When voters head to the polls for the August 4 election, one of the races appearing on the ballot will be for the Republican nomination for the candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives 1st Congressional District seat.
U.S. Rep. Phil Roe is seeking re-election to that seat. He did face a challenge by political newcomer Clint Tribble, but on July 1 Tribble announced he was suspending his campaign. Because the deadline to withdraw from the race had already passed, Tribble’s name will still appear on the ballot even though he has ended his campaign.
Roe said it has been an honor to serve as the representative for the 1st Congressional District for the past eight years, but he feels his work is not yet done.
In recent months, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has put together several task forces consisting of House Republicans in an effort to draft policies that the party will pursue following the election, Roe said.
One of those task forces focuses on healthcare reform and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”
“I was very heavily involved in that one,” said Roe, who serves as co-chairman of the Doctor’s Caucus. “If Trump wins this election, I will be knee-deep in healthcare reform.”
The Doctor’s Caucus was once considered a political group, but Roe said the caucus has now shifted to more a policy-making group. The Doctor’s Caucus has been heavily involved in the debate on healthcare reform.
Roe previously helped to draft and present a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. His legislation was called the American Healthcare Reform Act and was supported by Republicans in the House. The bill passed the House of Representatives and Senate but was ultimately vetoed by President Barack Obama.
During the Healthcare Reform Task Force meetings, members of the group worked to devise a new strategy for healthcare reform, and Roe said his bill became the framework for the package Republicans will present to Congress after the election.
The goal of the new legislation is to “truly make healthcare affordable” for the average American, Roe said.
One of the most controversial portions of the Affordable Care Act — the fines against those who do not purchase health insurance —will not be included in the Republican plan, Roe said.
“That’s not American,” Roe said of the tax penalties imposed against those who could not afford health insurance. “That is the most un-American think I can think of, telling someone they have to buy something and then telling them what they have to buy, then fining them if they can’t afford it.”
While healthcare reform is one of the major issues facing the nation, Roe said in his opinion national security and the economy are the two biggest challenges, and they go hand in hand.
“If you don’t have a safe nation you can’t have commerce,” Roe said.
One of the biggest threats facing national security, Roe said, is that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL, as an enemy and has failed to recognize that radical Islam is behind many of the terrorist attacks perpetrated around the world, including an attack last month at an Orlando, Fla., night club.
“How do you fight an enemy you won’t even identify,” Roe said in his criticism of the Obama administration policies. “Obamacare is not going to kill us tomorrow, we can work a way around it. What will kill us tomorrow is a terrorist.”
Roe also criticized what he felt were attempts by the Obama administration to draw attention away from radical Islam in the wake of the attacks and direct it instead to enacting stricter gun laws.
“It was not an assault rifle in Orlando, it’s a radical ideology that wants to destroy us,” Roe said. In his opinion, Roe said stricter gun laws will not prevent future attacks like the one in Orlando from happening again because “criminals don’t obtain guns legally.” Enacting stricter gun laws only makes it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, Roe said.
On the economic front, Roe said a multi-faceted approach including things such as tax reform, welfare report and controlling the government’s reach into the business world will be needed to turn the country around.
“We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world and we need to fix that,” Roe said. The corporate tax structure in this nation has prompted corporations to begin moving their headquarters overseas, he added.
Roe brought up a recent ruling issued by the U.S. Department of Labor regarding overtime pay and salary exemptions. Under the new ruling, salaried employees must $47,476 per year or more before they become exempt from overtime pay. All those whose salaries fall below that amount must be paid for additional hours they work over 40 per week.
According to Roe, the new overtime rule, which is slated to go into effect on Dec. 1, will cost East Tennessee State University an estimated $2.1 Million and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville an estimated $9 Million.
“It adds 2 percent to every student’s tuition that they don’t get a thing for,” Roe said.
There are many changes that need to be made in the federal government in order for the nation to get back on the right track, Roe said.
“We need to restore America as the shining city on the hill,”Roe said. “We’ve got to change directions, and I want to be part of that change.”