EDITORIAL: Questions for Rep. Mike Rogers’ town hall

Aug. 10--U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, will field questions Thursday at a pair of town hall meetings, one in Auburn in the morning and the other in Oxford in the afternoon. Here are a few questions we hope he will answer:

-- In early May, you voted for the American Health Care Act. Health care experts say that if it became law Alabama's rural health-care providers would be placed under tremendous financial pressure, forcing some to shut their doors. Also, young children who depend on Medicaid would see services reduced. After initially celebrating the bill's passage in the House, President Donald Trump labeled it "mean."

The question: You've repeatedly said Obamacare needs to be replaced, but is the best Congress can do is pass a substitute that strains the health-care infrastructure in Alabama and other states?

-- You are sponsoring a bill -- American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2017 -- to take the United States out of the United Nations. Such a notion has long existed on the fringes of American political thought. Even its most prominent opponent, Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., said on the 1964 presidential campaign trail, "We must stay in the United Nations, but we must improve it."

The question: If passed, what do you suggest would take the place of the United Nations and its offshoots like the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund?

-- A scientific study recently published in Science magazine found climate change will hit the South's economy hardest. What legislation would you support to reverse the impact of man-made climate change?

-- For months, questions have enveloped the Center for Domestic Preparedness at McClellan regarding safety of trainees and employees who may have been unwittingly exposed to live agent and using incorrect protective masks.

Last December, a bipartisan group of the House Homeland Security Committee demanded answers in a letter to the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate. You are a member of that committee, yet you did not co-sign the letter -- despite the fact that you are the congressman who represents the CDP's district.

Why didn't you co-sign that letter? Shouldn't you be the leading House voice on CDP matters?

-- You have strongly proposed that the U.S. military form a "Space Corps" that would allow the United States to stay ahead of China and Russia in matters involving space travel, exploration and defense. The White House and some at the Pentagon have opposed that idea.

Why is this matter so important to you, and how can you persuade voters in Alabama's 3rd congressional district to care about it?

-- You have endorsed Mo Brooks in Alabama's upcoming election for the U.S. Senate -- which puts you on opposite sides with President Trump and the National Rifle Association, who have endorsed Luther Strange, and former Alabama Gov. Fob James, who is backing Roy Moore.

Why are you supporting Brooks?

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