The Opinion-Tribute - Congressman Young Makes Coffee Stop In Glenwood

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by Joe Foreman

Iowa's Third District U.S. Rep. David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, spent an hour in Glenwood Saturday morning sharing his views and knowledge on issues of national and local interest with about two dozen Mills County residents.

The first-year congressman addressed questions and concerns on a variety of topics, including immigration, education, Iran and President Barack Obama.

Young, a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, recently accompanied a 25-member delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border to gain a better understanding of the challenges immigration officials and local authorities and landowners face in combating illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

"It's important to talk to people who are on the ground every day down there," Young said.

The delegation visited three different sites along the border -- in southern California near Tijuana, a rural area in southern Arizona and the Rio Grande River near McAllen, Texas. Each area, Young said, has unique challenges.

In the highly-populated Tijuana-San Diego region, the delegation learned that smugglers are utilizing jet skis along the Pacific coastline to gain access to southern California.

In rural areas, sophisticated underground tunnel systems have been uncovered. Young compared the tunnels to coal mines. He believes border patrol agents on horseback and unmanned vehicles in the sky could be valuable in rural areas.

During a boat ride along the Rio Grande, Young said fishermen lined the Mexican bank of the river. As the boat passed by, Young said it wasn't uncommon for the fishermen to take a video of the vessel or make a call on a mobile telephone, presumably to alert others of the boat's whereabouts. He said "swimming pool-type rafts" were being used to transport drugs across the river on a regular basis.

Young said security along the border is a complex issue and policy changes are needed, but until that happens, the U.S. needs to do a better job of enforcing laws already on the books.

A member of the audience asked Young to share his view on Common Core, the controversial approach to public education.

Young compared Common Core to the standards-based No Child Left Behind education reform act signed into law by President George W. Bush.

"A one size fits all approach doesn't work in education," he said.

Young said local communities and states should have the right to decide for themselves if Common Core is the right way to go. He said a teacher from Creston he spoke to recently summed up the feeling many frustrated educators have about Common Core.

"She said, "I feel more like a tester than a teacher,'" he said.

Young disapproves of the preliminary terms of the nuclear agreement Iran negotiated with the U.S., Russia, China, England, France and Germany. He opposes easing up on economic sanctions against Iran and believes the entire agreement should be scrapped.

"Start over and impose more sanctions to deal from a position of strength," Young said. "The Iranians are not to be trusted. They're a threat to their neighbors, Israel and to the United States."

Congress must be a part of any agreement with Iran, Young said.

Young went along with an audience member who insinuated the president has a history of going above and beyond his legal authority without the involvement of Congress or regard for the U.S. Constitution.

"He thinks he's above the law," Young said. "This president leaves office in 18 months and I'm counting down the days, like a lot of Americans."

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