Photo By Neal Embry
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer speaks to the crowd gathered at the 2019 Eggs and Issues Breakfast.
On April 15, U.S. Gary Palmer (R-D6) watched, along with the rest of the world, as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned, suffering incredible damage.
The cathedral, Palmer said, is “irreplaceable,” and Monday’s events caused him to reflect on those things that are irreplaceable in America, including a sense of community and a sense of oneness, something that’s being lost in the divisiveness of identity politics, he said.
Palmer spoke to guests at the annual Eggs and Issues breakfast, held at the Marriott at Grandview on U.S. 280.
“I come to you today, not as a Republican, and not as a white guy or even as an Alabama fan,” Palmer said. “I come to you today as one American speaking to other Americans, because at the end of the day, we’re all going to live on the same piece of dirt. We have to figure out a way to live on it together, because there are some things that are irreplaceable.”
Palmer, first elected in 2014, spoke about a number of issues at the breakfast, including infrastructure, border security, healthcare, prison reform and the Mueller report.
Comparing the Birmingham area to Nashville and Atlanta, Palmer said the latter two cities built beyond their infrastructure capabilities, and that Birmingham can learn from that and plan, not just for the next few years, but for 25 years down the road.
“We can build a great economy in this region, and maintain our quality of life,” Palmer said.
Asked about the gas tax and how to fund infrastructure in the future, Palmer said he wasn’t a fan of the tax, which was supported by Governor Kay Ivey and pushed through the Alabama legislature earlier this year. Palmer said the tax is a “short-term solution to a long-term problem,” and as the tax was passed at the same time auto manufacturers have been forced to increase gas mileage, the revenue will eventually come down.
Palmer said the country should tie infrastructure funding to the exporting of energy resources.
“We’re now producing more oil than any other country in the world,” Palmer said. “We can lead the world in exporting liquified natural gas, and we have unimaginable reserves of oil and natural gas.
“Just on the immediately-available reserves, depending on the market price of oil, we’re probably talking somewhere between $30 and $50 trillion over the next 25 years,” Palmer said.
Hoover City Council member Derrick Murphy asked Palmer what’s being done to help those released from prison find work. Palmer spoke in support of the recently-passed First Step Act, which helps inmates earn good time credits, incentivize them to participate in rehabilitation programs and fund classes to help inmates be “work ready” upon release from prison.
In Alabama, Palmer said it’s necessary to utilize the state’s online educational programs, allowing inmates to earn their high school diploma, which, he said, should make them eligible for parole if they meet other criteria.
“We’re not going soft on crime; we’re getting smart on crime,” Palmer said.
Palmer, in speaking about the U.S.-Mexico border, said his issue wasn’t with those coming here to seek a better life, but rather with the logistical problems of not knowing who is coming into the country and the ability to keep drugs out of the U.S.
“It really is a crisis,” Palmer said.
Lastly, Palmer was asked about the Mueller report, a redacted version of which was expected to be released by U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday.
“It’s not the end to the investigation, there’s other investigations going on, but it should end the concern that there was collusion, because there wasn’t any,” Palmer said.
Palmer praised Barr and said he was the “right man in the right place at the right time,” calling him a “straight shooter.” Palmer also told the crowd there’d be another report released by the DOJ’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, later this summer that will shed light on the Russia investigation. That report, Palmer said, will show abuses at the FBI and the DOJ during the investigation.
“It won’t be their finest hour,” Palmer said.
