Sen. Jon Tester on looming battles over debt, immigration in Congress
Interview
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Well, look, when you start talking about the debt, and I'm and I'm very concerned, because that's really playing with fire and could drive our economy into depression really, really quickly if we don't pay our debts.
Look, the debt is very serious business. And we should sit down and have a bipartisan group, with government and non-government folks get together and put forth some recommendations after they study the topic about how we can get our debt under control, using common sense, rather than political talking points.
And I think if we're able to do that, we can set the country on a very secure path for economic growth and get our debt under control. But if we're going to continue to use the debt as a political football, depending on who's in power, and when they're in power, I don't think we'll ever come to a solution on the issue. I think it can be done. But we have to remove politics from this equation.
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Look, I think everybody should be open to take a look at their own shop and make a determination whether there are things we can cut, but the fact of the matter is this. What are you going to cut, and how you're going to cut it? We know that China is a pacing threat. We've seen what militarily and economically. We've seen what Russia has done with Ukraine. We know that Iran and North Korea are bad actors out there that want to do us harm.
And so from a military standpoint, what do you want to cut? Because the truth is, is that I think making sure we have a strong military is really important.
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So I think President Biden must do more, I think Congress must do more too. I don't think it's all on the administration or the administration plays a big role. From my perspective, it's more technology, it's more manpower, guess what? Those both cost money.
And if we're going to do it, that's what it takes. If we're going to secure a border, that is what it's going to take. We got some great technology companies out there that can determine what's happening on our, on our borders, they can determine what's coming across in our ports.
But those technologies cost money. And it costs money to share and distribute the information that comes off of those technologies. And everybody knows we need more manpower on the southern border. And I would say the northern border, too, as far as that goes.
And so those are the solutions, I do think it is a serious problem. And the administration needs to do more.
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I think there are points on the southern border where a physical barrier makes perfect sense. I think a wall from sea to shining sea is not a very smart idea. I think it's a gross waste of money. And I don't think it will last the test of time.
But there are some points in our border, where a physical barrier absolutely can provide some protection. And those are the areas we should look at.
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Yes, I mean, look, I would say that but I would leave that to the professionals that were on the border to make that determination, where it's most effective.
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Yes, that's right. But they have to make the presentation and say this is what we need. This is why we need it. And then I can make the decision whether we need to find it or not.
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So this is called the Major Richard Star Act. And this is a situation where a personal surgeon or military gets injured while they're on the job in the military and it forces them to retire because of their disability.
I think it's only fair that those folks get retirement and disability pay. Their ability to earn income has been severely altered and they've been forced out of the military because of their injury. I just think it's the right thing to do. We have an all volunteer military. We want folks to sign up. We have to live up to our end of the agreement.
And I think passing the Major Richard Star Act, would live up to our end of the agreement where when people get hurt in their service to this country, and are forced to retire out of the military, that they get concurrent receipts goes, disability, and retirement.
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I think the country is incredibly divided right now. I think that that division puts our democracy at risk like we've never seen it before. In my lifetime, at least, I was here on January 6, I saw what happened. I didn't even fully understand what was happening while I was watching people storming the Capitol.
But in the end, it was about our elections, which are fundamental to our democracy. And if we've got folks out there that can overthrow our elections based on false information, we got big problems. We have an incredible system of free speech and free religion and Second Amendment rights.
And we've got folks out there that want to destroy that. And I don't think they really think they're destroying it. But in fact, they are. Because when you undermine our elections, you're undermining our democracy, and you're putting it at risk.
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Look, Lisa, I am a farmer here exactly right. I bring that dirt under your fingernails perspective to Washington, DC, and Montana common sense. And I just think we need that in Washington, DC. We need somebody who's going to fight for rural America. We need somebody who's going to fight for our veterans, for a strong defense for main street businesses. And I think I bring that skill set to the table. I had a number of my colleagues that I like, and they like me asked me to come back.
But the truth is a decision was really made by my family by my wife, my kids, my grandkids, and for the good of the country, quite frankly. I think that the division also had an impact on my decision. I think it's important we try to bring this country together. And it's important that we move on so our kids and our grandkids can have a great quality of life and the same kind of opportunities that my parents and grandparents gave me.
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Appreciate the visit with the Lisa, thank you.
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