The Eagle - U.S. Rep Bill Flores Discusses Oil and Gas Industry, Rand Paul, Foreign Policy at Bryan Town Hall Meeting

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By Andrea Salaza

Addressing the recent closures of Baker Hughes and FTS International plants in the Bryan area, U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, said it is time for Congress to look at lifting the 1970s-era oil export ban in order to stabilize the oil and gas industry.

With that said, Flores acknowledged that the industry, which he was a part of for 30 years, is prone to ups and downs.

"There's not a way to really fix that from a federal perspective," he said. "It's up to the individual company management to avoid overinvestment that way they don't have to go through the severe contractions," he said.

Flores was in Bryan on Thursday to cap off a week of town hall meetings in his district. He was in Waco on Monday and held a conference call Wednesday evening for constituents from Travis, Bastrop, Lee, Milam, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties.

He spoke to a crowd of more than 50 people at Rudder High School's Margaret Rudder Auditorium on Thursday, providing updates on his work in Washington, D.C., and spending about 40 minutes answering submitted questions about Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the Iran nuclear deal, veterans affairs and illegal immigration.

Flores told the crowd he won't be supporting the ophthalmologist and son of two-time presidential candidate Ron Paul because he doesn't "trust Rand Paul on national security."

The audience Thursday listed national security, foreign policy and federal spending and the deficit among the most important issues facing America, which Flores said met the trend he's seen at recent meetings.

"Americans are feeling very uneasy about what's happening in the world. We're feeling very uneasy about whether or not we're safe here at home," he said, noting a need to increase defense spending, which is a part of the 2016 budget proposal passed in the House.

Answering several questions about Iran, Flores said he was "uncomfortable" with the nuclear deal because it doesn't stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. Additionally, the congressman said, he doesn't trust the verification provisions because he doesn't trust Iran.

"The third thing is it doesn't require that Iran recognize that Israel has a right to exist so that's a problem," he said. "This deal is like asking France and England to negotiate whether the United States has a right to exist."

Closer to home, Flores addressed high-speed rail, noting that "local folks seem to be against it, so I don't think it's appropriate for me to try to push that over the top."
Responding to a comment submitted by a College Station veteran regarding an issue with Veterans Affairs health clinics, Flores called the Veteran's Choice Act a "good stab at trying to improve veterans health care but there are things like that where Congress didn't fix everything so we'll take a look at that."

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