Zinke talks foreign affairs, Amtrak and CFAC at town hall meeting

From foreign affairs to issues facing the Flathead Valley, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke spoke on a variety of topics during a town hall meeting Thursday at Flathead Valley Community College.

The Republican Congressman from Whitefish said the country is facing many tough decisions, and assured the roughly 100 people in attendance that "it is fixable.”

“Congress is going to do their part,” he said.

Access to health care for veterans was a main talking point at the meeting. One audience member said he’s been waiting months to see a doctor.

“No one cares about veterans more than me,” said Zinke, who is a former Navy SEAL and serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

He said former Veterans Affairs Secretary Ken Shinseki wasn’t able to fix a department plagued with criticism that it was unresponsive to veterans issues. He said he is looking to new Secretary Robert McDonald to turn things around.

“We need to make sure services go to veterans that need it,” he said.

Zinke talked about U.S. foreign policy and the war on terrorism both during his opening address and a question and answer period.

“Air operations alone won’t be effective — to defeat ISIS it will take our sons and daughters to embed on the ground,” he said.

Terrorist organizations will stop at nothing to attack the U.S., he said. That threat includes people with weapons moving across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Our goal, as a country, should be to separate extremist Islam from mainstream Islam,” he said. “We have a significant stake in making sure the radical fringe don’t expand.”

Zinke expressed concerns about claims that Iran may be developing a nuclear weapon, which could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell,” he said, that he would let Iran have nuclear weapons.

Zinke opened his remarks by criticizing President Barack Obama, saying he is “lawless and ignores the Constitution.”

“In Montana, there are certain things that are not negotiable — faith, family and the Constitution,” he said. “You’ll never find me not defending the Constitution.”

“If you represent Montana, you should probably add guns and coal to that,” he said. The remark drew laughter from the crowd.

Zinke also spent time on local issues, including Amtrak funding and cleanup of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site.

He addressed his vote on the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act. He voted in favor of the funding package, but not before he backed a proposed amendment in the bill that called for stripping Amtrak of its entire federal funding.

The vote, he called a warning shot, got the attention of Amtrak officials who asked to meet with him.

“Amtrak has got to reorganize,” he said. “They are East Coast centric. Their business model in Montana has to change. They need to put more effort into the rural areas.”

He lambasted Amtrak for scheduling its passenger rail service to pass by Glacier National Park at night when a view of the park is impossible. He also called out the Empire Builder’s on-time performance increasing from 23 percent to 73 percent as not good enough.

“Tourism matters in the Flathead,” he said.

Zinke said he would not support a Superfund listing for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed adding the smelter property for cleanup of contaminants in soils, surface ponds and groundwater.

“My fear is that it will never get out of the Superfund status,” he said. “Then we lose the ability to develop that site in other ways.”

Zinke called for an “independent environmental” survey and cleanup. He noted the access to a railroad spur line, power, natural gas and proximity to the Flathead River as assets in redeveloping the site.  

“There’s a lot of opportunity in CFAC to revitalize Columbia Falls,” he said.

One woman from Columbia Falls said the community is eager to get a Superfund listing to get the cleanup moving forward. She asked Zinke to get behind what his constituents are asking.

Zinke reiterated his position that the cleanup should be overseen by the state rather than the EPA to get fastest mitigation.

“I’ll jump on whatever train will get that property clean the fastest,” he added.