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Shelby proud of money he's gotten for state
He said much of rural Alabama doesn't have the tax base to construct needed infrastructure for economic development and he does what he can to help. "Alabama needs money for infrastructure," he said. "We create conditions in Washington where you can compete, get a good education... good roads," the Tuscaloosa Republican said, speaking at Gloria's Pour House Café in Grove Hill. Shelby said, "I'm not for wasteful projects...no bridge to nowhere," a reference to a $300 million dollar bridge slated in Alaska that has become a symbol of governmental waste. Shelby said he has steered over $300 million to Alabama's colleges, money that had gone to "MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology], Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago." He said the money to help educational needs would help develop in-state engineers and technical people for "well paying jobs" at plants that are being sought for Alabama. As examples, he mentioned the possibility of a huge new steel mill and an EADS aircraft tanker manufacturing plant in Mobile and said they would provide jobs for Clarke County people if they come. "I can't create jobs but I can help create the right conditions," to bring jobs to the state, he explained. Several local residents mentioned projects they were interested in and all involved the needs for funds. Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day thanked Shelby for his help in garnering funds for economic development in the county in recent years. A delegation that will include Day and other county leaders are in Washington this week seeking more federal dollars for local projects and will be calling on Shelby, as well as others in the Alabama delegation. No one wanted to talk about debt but when a newspaper reporter brought it up, a Shelby aide dug out a chart that shows this year's $2.7 trillion deficit budget and how a taxpayer's dollar is divided up among various government needs. Shelby said the deficit is a problem. "A billion here and a billion there and it adds up," he observed. He said the U.S. Congress has no mandated spending limits so deficit budgets will likely continue to be a problem. Shelby did not specify the national debt but it is $8.7 trillion and climbing at a rate of over $1.5 billion a day. Shelby compared the debt to a beautiful well built home. "But if it develops a leak here and a leak there and we don't fix it, it will ruin the whole house and that's America," he said. Concerning the war in Iraq, Shelby said the U.S. had great immediate success there but it did not last. "We are in a quandary over there now," he said. He said it is too early to tell if 20,000 additional troops for Iraq will help the situation "but we will soon know in a few months." He said the U.S. has to be careful how it handles Iraq because neighboring Iran is the "big boy" in the region and will likely soon have nuclear weapons. He acknowledged that much of what has been done in Iraq is a "big mistake" but said it would be a bigger mistake to pull out now. "I am not going to vote for cutting off funds" for the Iraqi war, he said. He did not mention the war's monetary cost but it is $3.7 billion and over 3,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the four-year conflict. Regarding immigration, Shelby said the U.S. immigration policy is broken. He said he is not in favor of the plan supported by President Bush of giving illegal immigrants already in the U.S. amnesty.
Shelby boasted that he has made over 1,300 visits across the state since being in office. He annually visits each of Alabama's 67 counties.
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