defense, he said. Paul said he’s doesn’t have a problem with a strong military, but he doesn’t support unlimited military spending if it pushes the country further into debt.

Sen. Rand Paul said the economy and the nation’s rising debt were frequent concerns from town hall visitors he had heard across Kentucky over the past week.

“If we’re borrowing money from China to spend on our military, it isn’t making us stronger,” he said. “Both parties are spending us into oblivion, and we’re going to have change our ways.”

THE ECONOMY. Paul said the corporate tax structure is why American jobs continue to go overseas. Corporate tax rates in some countries are less than half of the U.S. tax rate.

“The only way to keep jobs here is to make it a good place to do business,” he said. Lower corporate tax rates would remove the incentive for companies to leave the country.

Paul said he supports fewer regulations and less government in order to allow the growth of the private sector.

“It doesn’t mean no government, it means a keeping government to a minimum if we want to keep prosperity and if we want to see the private sector grow.”

CONSTITUENT INPUT. Paul encouraged Kentuckians to call, write or email his office to voice their opinions on important issues.

“In aggregate, all your emails and letters to your representatives do have input,” he said.

Paul said he regularly checks with his office staff to determine the level of interest on a particular issue, and what input Kentuckians are providing.

As an example, he said his office received more than 2,000 letters and phone calls in regard to the recent Syrian refugee crisis, and nearly all of them supported greater scrutiny for refugees.

He also encouraged people to sign up to receive his weekly Waste Report, which highlights what he considers wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

NEXT UP. Sen. Paul will be in Hardin County for two town hall meetings on Saturday.

Paul is scheduled to speak at 3:15 p.m. during the monthly meeting of Take Back Kentucky at the Family Buffet, 121 Towne Drive in Elizabethtown. At 4:30 p.m., he will hold a town hall meeting at the Colvin Community Center, 230 Freedoms Way in Radcliff. Both meetings are open to the public.

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