Friday morning at the Marion County Development Partnership Catchy Friday event, U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo was the guest speaker talking about things going on in Congress in Washington, D.C. The event was held virtually through Zoom and Facebook Live.
Palazzo said he was speaking to everyone from Camp Shelby just south off Hattiesburg in the district. He said his team in D.C. has spent a lot of time fighting for funding to support the military in the area, including Camp Shelby, Ingalls Shipyard, Stennis Space Center and other military facilities throughout the area.
He was asked about the FEMA declaration for the April 19 tornado for Marion County. He said he knows there has been an appeal filed to get the designation, but he was confident Marion County will still get the designation. He said he felt comfortable that on appeal the funding will be provided.
Palazzo discussed the events of 2020, including the multiple tornados, Tropical Storm Cristobal, the coronavirus and civil unrest. He encouraged everyone to help out neighboring Louisiana and Texas that were hit by Hurricane Laura and Tropical Storm Marco last week.
“They have helped us out in the past. Now it is our turn to return the favor,” Palazzo said.
He discussed the upcoming presidential election and said the world always gets flipped into a frenzy in election years before returning to normal after the election.
Discussing what to expect after the election, Palazzo said he believed the efforts to remove Trump, if he is re-elected, will not be as great as the Democrats will be focusing on their next candidate for the next presidential election.
Regarding the bickering going on between the Democrats and Republicans, Palazzo said the key is building relationships with individuals, and through the relationships things are being accomplished. Congress has been busy, allowing for the economy to boom, he said.
Palazzo said at the beginning of this year, in the Mississippi Fourth Congressional District economy was at historical levels with record-low unemployment. One of the factors he said played a part in the success was the tax cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
“Not only did that put more money in the pockets of individuals, in the small businesses, but it also encouraged corporations to bring their profits back from overseas,” he said.
Palazzo praised President Donald Trump for negotiating better and fairer trade acts than NAFTA, allowing for more jobs in the United States. He said the new trade agreements Trump has made put America first.
“It has made a huge difference in making America stronger and more prosperous,” he said.
The coronavirus has really opened the eyes of the people, he said. People are paying more attention to what is going on, including with the elected officials. Another thing he has noticed is that more people are saying buy American and not from China. More businesses are shutting down in China and are moving back to the U.S.
“Marion County is in a great position to benefit from that. Your greatest asset is your people,” he said.
He said the economic development team has had great relationships on the state and federal levels.
Palazzo discussed the civil unrest that began with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer. There was outrage and civil protest over the senseless death of Floyd, but some of the protests have gotten out of hand, he said.
“They’ve turned dangerous, violent and destructive,” he said.
He said as a nation of law and order, there are people out there looting and robbing and desecrating monuments and places of worship. Business owners and property owners are living in fear he said. The elected officials dealing with these situations need to step up to the plate and start protecting the business owners and properties of tax payers.
At a time where there is a record number of trans-national criminal activity, hard narcotics coming into the country and a record number of human trafficking, now, he said, is not the time to discuss “defunding the police” with places such as on the East Coast and Jackson are becoming more dangerous, the police need more funding now, Palazzo said.
“We ask our police to do a lot, and we give them little,” he said.
Palazzo stressed the importance of completing the census. He said it is imperative each household completes it. Otherwise, not only could Mississippi lose a lot in federal funding, but also lose a voice in Congress.
