The Bartelsville Examiner-Enterprise - Istook Visits B'Ville In Campaign For Governor

Istook Visits B'Ville In Campaign For Governor

By Jessica Miller
E-E Staff Reporter
Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Oklahoma 5th District Congressman Ernest Istook made a visit to Bartlesville on Friday as he continues to promote his campaign across Oklahoma in the race for governor.

"What really stirs people up right now is the illegal immigration issue and most people see it the same way as I do. If we don't cut off the state benefits to people who are here illegally and if the state doesn't help enforce the laws against employing illegals, and doesn't help in deporting them, then we won't solve the problem," Istook said in an interview with the Examiner-Enterprise.

Istook underlined the importance of securing the U.S./Mexico border and shared some of his views on education while he was in Bartlesville for several events, including SunFest.

"Most illegals are no longer at the border, they've migrated to the heartland," he said.
Istook said he feels Oklahoma must take a role in the immigration reform process.

"The current governor even told the Tulsa World (newspaper) that immigration reform should consider amnesty," Istook said. "I think he's totally wrong there. He is weak on amnesty and he's weak on enforcing our laws regarding illegals.

"Amnesty should not be given. It was a bad idea yesterday, it's a terrible idea today and it will be no better tomorrow. We should never have amnesty for people who are here illegally."

Twenty-eight other states have declared English as their official language and Istook said he wants to see English declared as the official language of Oklahoma.

"Remember, these illegals are suppressing the wages of American workers. Something else the state needs to do is move people off of public assistance and into these same jobs," Istook said. "We pay people not to work who are capable of working and then we pay for the cost of benefits and services for illegals. I don't want to pay twice."

Istook disagrees with Democratic Gov. Brad Henry's education initiatives and said Henry has sent the state in the wrong direction.

"Neither the casino gambling nor the lottery have been good for the state. They've only brought in a small fraction of what he'd claimed they would produce as far as revenue," he said.

"We miss the boat if we think that education is all about money. The biggest gaps in education are that parents are not sufficiently involved in accepting responsibility for their child's education and we don't have enough discipline."

Oklahoma can have globally competitive schools if the importance of science, math and other demanding curriculum is emphasized, Istook said.

"That process starts in the home. If parents don't help instill the discipline that's necessary to study science and math then the young people won't take the courses," he said.

"And we need to have incentives for people to pursue math and science education. Those are things we might address in the tuition process or in the financial aid process and I want to look at that."

Tax reform is another issue Istook approached - he says the state income tax is one of the biggest barriers to the growth of Oklahoma and many people have left Oklahoma for tax reasons.

"We have to keep prosperous people in Oklahoma so they will create jobs here. That means dramatically lowering the state income tax - I'd love to eliminate it, but at least we should dramatically lower it - and it also means abolishing the estate tax."

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