Shelby praises Bush's 'good start'

Staff

Published Friday, February 23, 2001

Staff Writer

Feb. 22, 2001 10 PM

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, has good things to say about the country's new president with whom Shelby shares a political party.

Shelby made a stop in Troy on Thursday to discuss issues that will be tackled during the upcoming 107th Congress and some affecting his home state.

He told the nearly 30 people present at the county-wide meeting he believes President George W. Bush "is off to a good start" and will put the interest of the nation first.

"I want to help the president succeed...because I want America to succeed," Shelby said.

When Shelby heads to Washington, D.C., the major issues will likely be education, national security and energy.

"They reflect everybody here," Shelby said of those issues.

As far as education is concerned, Bush has proposed an 11 percent increase in the education budget and global competitiveness is something the nation really needs to evaluate, Shelby said.

The senator said it is "a dangerous world," making defense a priority.

"We're the strongest nation in the world," said Shelby, who serves on the Defense Appropriations Committee. "I want to make sure we, as America, have the best defense."

Developing a comprehensive energy policy ­ with rising oil and gas prices ­ is a necessity, Shelby said.

He believes the nation should look at using more nuclear power and coal in a "clean and environmentally safe" way to alleviate the problem of increasing gas and oil prices.

Other issues, Shelby said, will include: tax relief, preserving Social Security and Medicare, improving Alabama and America's infrastructure and economic opportunities and privacy in the Information Age.

Shelby said tax talk "is going to be a big issue" and he believes citizens should choose how to spend their money, rather than the government telling them how to.

He also said "tax relief should be across-the-board" and uniform.

On the issue of Medicare and Social Security, Shelby said there are probably residents of Pike County who have to decide between paying their utilities, buying food and buying their prescriptions.

"Nobody should have to do this," Shelby said of such decision making.

Privacy, Shelby said, is going to be another big issue, especially "later on" as technology is at nearly everyone's fingertips.

One person in the crowd asked Shelby about his thoughts on Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"She does have a lot of ability, but I don't think she could get elected to the Senate from Alabama," he said with a smile.

Touching on a more local issue, Shelby mentioned proration.

"I don't ever recall proration," Shelby said of the time he serves in the Alabama Legislature.

He said Alabama's proration has made news across the nation and that is "not the right message" the state should be sending.

Pride in his home state is something of which Shelby has much and he said he wants to make sure Alabamians "have the same opportunities" as anyone else in America and he will continue to work towards helping those at home.  

 

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