Bond touts jobs, troop surge

~ Waterways are vital to area's transportation needs, lawmaker says.

U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, says while Washington lawmakers are focused on opposing the costly war in Iraq, people need to be reminded that local and national economies are going strong.

Bond delivered a spirited talk during a lunch visit to the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Monday touching on subjects of transportation, business and the war in Iraq.

Bond led off by telling the audience of regional leaders that Congress doesn't seem aware that the United States is enjoying an economic uptick. He commended President Bush for highlighting the prosperity during his State of the Union address last week. "Congress has no idea what's going on in America so the president has to tell them," said Bond, paraphrasing humorist Will Rogers.

Bond cited 7.2 million new U.S. jobs created since August 2003 and an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, a figure lower, he said, than in past decades.

He also pointed to Southeast Missouri State University research indicating personal income will rise between 5 and 6 percent in the 24-county region this year.

The country was in an economic downturn but has bounced back "after two rounds of tax-cutting that really left money in the pockets of small businesses," he said.

Bond said expansion of the transportation industry will be key to Missouri's future economic competitiveness.

He is hopeful the 110th Congress will pass Water Resource Development Act legislation this year giving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more money to maintain a navigable channel on the Mississippi River.

Bond's 2005 support of the Central American Free Trade Agreement was linked to getting more money for locks and dams on Missouri waterways. He said his stubbornness on the issue earned him an invitation to the White House, where he fought for the WRDA.

"I explained to them that our farmers want access to the world market, and you can have all the free trade agreements you want, but if we don't have the means of shipping our commodities by water we're not going to be able to use it," said Bond.

The issue is a vital one for SEMO Regional Port Authority director Dan Overby, who said he appreciates Bond's support of waterways.

Overby also took the opportunity to lobby Bond for more money for dredging. He said the Scott City port has handled more than 1 million tons of goods annually for three consecutive years but must still surpass that figure for two more years in order to qualify for Corps dredging under federal law.

"We just need to keep pushing hard and see if we can't get [the five-year old] WRDA bill passed," said Bond.

During the luncheon, Bond heard reports from Cape Girardeau Area Magnet executive director Mitch Robinson and Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center director Rich Payne.

Payne touted the 12,000-square-foot expansion of the Career and Technology Center with more room for classes on cabinet making and electric work.

Robinson pointed to three new businesses which recently announced plans to open facilities in the region. Mid-South Wire Co., Signature Packaging Industries and National Asset Recovery Service could soon bring more than 600 new jobs to the area, said Robinson.

Bond said it's important for the Career and Technology Center and area businesses to work together to produce an educated work force. "If they're not hiring your graduates, you're not graduating their hires," said Bond to Payne. "Make sure your training fits their needs."

Bond spoke most passionately about the Iraq war. He said agreement between the intelligence community, newly confirmed commander Gen. David Petraeus and Bush on the 21,000 troop surge made his own support of the plan easy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is quite simply the best chance we have to stabilize Iraq and to give Iraqis the responsibility we all want them to have to keep their country in good shape," he said.

"We should know by the end of the year whether or not they're going to do it."

Bond, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, denounced a Senate resolution against the troop buildup. He said it would do three things: encourage the enemy, discourage U.S. allies and tell the troops they are not supported.

Bond was in a gregarious mood during the event, regaling the crowd with jokes and anecdotes. The loudest laughs came when he asked Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission director Buz Sutherland what slogan he proposed to advertise business in Bootheel counties.

"I kind of like 'Bootheel of Missouri: Let Us Spur Your Profits,'" said Sutherland.

"I trust you're also looking at other options," joked Bond.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245