LEWISTON, ID (KLEW) — With boarder security at the front of people's minds across the nation, Idaho’s newest Congressman, Russ Fulcher says problems at the border can extended all the way up to the Lewis-Clark Valley.
Representative Fulcher got quite the introduction to politics on Capitol Hill.
"If I had had my way I would've scripted out maybe a little bit different entree," he says.
The Congressman officially took office in January, just days into the federal government's longest shutdown. He describes the political environment as polarizing and hostile, pointing to the clash between two of Washington’s biggest players.
"The President and of our House Speaker," he says. "And quite frankly, they just don't synchronize."
"Since the President decided that he imagined or whatever, the mythology of a crisis at the border, we say come see the reality of what happens here," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in criticism of President Donald Trump.
Representative Fulcher is among the Republicans who support President Trump's declaration of a national emergency as he pushes for tighter borders.
"What is transpiring currently on our southern border is indeed a crisis and would qualify," Fulcher says.
He describes the southern border as “porous,” opening up the U.S. to problems that can reach from Texas to Idaho.
"Any time there is illicit trafficking of drugs, that's going to filter it's way all across the country," Representative Fulcher says. "Anytime there are people here illegally that utilize the systems that our taxpayers pay for."
As border safety debate rages on, the Congressman and native Idahoan tells us he's happy to take a breath and visit Lewiston.
"The people always seem to be very engaging and very positive," he says.
Representative Fulcher did say he agrees that some type of barrier is important for boarder security, but did not use the word wall. He says he plans to visit the border himself in the near future.
Author: Stephen Pimpo Jr.
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