U.S. Rep. Banks Visits Warsaw, Says GOP ‘Fired Up’ For 2020
January 3, 2020 at 1:36 a.m.
By David [email protected]
He spent part of the day in Warsaw, talking to constituents who came to his mobile office hours, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer and local media.
Republicans, he said, are fired up to get out and vote in the 2020 election because of everything that’s been going on, including the House impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“I feel pretty good about my re-election. I haven’t filed yet, haven’t made that public announcement, but plan to,” Banks said at the Times-Union building.
He said he’s been very proud of what he’s been a part of and plans to run for his third term this year. He highlighted his work on rebuilding the U.S. military, on reforms to the Veterans Administration and making it more veteran friendly, and expanding choice for veterans so they can choose options outside the VA.
“I voted for tax cuts and a lot of priorities of this administration to grow this economy. This is the best economy in my life, and I’m seeing my constituents, my friends, my family get better-paying jobs, higher wages, better opportunity for the next generation, I’m very proud of that,” Banks said.
Iran/Iraq
One of the issues in the headlines currently that Banks discussed was Iran.
Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, according to the Associated Press. Hundreds of militiamen and their supporters had broken into the embassy compound to protest U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over last weekend that killed 25 fighters. The U.S. blamed the militia for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk last week that killed a U.S. contractor and injured others.
“It’s been escalating all along, but it’s becoming more and more apparent,” said Banks. “What you have is, Iran is acting like a child. They’re flailing. Shooting down drones. They’re responsible for the death of an American contractor in Iraq. They’re directly responsible for the riots at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. All along, they’ve been the largest state-sponsor of terrorism.”
Banks said former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration rewarded Iran for bad behavior, while the Trump administration has been tough on Iran with the maximum pressure of sanctions. Those sanctions strangled Iran’s economy “to the point that they’ve been acting out in these type of ways to get President Trump to blink and give them what they want. The president is not going to do that.”
He said it’s hoped that Iran will come back to the table to negotiate a better deal with the U.S. and its allies, to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and stop the flow of money from Iran to proxy groups that do Iran’s dirty work.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal – would have allowed Iran to go down the path toward attaining a nuclear weapon and rewarded Iran with cash ($400 million) that Banks said was known to be funneled to proxy groups. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran deal.
“I give the president a lot of credit for his restraint and wisdom. He hasn’t gotten us into another war. Another endless war in the Middle East is something that none of us want to happen. So the president’s restraint and focus on maintaining the maximum pressure campaign is the right way to go, and that’s shown to be effective at this point as we measure the Iranian economy and where they are today,” Banks said.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the AP Thursday that the U.S. is prepared to take preemptive military action if it gets sufficient warning. Tuesday evening, Esper announced in addition to sending about 750 soldiers from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. would deploy more troops from the Fort Bragg unit over the next several days.
Banks said, “The president should have all options on the table to do whatever is necessary to push out strength as a deterrence to Iran. There’s a difference between sending troops into war and sending troops to maintain a presence as a deterrence, and that’s largely what the president’s strategy in this situation and others (is), but especially when it comes to Iran.”
At the same time Iran was propping up the riot at the U.S. embassy in Iraq, Banks said Iran was engaged in a “really historic” naval exercise with Russia and China.
“That speaks more to me more about China and Russia partnering with a bad actor like Iran. Iran is a bad actor on the global stage, a dangerous actor, but to see China – who wants to be an ally with the United States – participate in an exercise like that should be eye-opening for all Americans,” Banks said.
Separately, the navies of Russia, China and Iran don’t compare to the U.S. Navy. Collectively, they’re larger.
Election/Impeachment
As for how what’s happening in Iran and how it might affect the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Banks said, “If anything, as far as the election goes, the president, as commander-in-chief and as our chief diplomat, has put our interests in a better position worldwide than what they were before he took office. I think the voters will see that.”
He said there’s not been another attack on the homeland, and Trump has “done more to rebuild the American military than any president since Reagan, and even more so. He just signed the largest defense bill in American history a couple of weeks ago.”
It is a $750 billion defense bill. Banks was on the conference committee for that and serves on the Armed Services Committee.
“We’re very proud of that bill, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the president’s leadership,” Banks said.
While the House impeached Trump along party lines, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has not moved it on from the Democrat-controlled House to the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Banks said that’s because Pelosi is “playing games.”
“This has been kind of a make-it-up-as-you-go process from the beginning,” Banks said. “Everywhere I go in the district, the last couple of weeks, people are coming up to me – people I don’t know – talking about how outrageous it is that (Pelosi) sped through the impeachment process because she said Trump is a threat to American democracy, he was a national security risk, this was an emergency we have to impeach the president. And now she’s holding it back because she’s not going to get her way. It shows how much this was about politics.”
He said the Democrats know they failed in the House to make their case to impeach Trump, and once they give up control of the impeachment to the Senate, the Senate will expose that. Banks said he doesn’t know how long Pelosi can stall it, and in the end the stalling tactic has crippled the Democrats’ case even more.
“I’ve got to tell you, the feedback I get in Warsaw and all over the district traveling around these last couple of weeks, my constituents largely see this as a bad moment in American history and an unfortunate moment in American history. They’re angry about it. They appreciate that me, as their Congressman, fought back against it. And they can’t wait to go to the ballot box and vote for Donald Trump. I’ve heard that more than anything I’ve ever heard before: I can not wait to go vote,” Banks stated, saying they’re going to vote for Trump “even more overwhelmingly and with more energy because the Democrats overreached and went down this terrible path.”
Medical Device Tax
What seems to have gotten lost in the news during Trump’s impeachment by the House is that the Medical Device Tax was eliminated.
“The good news for Warsaw is, this most-recent spending bill included language to permanently repeal the Medical Device Tax,” Banks said. “It’s gone. It’s been permanently repealed. That’s great news for the medical device industry, not just for Warsaw but all over the state of Indiana.”
The medical device tax, part of the Affordable Care Act, was a 2.3 percent excise tax on the price of taxable medical devices sold in the United States.
With that tax gone, Banks said, “That means all those dollars that would have been taxed will go back into business, research and development. That’s extremely important for the industry, and important to keep the industry strong and vibrant here in northern Indiana.”
He said because of the impeachment, no one is really talking about it and it got buried in the news cycles.
“That’s huge news for northern Indiana,” he said.
USMCA
The other “big news” for northern Indiana, he said, is that the day after Trump was impeached by the House, the House passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Banks said it also was the biggest win for the Trump administration.
“It’s really important to farmers, it’s really important to manufacturers, which is what we are in northern Indiana. It’s going to mean better trade deals with Canada and Mexico for farmers. It’s going to mean that major automotive companies move jobs back to the U.S. It’s going to incentivize that. It’s a deal that replaces NAFTA and puts America first in trade deals with Canada and Mexico in a better way than it was. I think it’s the biggest win of the president’s time in office so far,” Banks said.
He said it’s not passed yet because it’s still got to go through the Senate, but Banks expected the Senate to “swiftly” pass it once they’re back in session.
Mexico has already gone through its process to approve it, but Canada also must approve it. Once Canada approves it, as Banks expects it will, “it’s just going to be huge for our economy.”
He spent part of the day in Warsaw, talking to constituents who came to his mobile office hours, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer and local media.
Republicans, he said, are fired up to get out and vote in the 2020 election because of everything that’s been going on, including the House impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“I feel pretty good about my re-election. I haven’t filed yet, haven’t made that public announcement, but plan to,” Banks said at the Times-Union building.
He said he’s been very proud of what he’s been a part of and plans to run for his third term this year. He highlighted his work on rebuilding the U.S. military, on reforms to the Veterans Administration and making it more veteran friendly, and expanding choice for veterans so they can choose options outside the VA.
“I voted for tax cuts and a lot of priorities of this administration to grow this economy. This is the best economy in my life, and I’m seeing my constituents, my friends, my family get better-paying jobs, higher wages, better opportunity for the next generation, I’m very proud of that,” Banks said.
Iran/Iraq
One of the issues in the headlines currently that Banks discussed was Iran.
Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, according to the Associated Press. Hundreds of militiamen and their supporters had broken into the embassy compound to protest U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over last weekend that killed 25 fighters. The U.S. blamed the militia for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk last week that killed a U.S. contractor and injured others.
“It’s been escalating all along, but it’s becoming more and more apparent,” said Banks. “What you have is, Iran is acting like a child. They’re flailing. Shooting down drones. They’re responsible for the death of an American contractor in Iraq. They’re directly responsible for the riots at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. All along, they’ve been the largest state-sponsor of terrorism.”
Banks said former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration rewarded Iran for bad behavior, while the Trump administration has been tough on Iran with the maximum pressure of sanctions. Those sanctions strangled Iran’s economy “to the point that they’ve been acting out in these type of ways to get President Trump to blink and give them what they want. The president is not going to do that.”
He said it’s hoped that Iran will come back to the table to negotiate a better deal with the U.S. and its allies, to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and stop the flow of money from Iran to proxy groups that do Iran’s dirty work.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal – would have allowed Iran to go down the path toward attaining a nuclear weapon and rewarded Iran with cash ($400 million) that Banks said was known to be funneled to proxy groups. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran deal.
“I give the president a lot of credit for his restraint and wisdom. He hasn’t gotten us into another war. Another endless war in the Middle East is something that none of us want to happen. So the president’s restraint and focus on maintaining the maximum pressure campaign is the right way to go, and that’s shown to be effective at this point as we measure the Iranian economy and where they are today,” Banks said.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the AP Thursday that the U.S. is prepared to take preemptive military action if it gets sufficient warning. Tuesday evening, Esper announced in addition to sending about 750 soldiers from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. would deploy more troops from the Fort Bragg unit over the next several days.
Banks said, “The president should have all options on the table to do whatever is necessary to push out strength as a deterrence to Iran. There’s a difference between sending troops into war and sending troops to maintain a presence as a deterrence, and that’s largely what the president’s strategy in this situation and others (is), but especially when it comes to Iran.”
At the same time Iran was propping up the riot at the U.S. embassy in Iraq, Banks said Iran was engaged in a “really historic” naval exercise with Russia and China.
“That speaks more to me more about China and Russia partnering with a bad actor like Iran. Iran is a bad actor on the global stage, a dangerous actor, but to see China – who wants to be an ally with the United States – participate in an exercise like that should be eye-opening for all Americans,” Banks said.
Separately, the navies of Russia, China and Iran don’t compare to the U.S. Navy. Collectively, they’re larger.
Election/Impeachment
As for how what’s happening in Iran and how it might affect the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Banks said, “If anything, as far as the election goes, the president, as commander-in-chief and as our chief diplomat, has put our interests in a better position worldwide than what they were before he took office. I think the voters will see that.”
He said there’s not been another attack on the homeland, and Trump has “done more to rebuild the American military than any president since Reagan, and even more so. He just signed the largest defense bill in American history a couple of weeks ago.”
It is a $750 billion defense bill. Banks was on the conference committee for that and serves on the Armed Services Committee.
“We’re very proud of that bill, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the president’s leadership,” Banks said.
While the House impeached Trump along party lines, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has not moved it on from the Democrat-controlled House to the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Banks said that’s because Pelosi is “playing games.”
“This has been kind of a make-it-up-as-you-go process from the beginning,” Banks said. “Everywhere I go in the district, the last couple of weeks, people are coming up to me – people I don’t know – talking about how outrageous it is that (Pelosi) sped through the impeachment process because she said Trump is a threat to American democracy, he was a national security risk, this was an emergency we have to impeach the president. And now she’s holding it back because she’s not going to get her way. It shows how much this was about politics.”
He said the Democrats know they failed in the House to make their case to impeach Trump, and once they give up control of the impeachment to the Senate, the Senate will expose that. Banks said he doesn’t know how long Pelosi can stall it, and in the end the stalling tactic has crippled the Democrats’ case even more.
“I’ve got to tell you, the feedback I get in Warsaw and all over the district traveling around these last couple of weeks, my constituents largely see this as a bad moment in American history and an unfortunate moment in American history. They’re angry about it. They appreciate that me, as their Congressman, fought back against it. And they can’t wait to go to the ballot box and vote for Donald Trump. I’ve heard that more than anything I’ve ever heard before: I can not wait to go vote,” Banks stated, saying they’re going to vote for Trump “even more overwhelmingly and with more energy because the Democrats overreached and went down this terrible path.”
Medical Device Tax
What seems to have gotten lost in the news during Trump’s impeachment by the House is that the Medical Device Tax was eliminated.
“The good news for Warsaw is, this most-recent spending bill included language to permanently repeal the Medical Device Tax,” Banks said. “It’s gone. It’s been permanently repealed. That’s great news for the medical device industry, not just for Warsaw but all over the state of Indiana.”
The medical device tax, part of the Affordable Care Act, was a 2.3 percent excise tax on the price of taxable medical devices sold in the United States.
With that tax gone, Banks said, “That means all those dollars that would have been taxed will go back into business, research and development. That’s extremely important for the industry, and important to keep the industry strong and vibrant here in northern Indiana.”
He said because of the impeachment, no one is really talking about it and it got buried in the news cycles.
“That’s huge news for northern Indiana,” he said.
USMCA
The other “big news” for northern Indiana, he said, is that the day after Trump was impeached by the House, the House passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Banks said it also was the biggest win for the Trump administration.
“It’s really important to farmers, it’s really important to manufacturers, which is what we are in northern Indiana. It’s going to mean better trade deals with Canada and Mexico for farmers. It’s going to mean that major automotive companies move jobs back to the U.S. It’s going to incentivize that. It’s a deal that replaces NAFTA and puts America first in trade deals with Canada and Mexico in a better way than it was. I think it’s the biggest win of the president’s time in office so far,” Banks said.
He said it’s not passed yet because it’s still got to go through the Senate, but Banks expected the Senate to “swiftly” pass it once they’re back in session.
Mexico has already gone through its process to approve it, but Canada also must approve it. Once Canada approves it, as Banks expects it will, “it’s just going to be huge for our economy.”
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