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Babin sounds off on several key issues
The Baytown Sun | August 19, 2015
By Matt Hollis

U.S. Representative Brian Babin, R-Texas, shared his thoughts on some of the current hot topics with the Baytown Sun editorial board this week, touching on the Iran nuclear deal, immigration and who he would like to see as the next U.S. president.

The Iranian Nuclear Deal

Babin said that after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some of Israel’s other ministers, he believes the Iranian nuclear deal is a bad one for both Israel and the United States.

“The right thing to do is to shoot this deal down,” Babin said. “It is bad for Israel and U.S. It puts Iran on path to be a nuclear power. It also removes the sanctions and frees up frozen assets. They also receive a billion dollars-plus worth of assets to be used for all kinds of purposes. There are several aspects of the deal that are not in the best interests of the U.S.”

Babin mentioned there is a lack of thorough inspections. He also said the 24-day period of time before anyone can access Iranian facilities is bad as well as the absence of oversight on Iranian military facilities.

Many Democrats favor the deal and Babin feels they are sticking with it because of their loyalty to President Barack Obama.

“But many will vote with us,” Babin said. “We talked to several of [Democrats] that are sympathetic to Israel. Some may vote with us on initial vote, but will they stick with us on veto override?”

Some in favor of the deal have stated that it is an alternative to war with Iran. Babin disagrees, saying that there are other options.

“The alternative is to dismantle for dismantle,” he said. “The president has taken military action off of the table. He also has reset the parameters of the argument. For years, they were not supposed to be enriching uranium and this deal allows that. Our sanctions alone will hurt the Iranians. And our real allies will go along with it.”

Immigration

Babin recently introduced legislation that would effectively pause a program that is granting permanent legal residency to about 70,000 new immigrants a year. The program is coordinated through the United Nations and is referred to as the Refugee Resettlement Program. The legislation, called H.R. 3314, or the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act, suspends the program until the Government Accountability Office is able to examine the cost to local governments, each state and the taxpayer.

“It’ll push the pause button on our resettlement act (signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980),” he said. “A lot of these folks are in timely programs and when those cease, the whole load goes onto local school districts, hospitals and police departments as well as cities, counties and states to pick up the tab. And some of the people coming in with them are committing crimes and terrorist acts.”

Babin says the U.S. should not stop allowing refugees in altogether, but should temporarily halt the incoming refugees and find out how much is being paid by taxpayers and investigate the national implications for this program.

2016 presidential election

Babin said he is a supporter of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the many candidates running for the Republican nomination for the 2016 presidential election.

“There are some others that I think are very good,” Babin said.

He also said that Donald Trump, the billionaire Republican front-runner, has forced many to look at issues they would not normally consider.

“His supporters are very indicative of the frustration that many Republicans are feeling,” Babin said. “The statement he said that if he wasn’t in the race, they wouldn’t even be talking about certain issues is true. He has brought those issues to the floor.”

Babin made mention of the frustration some Republicans are feeling over the lack of progress of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, which are both Republican-controlled.

“We (excluding myself) are timid and not listening to the American people and Congress is not listening to them,” Babin said. “People are fed up with open border, an almost $20 trillion national debt and seeing the debacle in the Middle East. People are frustrated and angry.”

Babin says that things are getting done better than when the Republicans were not in control of both the Senate and the House, but that it is still frustrating. However, he pointed out that both houses worked together to pass a budget that he says will balance within 10 years.

EPA

Babin says he has considered cutting funding to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Here in Baytown, this district, District 36, has more petrochemical facilities than any other district in the country,” Babin said. “These new ozone regulations, clean air acts, carbon footprints and so on will hurt us and hurt us real bad. I remember what pollution really looked like in the 1960s. It is not as bad now as it was then.”

Babin concluded by saying what he thought is the biggest problem facing the United States today.

“The biggest problem we have here is the lack of leadership in the current presidential administration,” he said.