United States Senator David Vitter addressed Morehouse parish residents in a town hall meeting 2 p.m. Tuesday, August 26.
According to Vitter, his three main focuses are fuel and energy prices, agriculture and illegal immigration. He opened the discussion after giving a brief synopsis of his views on each topic.
Fuel and energy costs were brought up by several citizens.
“I think this is the most immediate challenge, in some cases crisis, all Louisiana families face,” Vitter said. “The most impact I can try to have on Congress is on energy.”
The senator said he is for a more secure energy future, and he thinks it can be accomplished through aggressively acting on both the supply and demand sides of the issue. According to Vitter, congress has been stymied for the last few months regarding bills that would lead to more effective energy usage. However, he said he feels hopeful that a vote will soon be forthcoming.
Vitter repeatedly said the Public Service Commission is the governing body that can do the most for Louisiana’s energy costs in the immediate future.
“I believe Northeast Louisiana has the highest energy cost in the state,” Vitter said.
He further pointed out that the high energy and health care costs prevent both individuals and companies from moving to the area.
Kay King, president of the Morehouse Parish Economic Development Corporation, addressed Vitter regarding the need for a better highway infrastructure. According to King, Northeast Louisiana has been passed over for interstate projects for the last 40 years, and the pending interstate connecting Little Rock to Alexandria would not affect Morehouse Parish for another 30 years. Vitter agreed that the time frame was too long and said he would look into alternative non-interstate road projects for the area.
The majority of agriculture discussion came from Representative Sam Little and concerned citizen Joe Hinkey.
Hinkey sought assistance to introduce products his company produces, from paper industry byproducts, to the chicken farming industry; Vitter arranged to speak with him after the meeting.
Little secured Vitter’s support to help Louisiana and Arkansas by allowing water from the Arkansas River be diverted to Bayou Bartholomew, creating a consistent water supply for farms and butsinesses in the area. Vitter said the move would help the economic development of the area and said water will soon be a scarce commodity, and cited that other aquifers in the state undergoing issues like salt water intrusion.
A resident of Bonita came to the meeting to speak about rising energy costs and ask for assistance with the Bonita water system. She said water prices in the village are high, butt the water is not drinkable. Vitter agreed to help the village get federal grants in order to develop an infrastructure for the water system.
Another concerned citizen asked Vitter about proposed plans for a super highway running through the nation from Canada to Mexico. The senator said he is against the plan, particularly citing immigration issues. Vitter said he is for a carefully regulated temporary worker program but he does not think working in the country should be an invitation to stay or an automatic path to citizenship.
Vitter held the meeting as part of a commitment he made to have a town hall meeting in every parish in the state for every congress he attends.
Several representatives from Morehouse attended the meeting, including Bastrop Mayor Clarence Hawkins, Sheriff Mike Tubbs, and Judge Robert DeBlieux. The Bastrop City Council, the Morehouse Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Bastrop Main Street and the Susan G. Komen Foundation were also represented at the meeting.
