Young: This election will be “more consequential than most”

Clark County

Related Photos

Congressman Todd Young, 9th District, Republican.

Discussion

Add a comment on this story

September 21, 2012

Young: This election will be “more consequential than most”

Deficit, economy and health care remain key issues in the country

By DANIEL SUDDEATH daniel.suddeath@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Fri Sep 21, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

> SOUTHERN INDIANA — With a full slate of appointments, U.S. Rep. Todd Young recently spent most of a day in the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library meeting with constituents.

He said such gatherings are beneficial to learn about the needs, concerns and wishes of the voters he serves.

“People are of course giving priority to jobs and the economy,” said Young, a Republican who was elected to Congress for the first time in 2010.

Health care, national defense and spending have also been consistent themes of conversation mentioned by constituents while Young has toured the 9th District ahead of the November election.

“I think it’s pretty clear that this election is going to be more consequential than most,” said Young, who is running against Democrat Shelli Yoder.

The national debt and “auto pilot” spending are key issues that must be addressed in the very near future, and the winners of the election will obviously have a huge role in determining the outcome of those dilemmas, Young said.

“Those who lend us money to fund our unsustainable practices will soon regard us as a credit risk, and charge us more to lend money,” he said. “When interest rates go up, the economy goes down, and we want to avoid that predicament that some of the European countries find themselves in.”

Medicare and Social Security have been issues that Democrats have attacked Republicans on during this election season, accusing many GOP candidates and incumbents of attempting to end the programs.

But Young said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the number of people he’s encountered that understand his goal has been “really about preserving those programs and keeping them for future generations.”

He said there’s difficult decisions to be made, but Congress can’t continue to pass spending packages and simply figure out “how they will pay the bills later.”

Though it didn’t pass the Senate this year, Young touted the controversial House budget that he said would have created as many as one million private sector jobs during its first year of implementation.

“Fortunately, I’ve been part of some efforts since I’ve been in Washington to really be part of the solution,” he said.

Young also pointed to his work in the 9th District, such as backing legislation that eased environmental liability at the River Ridge Commerce Center in Clark County so that military land could be transferred to the park without as much expense.

“I’ll continue to look for other opportunities all around the district where I can tweak, or fundamentally change as the case might be, policy to bring more jobs into Indiana’s 9th District,” he said.

Young said he’s still garnering more information about the Sept. 11 attack in Libya that led to the death of a U.S. Ambassador. With the pretext of the attack being an American film that offended some Muslims, Young said it’s important to remember that the U.S. still stands for freedom.

“We have a fundamental right as Americans to exercise our free speech,” he said. “I would like to hear our president in a very public way reaffirm those values.”

He added the number one priority of the federal government is to “keep Americans safe...for Americans stationed here and those that are abroad.”