West Columbia, SC (Paul Kirby) – Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District began a tour of the district in his West Columbia office Friday morning with a press conference. It was intended to lay out his 2020 agenda to the people of the district he represents. He will continue with stops at his other offices in Aiken and Barnwell later Friday.
Before taking questions from the press, Wilson made it clear that he expected some bipartisan support on certain issues like the creation of jobs, foreign affairs opportunities, and continued strong support for our country’s military families and the defense of America. It’s his hope that even though the current leadership of the house stays mired in the mud of presidential impeachment, his long-time relationships with other members of the House across the aisle will help him obtain his goals.
On the issue of the economy, Wilson said he would continue to work with the district’s chambers of commerce and economic development agencies to bring more businesses to SC. He touted the success of Michelin in Lexington County and BMW in the upstate as some examples of our successes in that area. He also lauded Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham for their part in the deepening of Charleston harbor to make it the deepest on the east coast. That in itself will be a huge economic impact on South Carolina.
Wilson also said he would work to protect South Carolinian’s rights to work without being forced to join a union. While continuing to fight against the dumping of plutonium in SC, Wilson said he supports a two-site disposal plan that doesn’t include any of that waste ending up at the SRS facility. He also vowed to continue to fight to repeal Obamacare, something his oldest son Alan has also done during his multiple terms as SC’s Attorney General.
Wilson said that he thinks that the growing deficit is a must fix, and said he’d like to see legislation that would make a balanced budget a law, not just a good idea. He cited SC as an example of a government that has operated within its means with a balanced budget for years. He supports a spemding freeze and also wants to continue his and other’s push to eliminate burdensome regulations that stifle small businesses and job creation.
Wilson has, and pledges to continue his support of president Trump’s push for fair trade. He also has had a long history of building friendships with other nations and said he will press harder to lead and provide support to improve international relationships with others across the globe in 2020.
On the topic of the military and our veterans, Wilson said that he would back the president’s plan of peace through strength. As a strong supporter of veterans and their spouses, Wilson was proud of the bipartisan support he received on the repeal of the “Widows Tax” for people who’ve lost spouses in service to our country. He also said he would continue to support a strong TRICARE system, the military healthcare for veterans and their families, while still supporting upgrades to the VA health system.
In response to last night’s attack that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Wilson said that Congress had approved the war on terrorism many years ago and this was just an extension of that. He referred to Solemani as a, “Man who’s killed thousands,” and said he strongly supported President Trump’s use of force to rid the world of another terrorist. Wilson also said that the Islamic people had suffered most from terrorism and factional war. He said terrorists had killed more peaceful Islamic people than Westerners. He also said he personally knew and had good relationships with many Islamic people who are from the Mideast. He looked upon them as allies and the true victims of radicals. He closed that question by saying it was up to the terrorists as to how long we as a country would be in a state of war. He said we would continue fighting until radical Islamics stop killing Americans and their own people. He also said we as a country would take the necessary steps under President Trump to protect Israel and our other allies like Turkey in the region
Wilson made no predictions as to whether Congress would flip back to Republican control next November, but said that Speaker Pelosi had failed at leading the Congressional body. He said he would work with the Democrats if their ideas were reasonable but didn’t think that the average American would support the socialistic agenda of the far left.
Wilson said he supports smaller government by doing away with responsibilities and task that should be returned to the states. He cited as an example the Federal Department of Education and said he trusted that SC Education Superintendent Molly Spearman and her staff. He believes she should be trusted when making policy decisions that affect our schools.
Congressman Wilson is optimistic about 2020. His hope is that Congress would stop the bickering and work together to get more positive things done for our country. Only time will tell if that will happen or if we will continue to be mired in lengthy and expensive debates about questionable impeachment charges and other things that in no way enrich or make the lives of the average American better.
