Congress Member John Katko knows things will be different when he returns to Washington for his third term representing the 24th district that includes Syracuse. Last week we told you, he’s optimistic about getting making some progress on issues such as health care and infrastructure improvements … at least for one year before the 2020 presidential campaign heats up.
Katko acknowledges the climate change talks going on in Poland .
“I’m one of a group of republicans that signed onto a resolution acknowledging that climate change is real and we do something about it. The problem with the Paris Accords and no one wants to acknowledge this, is it doesn’t balance it out. China is, under the Paris Accords, allowed to build coal burning plants at a rate of one-a-week until 2030. The reason I didn’t agree with the Paris Accords is it doesn’t balance the playing field.”
He’s indicated, however, he would support policy that serves the climate goals, while not disadvantaging American business.
“Something like a Carbon Fee (and) dividend, that’s gaining a lot of stem. What that would do is not only incentivize American producers to do the right things, but also would punish foreign companies who bring their goods into the US, they would be subject to a considerable tax, if they’re coming from countries that are not adhering to pollution standards.”
Katko has also supported recent moves on limiting the deadly power of some guns … as long as measures are not overly restrictive.
Gun control is not the magic elixir and I think the bump stock is a great example. You want a ban on assault weapons, fine. So you can get rid of the bump stock because it really becomes an automatic weapon, which should be banned. But there’s a lot of weapons being used. So I think taking a step back and having a good, comprehensive legislation that looks at the individuals who are possessing weapons, and keeping all weapons out of the hands of individuals, not just certain types (of guns), who shouldn’t have them.”
Entire Interview re: 3rd term, issues, & Trump's slumping popularity below
Some of his own priorities when he returns to Washington include: water quality issues and continuing to work on algae blooms; the opioid issue that’s affected Central New York severely; and mental health issues … especially related to suicide, which he feels is not talked about enough.
Katko recognizes he’s returning to be in the minority in the house – which will be a first for him. He’s not expecting democrats to hold legislation hostage … but has some cautionary thoughts.
“I think the best you can expect is we could some progress on infrastructure and health care and maybe some other things. The worst we can have is complete gridlock where they (democrats) just try to play out the string and hope in 2020 that they win the presidency. I hope it’s better than that because there’s some real opportunity to get things done, and hope that both sides can put down their swords a little bit and try and do that.”
He acknowledges the divided nature of the nation and this area, made clear by election outcomes. He notes 22 of 25 congressional districts that voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016, but had republican congress members, switched to democrats in the midterm elections.
KATKO HOPES FOR PROGRESS ON OTHER KEY ISSUES
He senses that both parties will be willing to work together on certain issues and find some middle-ground. The republican will be in the minority in the house, after G-O-P losses in November. He believes, on health care, Democrats will want to put forward reform proposals to save the Affordable Care Act.
I’m all for that if they’re going to make sense from an economic standpoint. I just don’t know if we’re going to be able to fix that, but I think that’s one of the areas we gotta look and say, ‘ok, we premised the Affordable Care Act’s viability on tens of millions of healthy people getting on the exchanges. And if they’re not, what can we do and what should we do to fix that problem.’”
Katko never supported total repeal of the Affordable Care Act and says that bipartisanship can even lead to the strengthening of it. He also thinks progress can come regarding infrastructure. Katko notes highway funding hasn’t increased since the 19-94 Highway Bill.
“We’ve been taking money out of the general coffers every year, $12-13 billion a year, to plug that hole, and it’s going up every year. So we’ve got to take a look at the fact, is a gas tax adequate by itself? Should it be indexed? Should we do something to deal with the freight issue, like they do with airlines, because the trucks are chewing up more of the road than anybody? And should we look at hybrids and electrical vehicles and non-gas vehicles? If you’re a non-gasoline vehicle, you’re not paying anything; you’re riding the roads for free.”
If Congress gets back member items, he says they would have the ability to offer federal help for local problems such as Syracuse’s aging sewers and water system. Katko expects to have to work in a bipartisan way, after a rash of party shifts in New York Congressional districts.
