Alexander questions bailout fund By James Ronald Skains "Perhaps the most disturbing issue for a Congressman in trying to help solve this economic crisis is that one day we will have one group of financial experts tell us one thing, and the next day another group will tell us just the opposite and the third day we will hear another opinion," Congressman Rodney Alexander told the Piney Woods Journal on a visit to the Journal office on February 7. "Personally, I don't believe anyone yet has a firm plan on how to get us out of this recession," Congressman Alexander, a Republican from Quitman in Jackson Parish, added. "I think that Paulson and Bernake on the first bailout bill misled us and made up a plan of action as they went along." "One question that I hear a lot is where did the money go and where is the money coming from to pay for all these stimulus packages," Congressman Alexander acknowledged. "There were a few things that I liked in the latest stimulus package but a lot of things that I did not like." "I think it is good to put money into transportation such as rails and water," Congressman Alexander said. "I also liked some of the things in the health care sector but some of the things that the Governors and Mayors around the country wanted in the stimulus bill were in my opinion ridiculous." "I think that the bottom line is that both the big guys and the little guys are running scared," Congressman Alexander said. "Until we can find a way to restore the confidence of the people in the government and the financial markets, we are going to face tough economic times." "I know that we are all on pins and needles in North Louisiana waiting to see what is going to happen next in the forestry industry that we are so dependent on," Alexander noted. "I went out to St. Louis to talk with the Smurfit-Stone people but they couldn't really tell us, because the paper market is going to dictate what happens next." "Of the three paper mills left in my district, I think that the mill in West Monroe is in the best shape," Congressman Alexander, a member of the minority party on the House Appropriations Committee stated. "Graphic Packaging is more into retail packaging than the mills in Hodge and Pineville." "What Weyerhaeuser will have to do to survive this tremendous drop in home building is anyone's guess at this point," said Congressman Alexander, who was first elected in 2002. "Its understandable that if you can't sell lumber, then it is tough to keep making it, if you're losing money." "Although the forest industry is tough, I believe that our farmers here in Louisiana are having it rougher," Alexander said in elaborating on economic issues. "A lot of farmers won't be able to plant this year and the ones who do probably will not be able to cash flow their crops." The Journal asked Congressman Alexander about the upcoming 2010 census that will go a long way in determining if Louisiana loses a Congressional seat and how the new districts would be arranged. "Hopefully, we won't lose a seat, but that is only a hope because most of the population data we see is that some other states have grown considerably while Louisiana has not grown at a substantial rate," Congressman Alexander answered. "If we do lose a district and get into redrawing the congressional lines, the best that we can hope far is that we have a North Louisiana Congressional district." "If we have an east west district then north Louisiana will stay as one district," Congressman Alexander explained. "However, if the legislature, for whatever reasons choose to go north and south with a districts, north Louisiana would be thrown into two different districts that would go well past I-10 into the Acadian area." "As Congressmen, we do have some input into how the districts are redrawn, but ultimately the Louisiana legislature will make the decisions," Congressman Alexander pointed out. "Then the federal judges have to approve their work before the districts are finalized." The Journal then asked the Congressman about oil prices. "The price of gasoline and diesel is good for the consumer right now but bad for the oil exploration companies who need $60 oil to break even," the Congressman answered. "Also, our State Government needs oil to be at $60 a barrel or they will continue to face huge deficits." "So it is a Catch 22," Congressman Alexander said. "Perhaps, alternative energy is really the answer to our energy needs. The Pickens Plan is getting a lot of publicity about wind energy as a solution." "However, the huge cost of transmissions lines come into the picture," Congressman Alexander, who served twelve years in the Louisiana House of Representatives before going to Congress, explained. "This plan is being put forward by a man who has made billion in the oil industry and is now buying up water rights all over the west and Midwest, so what is his real goal?" "Here in North Louisiana we are all very concerned about the Sparta Aquifer," Congressman Alexander noted. "We have been able to get the right language in a bill that can help us with the problem, but no money has been appropriated yet." "First, we must find ways to use less water from the aquifer and more surface water," Congressman Alexander added. "The ideal way to help the Sparta would be find a way to inject clean surface water into the aquifer." "One of the big political footballs in Washington these days is Climate Change and Global warming," Congressman acknowledged. "Nobody really knows what needs to be done, but there is one thing for certain and that is we can't make a mistake in what we do or don't do." The next two questions concerned President Obama's cabinet choices and the National Debt. "Most of the Cabinet choices are good but the President has had a rough time with those who had tax problems," Congressman Alexander stated. "That has distracted him. I think Senator Judd, his choice for Commerce Secretary just had fundamental economic differences with President Obama." "The President's chief of staff, Rohm Emanuel is one tough smart guy," Congressman Alexander admitted. "I got to know him in my first term in Congress. He is a staunch party line guy when it comes to votes in the house." "The budget deficit for this year is going to top $1 trillion and next year will probably be more," Congressman Alexander concluded. "The total national debt is in excess of $10 trillion. It is almost unbelievable to be talking in terms of trillions of dollars when most people here in my district are only making thousands of dollars a year." |