Republican U.S. Congressman James Comer says the U.S. is in a “full-fledged trade war with China.” His thoughts on trade and tariffs were a central theme in his speech at a Rotary Club meeting Wednesday in Paducah. He also touched on other topics: his role in the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and why he supports Trump administration environmental protection rollbacks. After the meeting, he described his position on the current gun control conversation.
China
“We’re in a full-fledged trade war with China right now,” Comer said, describing China as a “big problem” with regard to trade. He said he believes the U.S. was going down an unsustainable path. “You can’t outsource everything,” he said. “You have to make some things in a country. If you continue to outsource everything, eventually your prosperous country will end up in poverty.” He said this trend wasn’t going in the right direction with China.
He said China cheats by manipulating their currency and making decisions without accountability. He also accused the country of stealing patents from the U.S. and said they don’t adhere to the same environmental and child labor laws.
Comer said the economy is strong, but portions of the country haven’t enjoyed that economic prosperity, particularly rural counties. He said there needs to be a focus on rural economic development in counties like Carlisle and Hickman. “If we’re going to have any chance of making those counties viable, of keeping any of their best and brightest, we’ve got to have good paying jobs in their counties. And the obvious solution to that is manufacturing.” He said factories used to be in every community when he was growing up in south central Kentucky, but said those jobs went away after NAFTA.
“I think if we’re going to rebuild rural America, we have to do it with manufacturing. If we don’t have some type of fair trade with China, then I don’t think there’s any future for manufacturing in rural America,” Comer said.
He supports the Trump administration’s efforts with China, but said he opposes tariffs and acknowledges the trade issues are starting to have a negative effect on the economy in west Kentucky. Even so, he said, “I think it’s a battle we have to participate in.” He’s hopeful the U.S. will win and have free and fair trade with China.
He said the unrest in China is a sign that something is going on with their economy. He speculated that if there’s civil unrest in China that President Xi Jinping would come to the table and try to get a compromise with the U.S.
On a separate trade note, he believes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will bring the USMCA bill up for a vote in September and said support in the House is around 300 votes, more than enough to pass the measure.
He said USMCA is important for the region’s agriculture and manufacturing. “We don’t make cars and trucks in our congressional district but we make a lot of parts for the automotive industry in this congressional district. And their supply chain would be devastated if the USMCA does not pass and get ratified by Congress.” He added that he believes this agreement is a positive development for trade.
Older Americans Act
Comer described himself as the ranking Republican on the committee that has jurisdiction over the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. He said the bill provides funding for senior programs, including Meals on Wheels.
“When you’re living in an environment where the federal government’s operating at huge budget deficits. Every program is on the chopping block. So I’m doing everything I can to salvage and keep these good programs that benefit our most needy Kentuckians, to keep those programs going,” he said, adding that the people who work with these programs often don’t have lobbyists in Washington like other groups do. He said he’s working with church and faith-based groups and social workers working at the ground level.
“It’s important that we sustain those programs and try to build on the ones that are working,” he said, noting a growing population of people needing the programs. He believes President Trump will sign the measure.
Briggs & Stratton Closure
Comer said he has been working with Murray for quite some time on the issue of Briggs & Stratton potentially closing. This work, he said, includes securing a BUILD grant for road infrastructure, working closely with Murray State to help bring hemp processors to the area and working with county leaders to provide more assistance to the industrial park. “We’re all hands on deck working with the Murray-Calloway County people to try to be able to find some good paying jobs to replace those good paying jobs at Briggs and Stratton,” he said. The company announced it was closing its Murray operation of more than 30 years by the end of next year, affecting more than 600 full-time workers.
Environmental Protection Rollbacks
When a meeting attendee asked him why he supported recent Trump administration changes to how the Environmental Species Act is implemented, Comer suggested some animals that are a nuisance to farmers should not be protected.
He said he passed an amendment in the farm bill to rollback protections for the black vulture, which he described as predatory and attacks cattle. “It’s been a problem, but they’re a protected species,” he said. “You’re not allowed to kill the black vulture.” The farm bill provision allows farmers to kill black vultures if their livestock is in distress.
“Those are more or less the type of species that they’ve rolled back on,” he said. “You’ve got situations where coyotes and wolves have been destroying livestock out in the far west. That’s what they’ve tried to do,” he said and joked that if the Asian carp had been a protected species, they wouldn’t be any longer, saying, as an example, those are the types of species the rollbacks are trying to eliminate.
Comer said lawmakers want to protect the endangered species that everyone agrees they want to see, such as polar bears and bald eagles. “What we’re trying to do, what the president’s trying to do, are the ones that have become invasive and are having a negative effect on the economy.”
Gun Control AndBackground Checks
After the meeting, Comer took questions from local media, including WKMS News. When asked about his position on gun control following the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio this month, Comer said it’s difficult to legislate against evil. “So if you pass more laws, the law-abiding citizens are going to abide by the laws but the criminals, unfortunately, are not.” He said he hasn’t seen any specific proposal with regard to changing red-flag laws or instilling additional gun control. He said he supports the second amendment, and will go back to Washington with an open mind, but at the same time strongly supports law-abiding citizens’ ability to keep and bear arms.
When asked if he would support additional or improved background checks or implementing red-flag laws, he said he would have to read the bill. “Right now, my initial reaction is that I don’t think we need additional gun control laws in America. I certainly don’t want to see weapons in the hands of people with mental illness. I don’t want to see weapons in the hands of criminals. But we have laws on the books now to try to prevent that.”
When asked what he sees as a solution that might work, that he would support, Comer said he doesn’t want to see people with mental illness causing harm with weapons, but questioned who would end up determining or enforcing the red flag laws.
