PICAYUNE —
Fourth District U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Biloxi) said that the defense department and America’s military face cuts approaching a trillion dollars next year, and Mississippi and the U.S. economy will be greatly impacted by the cuts if they occur.
The Mississippi congressman also said the U.S. defense posture around the world would be damaged if the military is weakened by draconian cuts mandated by Congress. There are thousands of ship building jobs along the Gulf Coast that are at risk, he said. The process is called sequestration: If Congress does not make the appropriate cuts, automatic cuts go into effect, and the Department of Defense is the main target.
Palazzo was in Picayune for a noon brown-bag town hall meeting with constituents at Magnolia Columns on South Curran Avenue. He told about 100 residents and Pearl River County officials who turned out for the event that proposed defense cuts are the major issue with him.
Palazzo is facing re-election on Nov. 6. He is in his first term, and as a U.S. House member, must stand for re-election every two years. He unseated veteran Democratic U.S. Rep Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis during the November 2010 election. Taylor had held the seat for 21 years.
Said Palazzo, “We are trying to prevent any more irresponsible and irreversible cuts to national defense. Right now we are looking at $500 billion in across-the-board cuts in January 2013 if nothing is done.” He said the cuts will hollow out the military and put “the country’s national security at risk.”
To another question concerning the Affordable Care Act, Palazzo said he did not want to salvage any piece of the new law. He said he was against the way Democrats are going at reforming health care and wanted to repeal the whole measure. “I will keep on trying to repeal it,” he said. “I will never accept it.”
“I don’t think there is any way you can save the bill that is out there. Basically, we have to repeal it and replace it. We don’t want to make the same mistakes,” said Palazzo.
Palazzo said that although he thinks the bill “should be scrapped and start over,” he still is interested in hearing from constituents on how they feel about the health care bill and what they would like to see. “I think I have a good feeling on the pulse of my district, but I want to hear more from all of you concerning this bill,” he said.
Jim Ingram pointed to the local county budget crisis and asked Palazzo if he could help. “The money for the county just seems to not be there,” he said. He pointed to the library system and Senior Center as absorbing recent cuts in local funds and were, therefore, having to cut back on services.
Replied Palazzo, “We heard about that, and we have actually looked into it. But the big picture is that your federal government is broke — $16 trillion in debt. We’re running annual trillion dollar deficits.”
Palazzo said that reviving the economy and creating jobs was the ultimate answer to a lack of government revenues. “Government funding won’t get better until the economy gets better. After all, government gets its revenue from the private sector,” he said.
Palazzo fielded about 15 questions during the hour-long town hall meeting that was touted by his aides as a “brown-bag town hall meeting.” Some of those attending brought a brown-bag lunch.
On Nov. 6, Palazzo faces Pascagoula businessman and Libertarian Party opponent Ron Williams, who was an unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor during last November’s state election.
Also on the ballot are Reform Party candidate Robert W. Claunch of Diamondhead, and Hattiesburg businessman Michael Harrington, a Democrat.
Palazzo held a town hall meeting in Gautier last week attended by about 60 residents. He has other town hall meetings planned for Harrison County on Aug. 10, Jones County on Aug. 13 and Lamar-Forrest counties on Aug. 14.
Palazzo is on what House members call the August summer break.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHART‚ at Tuesday at the Picayune town hall meeting, Palazzo shows constituents the organizational chart for the Affordable Care Act. He said he will work for repeal of the law. (Staff photo by David A. Farrell)
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