HUDSON – U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg on Thursday stressed the importance of creating manufacturing jobs and keeping the job market in the United States, rather than outsourcing jobs to other countries.
America, the Tipton Republican told at least 20 people at the Southern Michigan Center for Science and Industry in Hudson, originated as a manufacturing country and was once the face of innovation for the rest of the world.
“We need more of the same ideal instead of outsourcing these kinds of jobs abroad,” he said. “…It’s great to have a place here (in Lenawee County) that is training people for the jobs we need today. Jobs that offer better opportunities for a living wage, a career for life, and opportunities for expansion in the trades.
“I look forward to leadership here at CSI to assist with numerous manufacturing operations.”
While he was home in Lenawee County over the Easter weekend, Walberg said he also reached out to the communities of Jonesville and Brooklyn with similar community gatherings.
The 7th Circuit will be changing soon, he said, due to the state’s redistricting approved by Michigan’s new redistricting commission in December. Walberg, who is running for re-election, would serve in Michigan’s new 5th congressional district, which stretches from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan. It includes all southern counties of Michigan as well as Jackson County, most of Calhoun County, and southern part of Kalamazoo County. The cities of Kalamazoo, Portage or Battle Creek are not included.
Changes from the current 7th District that Walberg serves include the removal of Eaton County and portions of Washtenaw County, and the addition of the southwestern counties. Lenawee County remains under Walberg’s jurisdiction in the new maps.
“It’s going to be a long district,” he said. “But until then, I still have to represent the 7th Circuit for the rest of the year.”
Walberg came up with several issues during his hour-long meeting. He said the actions currently being taken by President Joe Biden’s administration would harm the US and turn it into a “crisis country”. Walberg said the US is experiencing an economic, crime, border, national security and energy crisis.
The US currently has the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years, he said, at 8.5% as of last week. Inflation, he said, is caused by reckless government spending.
“Inflation is the result of bad policies and overspending,” he said.
Bad policy decisions have been a constant, Walberg said, since Biden took over the presidency on Jan. 20, 2021.
Americans, he said, feel the effects of bad policy decisions while they’re at the pumps. The national average for a gallon of gasoline, he said, was $4.11 last week. The blame for the high gas prices, Walberg said, does not lie with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the current war with Ukraine.
“The fact is that … reinvestment efforts are not happening because of the chilling effect of the Biden administration. We experienced the same thing during the Obama/Biden administration and it ended during the Trump administration when we (gas prices) went down before COVID hit $1.79/gallon.”
Before Biden took office, a gallon of gas cost $2.38, according to Walberg. The Biden administration is not doing enough to develop the country’s available oil resources, he said.
“Unfortunately, the Trump administration hasn’t moved on for another four years to keep up with working politics,” Walberg said.
The challenge ahead, Walberg said, is to show the country that responsible Republicans can make a positive difference. With a Republican-led effort, the continuation of the border wall along the Mexican border would be restored, Walberg said. The work stop at the border wall was issued by Biden when he took office.
Having the wall, Walberg said, would ensure foreigners could enter the country legally. Without a wall, the legal process cannot take place, he said.
“What is currently happening at the border is due to terrible politics,” he said. “…What we were trying to do, a border policy, worked. And it worked fine. That has now changed. Unfortunately, elections have consequences, and we live with that.”
However, Walberg stressed the importance of voters going to the polls in every election. He answered several questions from local residents about how to conduct elections safely. Asking difficult questions of employees and poll workers, ensuring there are no signs of illegality, and requiring voter and photo identification can reduce the possibility of potential voter fraud, he said.
“Those are the things we have to do. We also have to show the polls,” he said. “We are not discouraged from going to the polls. We need to bring more people into the voting process.”
Poll observers, supervisors and poll counters must be properly trained for their duties, he said, and there must be a nearly equal number of Democratic and Republican officials at each polling location. Law enforcement, he said, must be immediately available in the event voter fraud occurs.
As for postal votes, he said they should only be requested by the voter. When submitting the ballot, the voter ID and signature of the ballot should be included for verification purposes. Due to COVID-19 concerns during the 2020 election, employees have been placed in a “frustrating” and “confusing” system, Walberg said.
Walberg, who has sponsored legislation alongside Democrats in the past, praised the level of bipartisanship that takes place in politics. Because of the 24-hour news channels, the internet and social media, which instead tend to show the political conflicts, many people can’t see this, he said. Conflict, he said, boosts ratings and sustains viewership.
“I have many friends across the aisle. I try not to make enemies,” he said. “When I vote against or strongly oppose an issue, I try to do so in a way that is based on facts and arguments. A lot of that happens in politics.”
Comments are closed.