By By JOHN DILMORE JR. Publisher
United States Senator Jeff Sessions visited Escambia County this week as part of a four-day, 18-stop swing through the state during which he's speaking with constituents about their concerns, and letting them know about his.
Both Brewton and Atmore were on Sessions' list of stops. The former Alabama Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District weighed in on a number of topics during a meeting with the combined editorial boards of The Standard and the Atmore Advance.
Sessions, a Republican who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1997, started out with his thoughts on the state of the economy, especially in our area.
But the potential is there to get the situation turned around, Sessions said.
On another economic note, Sessions said that he has made it a priority to promote home ownership among his constituents.
As Sessions travels about the state, he hears a lot of concerns from his constutuents, he said. Among those most often voiced recently has been frustration over Congressional Demnocrats' blocking of President Bush's judicial nominees.
Irazq, of course, is an ongoing concern. Sessions said he had a chance to visit the war-torn nation in August, and was impressed by what he saw.
Setting upo a strong Iraqi police and military presence is an important part of the process by which America can leave the country, Sessions said.
On the issue of homeland security, Sessions remarked, "Things have gone better than I would have expected. I would not have thought we'd go two years without another attack on our homeland."
The Senator credited much of this success to better sharing of information between law enforcement entities at the national, state and local levels.
The economy and matters of national security are far from the only issues Sessions sees Congress tackling in the near future. A reaction to recent judicial rulings on the definition of marriage is also in order.