Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Congressman Mark Souder visited with 14 Syracuse Chamber of Commerce members Monday at the Oakwood Inn and Conference Center.
He introduced himself as a businessman from Grabill. He was first elected to Congress in 1994 after working on the Dan Coats staff for 10 years during Coats' tenure in the House and Senate.
The discussion went through a mix of topics, from the federal government's intervention in education to Canadian lumber imports.
Souder represents the newly formed District 3, which includes most of Elkhart County and all of Kosciusko County among others, and now represents 680,000 citizens.
Souder was named chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources for the 107th Congress. The Criminal Justice Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the domestic and international anti-drug efforts throughout the federal government, and is the authorizing subcommittee for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
In addition, the panel has oversight of several other agencies, including the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and the Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the federal budget.
He began his talk discussing a bill to provide a 120-percent tax credit on dollars given to charity.
"Social services are the key to helping people," he said.
He is a reluctant member of the education committee against national testing of schoolchildren.
"Decisions are made better at the local level," he said. "Washington is trying to take over the educational system. What is a science test going to teach?"
The tests, he said, are politically biased and don't cover intelligent design.
"If intelligent design isn't taught," he said, "how can people be converted to Christ? They can't be saved if they don't believe they're fallen."
He pointed out that Indiana's test results are dismal and kids can't compete on a national or international level if they can't read, operate computers, run machinery or don't have the ethics to show up to work on time.
Harlan Steffan asked what is being done about the drug and alcohol problem.
Souder said 78 percent of all crime is drug- and alcohol abuse-related and is the No. 1 facilitator of social problems.
He blamed the Clinton administration for the loss of many gains when the former president said on the MTV cable television program that he "didn't inhale" when offered marijuana.
Ex-President Bill Clinton also dropped the interdiction against South America, where most of the U.S.' cocaine and heroin supply is originated, he said.
The Congressman said prevention is the first step - to find at-risk kids and reach them and their parents through social programs.
He said terrorism is funded through drug money.
"People with drug and alcohol problems are people searching for meaning in life," he said. "It's not just kids in poverty. It's also kids with well-to-do parents who pay no attention to them."
He said the problem is ultimately a spiritual question and described a successful program in San Antonio, Texas, where people have been rehabilitated through Bible study.
He spoke about the irony of not letting the Ten Commandments be posted in schools and on public property.
"Are they afraid the Ten Commandments will reach out and grab kids? Yes, they are. They are convicting," he said.
He noted Black Sabbath and River Styx T-shirts are worn to schools and the study of ancient religions is allowed in schools.
"Free speech is free speech and ought to include religion."
Larry Segal asked several questions involving the exodus of college graduates to other states, known as the "brain drain."
Souder said this is a huge problem for the state.
"We haven't invested enough or targeted enough of our students," he said. "Our test scores are way too low, our performance is way too low.
"Industries are moving out of the state and new immigrants are taking the low-paying jobs."
He said there are many remedies for the problem. One is the development of cluster industries and pointed to the medical devices industry in Warsaw as a perfect example and the recreational vehicle industry in Elkhart as another.
"Help the people who are there build on ingenuity and gear your schools toward the business," he said.
Souder said while Indiana doesn't have mountains or beaches, what we have is water, and water is the gold of the future.
"We have lower home prices, a better quality of living," he said. "Build the bike paths, give people a place to hike and exercise. We offer a comfortable state of living."
A man in the residential home building industry asked about free trade and Canadian lumber. He was against the 30 percent import duty.
"Canada is our major source of wood," he said.
Souder said, "The U.S. just doesn't have the lumber" and blamed no-cut legislation in the Northwest for dependence on foreign lumber.
Souder said there is a "catch-22" regarding the Canadian lumber, however. Neither Ontario nor Quebec signed NAFTA and aren't subject to the import taxes; Vancouver and British Columbia will add the surcharges.
"This will only drive up prices so a few people can benefit in the Northwest," he said. "The residential building industry has kept us from a major recession."
