Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., says President Obama’s terrorism policy is sorely lacking.
Times Square terrorist Faisal Shahzad’s ability to board a plane in New York City despite having been placed on the government’s no-fly list proves the point, Price explained on Newsmax.TV.
“On this and so many other things I see the administration pointing fingers more than working to solve the challenge,” said Price, who is chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House conservatives.
“Our thanks go out to the New York City Police Department and the FBI. What incredible work they did to make certain this individual was apprehended.”
The White House deserves no such praise, Price says.
“This administration isn’t doing all that we must to make certain that these kinds of activities don’t occur,” he explained.
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“What we need is a strategy going forward. What are we doing to make certain the American people are absolutely as safe as can be? I haven’t seen that kind of resolve put forward by this administration. That’s what people across this land are crying out for.”
The White House also has mishandled the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Price says.
“My sense right now is that they didn’t” act quickly enough, he said. “The action of the administration initially was to belittle what happened in the Gulf, but also to not have the people they needed on the ground.”
BP has taken responsibility for the disaster, just as it ought to have, Price says.
He hopes the accident doesn’t derail offshore drilling for oil and gas.
“It can and should be done in a responsible way. There are more safeguards that should be put in place,” Price said.
But the bigger issue is creating an overall energy policy.
“Are we going to allow onshore exploration, allow clean coal technology, expand nuclear capacity? Are we going to utilize oil shale technology that’s used in other nations in an environmentally responsible way?
There’s a fundamental problem with giving hundreds of billions of dollars to energy producing nations that hate us, Price points out.
He ripped into Democrats’ plans for financial regulation. “The strategy we see coming out of the White House is all politics and power and no reasonable policy.”
The proposals in Congress would ensure future bailouts, Price says.
“We believe that ought to never happen again,” he pointed out. “Democrats believe it should be enshrined into law.”
The Democrats also have failed to control the government-backed mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he notes.
“We believe they ought to be reined in, decreased in their power,” Price said.
“The Democrats believe they ought to be unleashed, given unlimited power. They believe the taxpayer ought to be on the hook for whatever Fannie and Freddie want to do.”
Republicans believe in responsible regulation. “Democrats believe the regulatory scheme simply needs to be oppressive to avoid risk,” Price said.
“I always remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that if there’s no risk, then there’s no reward. Are we going to allow an economic system that allows for risk and opportunity, or are we going to have a very oppressive economic system that results in no American dreams being realized?”
Price doesn’t understand the recent federal court decision that declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.
“The vast majority of Americans are scratching their heads and saying, what’s going on?”
The big problem as far as religion goes is that the White House doesn’t recognize American exceptionalism or its Judeo-Christian roots, Price maintains.
“I find that to be unconscionable and offensive,” he said. “One of the reasons we’re great is that we’ve been founded upon and adhere to Judeo-Christian principles.”
Price lambastes the new healthcare law, which isn’t a surprise given that he was a practicing doctor before coming to Congress.
“It doesn’t work for the federal government, patients or doctors. The bill needs to be repealed.”
What’s needed is reform that will give Americans insurance coverage, solving portability and pre-existing condition issues.
True healthcare reform would ensure that medical decisions are made between patients and their doctors, rather than by bureaucrats, Price says.
And the lawsuit abuse issue must be addressed.
“You can’t be serious about healthcare reform if you’re not serious about lawsuit abuse reform, and the law signed by the president does absolutely nothing about it.”
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