US Rep. Gohmert Speaks to Rotarians, Lions at Collaborative Meeting

August 15, 2018 - A combined meeting of Rotary Club and Lions Club met Tuesday, August 7, 2018 to welcome their guest speaker Louie Gohmert, U.S. Representative from Texas 1st Congressional District.

Representative Gohmert was introduced by Rotary Club member Melba Gillis who spoke about her first meeting with Gohmert and the impression he made upon her with a single word - ask.

After the introduction, Rep. Gohmert said, "It's great to be back here speaking this time to a combined Rotary and Lions Club." Gohmert joked about speaking in public and why he felt he is often chosen as orator. He summarized by saying, "All I can figure is a lot of the country really likes the way 75% of East Texans think and... I'm a reflection of the big majority of the way we think here."

He recalled the growth of Center since his last visit and mentioned the Civic Center and what it has done for the area. He addressed current events including natural gas, "If we get natural gas going like I think it should. I think it ought to be the primary fuel in America. It just should. Its clean; its just efficient and it comes from here." He described how other countries are clamoring for natural gas so it just makes sense.

Another subject addressed was the education system and the ratio of teachers in school systems which is an average of 50%. He felt the federal government's oversight is a contributing factor for the reasons school are having to hire so many additional employees which don't have to do with education but has to do with the bureaucracy. It is a ripple effect. The government wants numbers and statistics which means the states have to hire people to process and provide those reports to the government. The state has to get its information from the school districts. So, the schools are having to hire positions to provide the information to the state government for the federal government. Gohmert said, "So when the federal government gets too involved, we cause more bureaucracy and we don't necessarily get better results. I know Timpson and some other school districts, their trying to put vocational ed back in the schools and Texas is encouraging that and I think it is a great thing."

Gohmert talked about immigration and border wall funding. "Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy did not support the idea of a border wall before Trump was elected, they didn't support a no amnesty policy, they didn't support a secure the border first before we do anything." As a result, Gohmert said the government only set aside about 1.5 billion in the last appropriation for border wall and fence.

Talking to Senior Robert Nichols who was also a guest at the meeting, Gohmert said, "One of the best things down there is the four boats that the Texas legislature paid for without any help from the federal government." He continued, "The thing is when our Texas DPS are out there on the river, people don't cross. But the federal border patrol had instructions that have gotten better under Trump but they're still not as tight as they need to be." He spoke about the process DPS does which includes monitoring and identifying for the border patrol where people are. He referenced one particular experience where DPS told border patrol the location of several groups along the river; however, as soon as DPS left, border patrol didn't stop them from crossing but just processed them after they entered America. Gohmert summarized the problem saying, "The Texas DPS says your not coming onto American soil. The border patrol says just come on in and we'll in process you. So, I'm hoping and I understand we are moving toward the federal government taking more of the position of the Texas government and that is if you want to come in, come in through one of our ports of entry."

He emphasized the importance of border security and the impact it will have on the drug cartel, hampering their profits and making it harder for them to cause corruption in the Mexican government. He believes Mexico could then grow into a top 10 economy. He said, "When I look at the Hispanic culture I see, generally speaking, a faith in God, a love of family, and a hard work ethic. Three things I think made America great. I want more of that for America but it needs to be legal. And why is Mexico, they've got incredible natural resources, better location than the United States really, I mean right there between the two oceans. It's just an incredible location. We know they have hard working folks. Why are they not a top 10 economy. It's because of the corruption. That's the drug cartels."

His last topic concerned tariffs describing them as a negotiation. It's a deal process. He referenced a conversation he had years ago about a deal struck having to do with the chicken and beef industry. When he mentioned it wasn't a good deal, the answer he said he received was, "Louie, you've got to understand both the Republican and Democratic administrations have had the same approach on trade agreements. We believe since we're the biggest economy in the world, even when we make a deal that's much better for another country than it is for us, we end up being the biggest beneficiaries because we are the biggest economy. I'm going, no that's not right. A bad deal is still a bad deal. It's better for them. If somebody is going to have our markets open to their stuff; then their markets ought to be open to our stuff." Gohmert finished by saying, "If we are going to have businesses reach their capacity, we've got to have better trade deals."


From left: Rotary Club President Hollie Adams, U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, Texas District 3 Senator Robert Nichols, and Lions Club President Joey Lawson