‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.’ –Lewis Carroll
Rep. Amash (R-MI) on the border security crisis
“I think both sides are making a mountain out of a molehill,” Amash said in an interview on Friday with the Sentinel-Standard. “Both sides are pretty stubborn. Both are exaggerating the significance of the wall as part of this legislation.
“Whether the wall is $2 billion or $5 billion will have relatively little practical effect. It’s not unusual. These kinds of things happen in a lot of these fights, where a particular element gets exaggerated for political purposes.”…
“I don’t have an inherent objection to a border wall,” he said. “It needs to be done thoughtfully. It should take into consideration private property at the border and environmental concerns. If those things can be taken into account, I’m OK with it.”
Rep. Amash argues above that a few billions are small potatoes, but this conflicts with his view that budget items ought to be considered individually and in detail.
But the congressman believes the issue has been blown out of proportion. He thinks much more attention should be paid to the entire spending bill, because it includes far too much waste that will continue to balloon the federal deficit, and in turn the massive national debt.
“If the issue is whether we’re going to spend $2 billion or $5 billion on a wall, that’s not worthwhile (for a shutdown),” he said. “The real issue people should be concerned about is the excessive spending in other areas. It’s the departments and programs we are spending hundreds of billions on (that are the problem).”
Amash said that in order to prevent future shutdowns, a more open and deliberative process needs to be established. He feels that each item in spending bills should be discussed and examined individually, rather than each party taking hard stands and fighting.
Rep. Amash, a conservative Republican, believes the government spends too much. However, in this article at least, he fails to explain why he thinks spending billions for border security doesn’t deserve careful examination.
I expect Rep. Amash to object to “executive overreach,” but he didn’t mention any concern over that.
https://www.sentinel-standard.com/news/20190102/amash-doesnt-expect-quick-shutdown-resolution
