Shelby shares concerns during county visit

As he has done for the past several years, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby held a county meeting at Russellville City Hall on Saturday and painted a grim picture of what the country, state and county could be facing financially if spending habits aren’t reversed soon.
“We are on the road to financial bankruptcy just like Greece. I hate to stand here and say that,” Shelby said. “People want a better way of life, but if we don’t get control of our debt, our children will have fewer chances in life than we have.
“I have prayed for years that the U.S., like the state and county, would have to live within its means. We’ve been over 1,000 days without a budget now and I don’t see us getting one before November.”
Shelby pointed out the need to pull back the reigns on some of the government-funded programs to save money and get the country back on the road to a better financial state.
“The government can do everything for you but it can also take it all away, so you don’t really want them doing everything,” he said. “We need to create more opportunities for work and discourage people from not working. There are too many people in this country who don’t work at all.
“Congress needs to look at every program we have created and see if it’s essential for this country. Many have overlapping services and some don’t have substance to them and could be cut.”
Felecia James, whose husband, Jerry, owns Franklin Homes in Russellville, was present at Saturday’s meeting and expressed her concerns as a healthcare provider about President Obama’s health care plan.
“We have personal friends in socialized medicine countries who have said it has been a detriment to their health,” James said, “and I’m worried about what’s going to happen if Obamacare is completely accepted.”
Shelby said he had been against “Obamacare” from the beginning and voted to have it repealed.
“The case is now in the Supreme Court to see if what was passed by Congress is constitutional,” he said. “I don’t know what will happen, but the only way to get it repealed is at the ballot box.
“This is an election year and we will have to decide in the fall what kind of government we want in this country – a European-style socialism or a market-driven government. I hope it is market government.”
The price of gasoline was also addressed since the issue is on most people’s minds with gas prices seeming to climb daily.
“Gas prices are so high and it affects people here as much as it affects anyone,” Shelby said. “We shouldn’t be in the mess we’re in, but we are.”
Shelby said the president has stopped construction of a petroleum pipeline that would run from Canada because of environmental concerns.
However, Shelby said the project could create as many as 20,000 jobs and give the U.S. more options for oil supplies, which would ultimately lower the cost of fuel.
“There are ways to construct this pipeline and drill get this oil without harming the environment,” he said.
Shelby also touched on the tornado recovery efforts that have taken place in the area since last April.
“I came up here after the tornadoes in April that went through my hometown of Tuscaloosa and when I came to Phil Campbell and Hackleburg I saw the same thing – there was such destruction,” he said. “But the people are tough here and are rebuilding. I have done everything I could to work with FEMA and will continue because the recovery is not over.”