Congressman Thomas Massie was in Maysville, Tuesday to speak to the Maysville Rotary Club.
Massie discussed the House Freedom Caucus, President Donald Trump, tax reform bill, issues with the budget and briefly touched on school safety.
According to the congressman who calls Lewis County home, the Freedom Caucus is made up of Republican and Libertarian-leaning members of Congress who band together to vote on a bill.
“If you have 40 people voting on one thing, it can change the direction of the bill,” Massie said. “They asked me to join with them by saying, “we need you to join. We need 40 people to do the right thing.” I said, “you won’t need 40 people. You all get together, figure out what the right thing is to do and I’ll already be on the floor doing it. They’re still trying to recruit me.”
According to Massie, through the leader of the Freedom Caucus, they have access to the president on a regular basis.
Massie went on to discuss the repeal and replacement of the healthcare bill that he felt did not do enough for the people.
After he voted against the bill, he received a call from Trump.
“I got a call from an anonymous caller and I wanted to know how the president had my cell phone number, but then I remembered he was the president, he probably has everyone’s cell phone number. I told him that on this issue, I couldn’t be with him, but I would be with him on about 90 percent of his plans. I also told him I liked his tax plan more than Paul Ryan’s. I’m pretty sure he chased about four people out of the room because it got real quiet.”
Massie said he often receives questions about what Trump is like in person.
“I’ll tell you a little story. My 14-year-old daughter asked me that question, so my wife gave our daughter her ticket to a ball at the White House, which is held for Congress and their families. She had a question she wanted to ask him. So, we go up to get our pictures taken and she said, “Mr. President, will you make school lunches great again?” I thought he was going to laugh, but he didn’t. He bent down to her level and he said, “Well, that’s something we need to work on together.” I think even she meant that question in a joking manner, but he took this 14-year-old girl’s question seriously.”
Massie went on to say that while he voted for the tax reform bill, he did not vote for the budget.
“I ran on tax and spending cuts and I’ll always vote for both,” Massie said. “Now, the big problem we have is with the budget. I know why there is a crisis every month. I believe there is a reason for everything, but sometimes, there isn’t a good reason.”
According to Massie, part of the problem with the federal budget bill is that discretionary funding, totaling $1 trillion is all in one bill.
“All of the funding is in one bill,” he said. “Let’s say the Freedom Caucus wants something unrelated to the spending bill, they can threaten to take the whole spending bill hostage. The same thing can be done in the Senate and it’s an even narrower margin there. The problem is, the implications of not voting for it are a total government shutdown. If we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, we would take that power away from the hostage takers.”
Massie said another problem is where money is being spent.
“One of the main problems with our budget is Afghanistan. The highway trust is $50 billion a year,” he said. “We’re always talking about needing funding for our transportation, yet we send that same amount of money to Afghanistan each year.”
Massie said he believes it is time for the United States to pull its military out of Afghanistan.
“In 2019, it will be the 18th year for this war,” he said. “I know most don’t call it a war because Congress never officially declared war, but it is a war. And, next year, we’re going to have soldiers fighting in a war and they were born after it started. It’s time to send them home.”
Massie said another issue is that the American government spent $8 billion trying to eradicate poppies in the Afghanistan region.
“Instead of eradicating it, the production has tripled,” he said.
During the meeting, one person asked Massie about his stance on school safety in regards to the threats of mass shootings.
According to Massie, the issue lies more with the state’s laws than with the federal law.
“I think we need to look at that,” he said. “Some of these are state issues, like how much security do you want at Mason County High School? That’s not something D.C. should be deciding, but I don’t want to skirt the issue. I want to talk about it.”
Massie went on to talk about how things have changed since he was in high school.
“If you hit the brake too hard in my Ford, the rifle would come out of the back seat into the floorboard,” he said. “I wasn’t even bringing it to school. My dad just left it in the car. Something has changed and it’s not just the gun. Functionally, the guns are similar to the way they were when I was in high school. I think part of it’s mental health. Many of these kids are on prescription drugs that didn’t exist when we were kids. They make it more bearable for kids by detaching them from reality, so I think part of the issue lies with prescription drugs.”
Massie said he is also in favor of allowing some teachers, who have been trained, to carry a weapon on school grounds.
“Many of these shootings happen on gun-free campuses,” he said. “Criminals would prefer an unarmed target.”
