Congressman Visits Here on 24 County Schedule
By Ian Skotte
The Herald Chronicle
February 27, 2007

U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis visited Franklin County for a town hall meeting with his local constituents and addressed their areas of concern on Thursday in the Franklin County courthouse. The meeting was part of Davis' listening tour that has included 24 counties.

"We're on a tour of all 24 counties in our Congressional District that will wind up on Saturday afternoon in Franklin, Tennessee," Davis said. "I actually have one-fourth of the entire geographic area of Tennessee."

Davis has been serving the Fourth Congressional District in Tennessee since he was first elected to the position in November 2002 by defeating Tullahoma alderman Janice Bowling.

Questions, for the congressman, ranged from Social Security and immigration to the current state of the War in Iraq.

Congressman Davis gave elaborate responses to each constituent's questions and even helped one man by quickly handing him over to a staff member for more information about healthcare.

A county commissioner asked Davis about the Walls of Jericho in Franklin County citing that some trails have yet to be opened.

Davis said that the state government has a primary position with the Walls of Jericho. He added that he would try to help get something done there, however, Davis did say that federal money has been used for the Walls of Jericho project.

Several people asked the congressman about the growing problem of illegal immigration. Davis said he voted for strong border enforcement bills in the House of Representatives and does not favor a quest worker program or amnesty.

When the War in Iraq was brought up, Davis said there should be three prerequisites before going to war: It must be as a last resort; there should be more than enough troops sent in to do the job and that number should be multiplied and there should be an exit strategy.

In an interview shortly before the forum with local citizens Congressman Davis talked about the War in Iraq.

"I supported the Iraqi [non-binding] resolution which stated, 'we don't agree with the 20,500 troop surge as proposed by the President and that we disagree with the President in his actions,'" Davis said. "I did agree with the resolution also by saying we support the troops and demand adequate funding for them."

"I am somewhat stressed about what I've been observing in recent reports about how it appears the [Bush] Administration, and the chiefs of staff and others at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] are not providing the adequate facilities for our troops. That also must be an issue where it hurts the morale of our troops and demoralizes them."

Davis also mentioned the fact that it's difficult for the President and others to claim those who oppose the President's policies are unpatriotic.

"I think folks who use each other's positions to try to imply that they're not patriotic; there are a lot of places where patriotism is not being conserved, by even the White House, by our Defense Department officials and by members of congress," Davis said.

Davis also mentioned a recent editorial he did for a Nashville publication that states his position on the War in Iraq, and what he proposes should be done.

"I describe [in the editorial] for us to get our troops out of the 'kill zone,' place soldiers on the borders of Syria and Iran," Davis said. "If we need to beef up our presence with our Navy in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, w should do that. We do have Quick Strike options....on all of the Naval fleet, and we have the ability to pretty much control any area by putting up coverage to that area with satellite imagery as well as with drone cameras."

As far as Davis' political future is concerned, the congressman smiled as said he's running for reelection in 2008.

In addition to serving as Tennessee's sole representative on the Agriculture Committee, Congressman Davis is also a member of the Committee on Financial Services.

If you would like to contact Congressman Davis, go to www.house.gov/lincolndavis and click contact.