By By Adam Prestridge For The Standard
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) brought his annual traveling show to Escambia County Friday, holding a town meeting at Annie's Community Cup in Atmore.
Sen. Shelby is in his 20th year of service after being elected to his fourth term in November of 2004. He is part of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Special Committee on Aging and is also the chair of the Banking, Housing &Urban Affairs Committee.
Among the issues discussed, the new Medicare Part D Drug Plan, casinos, education, plans for future disasters such as hurricanes and oil production were the most emphasized. Shelby agreed that the new Medicare plan is confusing to seniors and a headache to pharmacists and vowed to continue supporting education including first-generation programs such as Upward Bound. He also stated that he believes state governments should prevail when it comes to gambling and casino issues in Alabama and agreed that federal funds shouldn't be focused in on repairing areas hit hard by hurricanes that could in the future be hit hard again. As for oil production, Shelby said he believes the U.S. government should look for alternative-drilling sites so demands could be met and if not believes gasoline prices could hit all time highs in the near future.
Other issues discussed included the war in Iraq and how he believes a premature evacuation of troops would be a bad decision, the judiciary committee, the Federal Reserve, filibusters and state highways.