Station:    KDNK, 88.1 fm (Glenwood Springs & Carbondale, CO)

Show:       KDNK News

Guests:    Tipton, Scott

Link:        http://kdnk.org/

Date:        May 10, 2018

Topics:     Farm Bill, SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, House Committee on Agriculture, Able-bodied, Elderly, Disability, Families with children, Training Programs, Jobs,  Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Iran Deal, Nuclear Weapons, GDP, Tax Write-offs, Wage Growth, Deductions

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U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM COLORADO’S THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, SCOTT TIPTON: [00:00:01] Hey, Raleigh. How are you?.

HOST RALEIGH BURLEIGH:  [00:00:03] I’m doing well. How are you, Congressman Tipton?

TIPTON: [00:00:28] I’m doing good, thank you.

BURLEIGH:  [00:00:29] Could you give a brief explanation of what the farm bill is?

TIPTON: [00:00:32] You bet. What it is, is to be able to make sure, first and foremost, that we do have the food that’s necessary for all of us to be able to eat, and be able to support our farm and ranch communities, make sure that if there are problems — be it drought, floods, whatever — that we’re making sure that we’ve got a sustainable food source for the most productive growers literally in the world that can feed this country and a good part of the world as well.

BURLEIGH:  [00:00:58] So, the bill passed the House Committee on Agriculture essentially along party lines. Do you know what the conflicts were?

TIPTON: [00:01:06] Yeah, affectively and unfortunately, the ranking member […] that chose to make it a partisan bill, and it was over the SNAP provision — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — that was being geared off of what is called the work requirement. The work requirement simply means that if you’re able bodied, if you do not have children, you do not have a disability, you are not elderly, but of working age and capable to work, that you at least must look for a job or to be able to go into a training program. The only way you’re going to lose any benefit is if you get a job and you’re able to provide for yourself, or you decide that you don’t want to participate in the training program. Jobs are available that they need trained people to be able to move into those jobs.

BURLEIGH:  [00:01:56] And what are your impressions of the news that President Trump has decided to pull us out of the Iran deal?

TIPTON: [00:02:03] It was never confirmed by the Senate and it had a 10-year window. We are now seven years away from them being able to step away from the agreement because it would have concluded and to develop nuclear weapons. We need to make sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon to be able to protect — particularly with their delivery systems — Europe and then ultimately, the United States as well. These are people that have chanted, “Death to America.” They are an adversary, and we need to make sure that we have provisions in place to be able to put sanctions back in place to be able to make sure that they do not develop those weapons.

BURLEIGH:  [00:02:41] So what are your plans for addressing the wealthiest Americans getting wealthier, and the rest falling behind?

TIPTON: [00:02:47] The best thing we can do is what we’re seeing is happening right now, getting Americans back to work. Since we passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, we’ve seen unemployment, now, drop to a 20-year low. It wasn’t since the 1980s that it has been this low. We’re seeing more businesses now that are starting up than businesses that are shutting down in the country. We’ve seen an actual wage growth, and it’s not consistent obviously across the country, but the average is 3.6 percent wage growth, putting more money in people’s pockets. Not to mention, that’s what the tax bill that we passed as well is going to do when people file their taxes this coming year. A family of two rather than being able to write off $12,000 in non-taxable income is going to see that increase to $24,000. If they have children, they’re going to be able to write off not $1,000, but now $2,000. Our GDP — the gross domestic product — had been stagnant, running at about 1.5% a year for the prior eight years. In the first year-and-a-half, now, of the new administration, we’ve seen that GDP growth rate climb up to — I think the last number I saw was at 2.9%. We will exceed 3% GDP growth rate. I think we’re making positive steps in the right direction.

BURLEIGH:  [00:04:09] All right. Well, we appreciate it. Thank you.

TIPTON: [00:04:12] You bet, Raleigh. Thanks for your time.