Idaho’s junior congressman, Rep. Raul Labrador, has a different message for the 12-member panel: leave out the tax hikes and consider everything else.

Labrador, a first-term Republican representative from Eagle, told IdahoReporter.com Wednesday he is unwilling to vote for any deal that involves tax hikes of any kind. “We have too much taxing, we have too much spending, and we have too much regulation,” Labrador said. “If we want to get out of this mess, we need to get the government out of the lives of individuals and businesses.”

If panel members want to alter the tax situation, Labrador suggested they look for a fairer and flatter tax system that would increase the number of payers.

In the end, though, he said he just couldn’t vote for increase in tax rates. “The only deal-breaker for me is a tax hike,” Labrador explained. “Everything else is on the table.”

That message is at odds with what Simpson wrote in his Nov. 2 letter to the committee. “To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table,” he wrote the super committee. “In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure America’s fiscal well-being.”

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, initially part of the Gang of Six senators dedicated to deficit reduction, released his own recommendation to the super committee in September. In his message, Crapo, along with 33 other senators, urged the super committee to cut as much as $4 trillion through a 10-year span.

Crapo didn’t give specifics on tax hikes or spending cuts, however.

Members of the committee have until Nov. 23 to find at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures, but it appears they are struggling to find common ground. Earlier this week, Republican members proposed a package with $300 billion in tax hikes, but Democrats balked at the deal, saying that the amount was just not enough.

If lawmakers don’t meet the deadline, they can extend it with a majority vote. If that fails and the committee has not met the Nov. 23 goal, automatic cuts to defense and welfare programs will kick in.

If the panel is able to meet its deadline, the bill would be filibuster-proof in the U.S. Senate and no amendments would be allowed in either chamber of Congress.

More than 100 people attended the town hall meeting in Meridian Monday, with many raising their hands to question, praise or disagree with Idaho’s senior senator. Most questions touched on either side of the federal budgeting equation —  raising or lowering taxes and whether to cut or spare programs.

“Everything has to be in the table,” Crapo said repeatedly, though he added one time that the current Congress would be unlikely to raise taxes.

He also praised the calls for spending cuts tied to raising the debt ceiling, which hadn’t happened in previous increases that garnered little attention. “If we stick with that precedent, and I think now that it is set that we will, we will balance the budget in the next 10 years,” Crapo said.

When Adrienne Evans with United Action for Idaho asked about raising taxes on wealthy Americans, Crapo responded, “If that could solve the problem, it would be done.”  He said such action would harm the economy. “If we allow the economy to collapse, like it is on the verge of doing, the damage will be far greater than some of the austerity that we have been able to propose.”

Crapo said not all cuts would be austere, saying several times that spending reductions to programs ranging from food stamps to the military could be made by getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse, often calling program cuts reforms.

“I’m talking about things like energy policy reform, where we develop our own energy here,” Crapo said. “I’m talking about litigation reform. I’m talking about immigration.”

Crapo, one of the key Republicans working on federal budget reforms for more than a year, had a harsh assessment of this summer’s debate over increasing the federal debt ceiling. However, he expects the new “super commission” that came out of that plan to achieve reforms that don’t include tax increases.

“The politics were brutal and toxic,” Crapo said about the debt ceiling debate in July and August.

Crapo served on a fiscal commission created by President Barack Obama and later the Gang of Six senators, and supported both of their reform plans.  Congress didn’t adopt or formally debate either plan. Crapo said he’s not tied to any effort to reduce the multi-trillion dollar national debt.

“To do nothing would be worse than any of the plans that are on the table to deal with our debt,” Crapo said, adding that if federal debt rises unabated, it could lead to stagflation that would make the 1929 stock market crash look desirable.

Jan Flynn, a manager of health initiatives for the American Lung Association, asked Crapo about environmental regulations under the Clean Air Act, saying that polluted air can lead to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Crapo said the Clean Air Act and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do protect Idaho’s environment, but that he pushes back against the EPA from time to time.  “Occasionally, I believe the EPA oversteps its bounds in terms of its aggressiveness and enforcement, so there’s a balance that has to be reached,” he said.

After the town hall, Flynn said she would’ve preferred if Crapo came out fully in support of the Clean Air Act.  “I was encouraged that he did say that he is concerned about clean air and natural resources in Idaho,” she told IdahoReporter.com. “I’m not entirely assured that we will get the support that we really need.”

Crapo’s event came as Congress took a break from meeting in Washington, D.C., during most of August and early September.  The official Senate calendar calls the time a state work period. It lasts until Labor Day.

“No one disputes that Jeremy Hill killed a grizzly bear,” Otter wrote in his letter. “The dispute appears to be over the reason for shooting the bear. I would sincerely appreciate your looking into this case and assisting in any way you can.”

Hill told officials he thought his children were outside near the bear, so he shot it three times with his daughter’s rifle.  Hill reported the incident to Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials, who decided not to press charges.

Grizzly bears are considered threatened animals under the endangered species act (ESA).  The Idaho U.S. attorney announced earlier this month that Hill’s misdemeanor charge carries a potential sentence of a year in prison and a $50,000 fine.  He would also need to forfeit the rifle used to shoot the bear.  Hill has entered a not guilty plea.

“One of the flaws of the ESA is the premium it places on protecting species at the expense of everything else,” Otter said in his letter.  Otter has been critical of federal endangered species laws in other areas, including wolves and sage grouse.

Friends and associates of Hill say he and his family are worried about the potential legal bills in his case. The group Idaho for Wildlife, with a stated mission of protecting Idaho’s hunting and fishing heritage, is setting up a legal defense fund.  Hill’s daughter Jasmine raised nearly $20,000 at a 4-H animal sale for her pig, according to News Bonners Ferry.  Buyers gave the pig back to Jasmine, who sold it more than a dozen times.

“It’s been hard on the family and very emotional,” said Steve Alder of Clearwater with Idaho for Wildlife. He said the group is in contact with a legal outfit that could take Hill’s case. “If this organization doesn’t take it pro bono, then it could be very expensive.”

Alder said the case could take years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, though in court documents the federal attorneys said the trial would last one day.

The group has asked its members to contact members of Congress. Alder said they’ve been receptive.  “They’ve tried to work with the powers that be, ” Alder said. The group is also planning fundraisers for this fall.

UPDATE: Sen. Mike Crapo, who serves on a committee overseeing the ESA, said in a news release Friday that he’s concerned that the federal government chose to prosecute Hill.  ”Clearly, Mr. Hill thought that his family was in danger and was protecting them from harm,” Crapo said.  Mr. Hill and his family deserve for this matter to come to a fair and swift conclusion, and once that happens, Congress needs to get to work on commonsense ESA reforms to ensure that this deeply unfortunate situation never happens again.

As it turned out, things were sped up a bit.

VRT announced Thursday that it has chosen “Site H” as the home of the transit center, which will serve as a transportation hub for the Boise and the rest of the Treasure Valley.  The center, which is being jointly funded by the federal government and the Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), will be the home to taxi stands, bike lockers, up to 200 parking spaces, a substation for the Boise Police Department, and space for as many as 11 VRT buses.

The site will also feature wireless Internet access, ticket sales stands, and public showers.  Planners have also envisioned that the center could also serve as a light rail station, but no plans for that have been formally announced.

The majority of the money – about $9.6 million – came from an earmark secured by Sen. Mike Crapo in 2005, but CCDC is also going to pitch in about $2.4 million for construction costs.  VRT officials told IdahoReporter.com that $482,000 of the funds were spent on an environmental assessment for the site.

Until Wednesday, VRT had two sites in the running for construction, but the alternative location – known as “Site D” – was deemed not suitable for the development.

VRT director Kelli Fairless said in a prepared statement that it was important for the agency to view both sites.  “It was important to take a look at another site if it might lead to a private-public, transit-oriented development that would benefit the city’s residents and visitors,” said Fairless. “Having explored that avenue, it’s time to move forward with the preferred site, which already has environmental clearance.”

The agency plans to begin the permitting process shortly and says that construction could start in the first few months of 2013.

Mark Carnopis, VRT’s spokesman, acknowledged that choosing the location took a while, but believes the center will be worth the wait.  “We’ll be the first to admit it’s taken a while to get a site selected,” Carnopis said.  “This is so much better infrastructure to deal with. This is just one piece of the puzzle to one day have a regional transportation system.”

Not everyone is happy with the two potential building spots for the transportation center.  Residents of a condo near Site H told the Idaho Statesman they are not thrilled at the prospect of having the extra noise, traffic, and pollution the center would inevitably bring.

View more details of the transportation center here.

Now, more than six years later, the center has yet to be built and planners are still figuring out where to put it, but officials say a final decision on placement is coming soon.

The project is expected to cost a little more than $11 million.  The federal dollars will cover the majority of the costs, but Capital City Development Corporation, Boise’s urban renewal agency, has also pledged more than $1.5 million to the center’s construction.

The center would provide a single transportation center for the region and busses, taxies, bikes, and vanpools would likely have space at the facility.  The new center would replace the current hub, which is spread along several blocks of Idaho Street in downtown Boise.

So what’s been delay? Those behind the center can’t decide on where the center should be built. In the past six years, several different sites have been considered for construction, but none have been the right fit.

The coordinating agency for the project, Valley Regional Transit (VRT), says there are two different locations under consideration, one known as “Site D” and the other called “Site H.”  The two prospective locales are located within about a block of one another near 12^th Street in downtown Boise.

Not everyone is happy with the two potential building spots for the transportation center.  Residents of a condo near Site H told the Idaho Statesman they are not thrilled at the prospect of having the extra noise, traffic, and pollution the center would inevitably bring.

VRT took public comment on the proposed location in May but has yet to release the results of that effort.

Mark Carnopis, VRT’s spokesman, says that a decision on the center’s location could come within 30 to 90 days.  That, he says, will enable construction to begin in the spring of 2013 if permitting and other pre-construction processes are not delayed.

Lindsay Nothern, Crapo’s spokesman, told IdahoReporter.com that his office is surprised at the length of the planning.  “We certainly didn’t envision that the process would take this long,” Nothern said.

Could the city lose the money? It’s possible, but highly unlikely, Nothern explained.  “We have not heard about any big changes from the city about plans for the project, nor have we heard from Boiseans or other Idahoans as of late who want the money redirected,” he said. “So, it will remain available unless we hear differently from the city.”

Rhonda Jalbert, a project manager with VRT, said that most of the federal money is still awaiting use, but not all of it.  Site H had an environmental assessment performed, which cost the agency $482,000 and was paid for with the federal money.  The rest of the work – primarily the site planning – was paid out of the agency’s operating budget.

Carnopis isn’t afraid to acknowledge the planning process for the center has been rather lengthy.  “We’ll be the first to admit it’s taken a while to get a site selected,” Carnopis said. “Without a doubt, it has taken us a long time to get to the point where we are now.”

The agency believes the center will be worth the wait when it is eventually open for business.  “This is so much better infrastructure to deal with,” he said.  “This is just one piece of the puzzle to one day have a regional transportation system.”

 Read VRT’s information and studies on the transit center here.

Crapo’s spokesman, Lindsay Nothern, said the senator got a phone call from McConnell Tuesday night before McConnell announced his picks, and that he’s OK with not being asked to serve.

“Crapo is fine with that,” Nothern said in an e-mail to IdahoReporter.com.  He also said Idaho’s senior senator will still be a part of deficit talks.  “Crapo feels he will be able to join with the other Gang of Six members and continue their consensus work among fellow senators and will have an influence on budget decisions being considered by the new Super Committee.”

None of the Gang of Six senators, who outlined $4 trillion in deficit savings last month, were picked for the committee, which was formed as part of the deal to extend the federal government’s debt ceiling.  McConnell’s three Senate Republican picks were Arizona’s John Kyl, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey and Ohio’s Rob Portman.

Crapo had told IdahoReporter.com that he would’ve accepted an appointment to the committee, and that the Gang of Six’s plan is likely to be considered as the new committee puts together its proposal.  The Gang of Six plan included $1 trillion in new revenue, mostly through changes to the tax code.

President Barack Obama offered praise for the Gang of Six plan, though McConnell didn’t.  The Senate GOP leader told Politico that his committee picks need to put the country’s fiscal house back in order.  “That means reforming entitlement programs that are the biggest drivers of our debt, and reforming the tax code in a way that makes us more competitive and leads to more American jobs,” he said.

Last year, McConnell picked Crapo to served on a commission formed by the president to reduce the nation’s deficit.  That group couldn’t approve a plan, though the senators in the group went on to form the Gang of Six.

The new panel, which was created alongside the debt ceiling extension, will be evenly split between Republicans and Democrats and the U.S. House and Senate.  Party leaders in each chamber have two weeks to pick panel members, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell could tab Crapo.

“Mitch is going to have a very difficult time narrowing it down to just the three that he does ultimately select,” Crapo told IdahoReporter.com.

Crapo has experience trying to forge deals on debt, which includes bridging party lines.  Last year, McConnell selected him for a blue ribbon commission created by President Barack Obama to come up with a deficit reduction plan.  Crapo voted for that plan, dubbed Simpson-Bowles after its leaders, but it didn’t get enough support from others in the group.

After that attempt, Crapo joined with five other senators, including members who were also on Obama’s commission, to form the “Gang of Six,” which spent months in secretive talks before unveiling a plan during the debt ceiling debate to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion in a decade.  Obama praised the plan, but it ran into opposition from House Republicans.

Crapo said he’s hasn’t made up his mind on if he wants a third go-around on identifying areas to cut as well as untapped revenues.

“I’m not sure whether I would like to be on the committee,” he said.  “It’s a thankless task, but it’s an important task.  I would certainly accept the opportunity if I were offered, (but) no, I don’t have an expectation one way or the other.”

The website Politico listed Crapo as a potential pick for the committee, saying that the two other Republicans in the Gang of Six, Saxby Chambliss of Mississippi and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, aren’t being considered.

However, Crapo’s past experience and deal-making with the group could also shut him out.  A Wall Street Journal opinion piece wrote Monday “No one from the Senate Gang of Six, who proposed tax increases, need apply.”  Crapo earned other critics for the plan.  Tea Party Boise called him a RINO, or Republican in Name Only, and called for protests at his offices across the state because the plan might do away with some tax deductions, including on charitable donations and home mortgages.  The AARP, which represents people over the age of 50, criticized the plan’s changes to Social Security and Medicare.

Crapo rejected the claim that the Gang of Six would jack up taxes.  “I was surprised by it because it was not valid,” he said.  “The attack that came was that we were proposing a tax increase when in reality we were proposing the biggest tax cut that has been on the table for decades.”

The gang’s plan called for major reforms to the tax code, so while it planned on bringing in more than $1 trillion in revenue to the federal government, it’s not easy to say who would see their tax burden rise or fall.  Crapo said the general idea is to broaden the tax base and lower income tax rates, thus spurring economic growth.  However, the plan also assumes that Congress won’t extend the 2001 and 2003 Bush-era tax cuts on people earning more than $250,000.

Crapo also has said often that a straight tax increase couldn’t get through Congress, and that most of the savings had to come from cutting federal spending and programs.

Crapo wasn’t completely tied to the “Gang of Six” plan to lower America’s debt — he voted for the debt ceiling plan that passed Congress and supported the failed “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan – but he said, one way or another, its ideas are likely to be in the new deficit committee’s final plan.

“We were able to find the kind of solutions in our discretionary and entitlement spending and our revenue policy that are the best plan forward for a strong, pro-growth agenda for the country,” Crapo said.

Whether or not Crapo is on the committee, it must have a $1.5 trillion saving plan ready by Thanksgiving.  The committee needs a simple majority, so it’s possible one Republican or Democrat may cross over to vote with the other party to approve a plan.  However, that plan must pass Congress by mid January or else cuts to many programs, including the military, will go into effect.

The U.S. Senate approved the plan Tuesday, with both Idaho Sens., Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, in support.   Crapo called it the first step in lowering the nation’s obligation to creditors.

The legislation would let the nation’s debt ceiling increase by $2.4 trillion above its current $14.3 trillion level.  It also includes close to $1 trillion in spending cuts during the next decade and creates a panel of 12 members of Congress, split between the House and Senate and Republicans and Democrats, to come up with another $1.5 trillion in reductions to the debt.  If the panel can’t agree on cuts by mid January, it would trigger comparable cuts, much of which would come from military budgets, and require Congress to take up a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

By approving a plan, Congress allows the government to continue borrowing, which thwarts a bevy of negative effects, including putting off payments to some, such as people on Social Security and a potential downgrading of its AAA credit rating.

“I think inflation would start going up, unemployment would go up, the cost of doing business would increase dramatically,” Crapo told IdahoReporter.com.  “Frankly [it’s] a dampening of the economy that’d be very harmful to the economy and very harmful to Idaho.”

Crapo called the plan that passed the House a good first step, though much of the hard work on reining in debt remains.

The House approved the plan on a 269-167 vote.  Simpson and most Republicans approved the plan, though Labrador and 65 other House GOPs voted no.

“I could have chosen any number of reasons to oppose the bill, but in the end it puts us on a path to fixing our debt crisis and boosts our economy by preventing the possibility of a default and ensuring Social Security checks, active military paychecks and veterans benefits go out on time,” Simpson said in a news release.  “It does all this without raising taxes.”

The congressional panel isn’t barred from suggesting tax increases, though Crapo also said it’s unlikely Republicans on the panel would approve straight tax hikes.  Crapo served on a similar panel formed by President Barack Obama last year, though it couldn’t agree on a debt reduction plan.

Labrador opposed the plan, saying more changes needed to be made to what he called a fiscal mess in Washington, D.C.

“While this legislation is a good first step towards that goal, it also relies on the time honored Washington tradition of delegating problems to commissions instead of solving them ourselves,” Labrador said in a statement.  “It places more confidence in its ‘super commission’ than is warranted. The legislation also lacks a rock solid commitment to passage of a balanced budget amendment, which I believe is necessary to saving our nation.”

The Senate approved the plan on a 74-26 vote.  Shortly after its passage, Obama said he’d sign it.

“We are making actual cuts to government spending, putting spending controls in place and providing for a vote on a balanced budget amendment without raising taxes,” Risch said in a statement Tuesday.  ”While it is a step in the right direction, it is only a first step in slowing the federal spending that is harming our economy.”

There are some concerns the cuts aren’t large enough to stave off a downgrade in credit ratings.  Earlier plans that couldn’t pass the Senate included trillions more in debt reduction.

Crapo said a downgrade would add to the cost of borrowing, but it wouldn’t be immediate.  “I think there may be a willingness of the world markets to wait and watch whether this committee comes up with real reforms,” he said.  “We may get a breathing space here, but we still need to far more than this immediate debt ceiling solution.”

Idaho Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador were part of the majority that narrowly passed a plan to extend the debt ceiling plan backed by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.  That plan was later killed in the Senate.

The plan would allow the government to borrow $900 billion in the next few months to pay its bills and requires a larger amount in cuts during the next decade.  No House Democrats supported Boehner’s plan in the House.

The House vote was close, 218-210, and it may not have passed without  the late addition of requiring a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That requirement had been in the House’s previous “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan that passed the House but died in the Senate.

Rep. Raul Labrador

or took some credit for including the balanced budget requirement, saying in a news release that he was part of negotiating talks late on Thursday.

“One of my primary concerns with Speaker Boehner’s bill was its tenuous linkage to a balanced budget amendment,” Labrador said in a statement. “I worked with the speaker to craft an improved balanced budget section to the Budget Control Act, meaning we now have another option to cut spending, cap spending and balance the budget.”

“This bill puts us on a path to solving our debt crisis and boosts our economy by preventing the possibility of a default and ensuring Social Security checks, military active duty paychecks and veterans’ benefits go out on time,” Simpson said in a news release after voting for Boehner’s plan.

Since the Senate rejected Boehner’s plan, it’s unclear what the next plan of action would be in the effort to raise the debt ceiling from its current $14.3 trillion limit.  Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch both supported the stalled “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan, but take issue with a different plan backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Sen. Jim Risch

“There are concerns about the savings,” Risch’s spokesman, Kyle Hines, told IdahoReporter.com.  “They point out $1.2 trillion in savings that is money from Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s money that wouldn’t have been spent anyway.”

Crapo will vote against Reid’s plan, according to spokesman Lindsay Nothern, in part because of the phantom money that Reid says is being saved.  Crapo was also part of the bipartisan “Gang of 6” senators that put out a debt reduction plan.  It was praised by President Barack Obama but criticized by some conservatives because of the potential elimination of some tax deductions.

Aside from the debt talks, Idaho’s delegation is working on other issues.  Simpson is sponsoring a spending plan for the Department of Interior and environmental programs that is awaiting a full House vote.  That effort has received attention because of the billions in spending reductions as well as potential restrictions, including preventing more animals from being added to the endangered species list.

Simpson, who used an earlier spending plan to get wolves in Idaho and Montana delisted, spoke on the House floor in favor of the limits on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In the Senate, Risch is also looking to curb the EPA and other regulatory agencies.  He’s joining 20 other GOP senators in calling for a ban on new regulations that would affect economic activity until the national unemployment rate drops to 7.7 percent.  The jobless rate is currently above 9 percent, and the target in the GOP plan harkens to the unemployment rate when Obama took office in 2009, according to The Hill.

“Regulations are one of the primary roadblocks to unemployment,” Hines said.  “[Risch] feels that in a time when we need to get Idahoans and Americans back to work, putting the breaks on more regulation is what we need.”  Hines said there hasn’t been talk of Democrats supporting the legislation, so its potential is uncertain.

Sen. Mike Crapo

Also in the Senate this week, Crapo introduced a plan that would let federal education grants pay for dating violence prevention school programs.  The legislation, which is being introduced in the House and has Democratic and Republican sponsors, would also allow the U.S. Department of Education collect data on teen dating violence.

“This bill takes a proactive step in protecting our children from dangerous relationships—and their lifelong consequences,” Crapo said in a news release.

Dating violence, a particular type of domestic violence, has long been a policy concern for Crapo.  He routinely sponsors resolutions in Congress designating a teen dating violence week or month in February.

“A lot of times the federal dollars and federal assistance only go for victims in relationships including marriage and don’t address dating,” Nothern told IdahoReporter.com.  “It’s kind of a quirk in the federal law, but we’ve run into situations over and over again like that.”  Nothern said Crapo is often asked to speak out on the issue since it often doesn’t attract attention from other Republicans in Congress.

Both the House and Senate are expected to meet over the weekend to continue negotiations on the debt ceiling.

“I will only, only vote for an increase in the debt ceiling if we have a balanced budget amendment that passes both houses of Congress,” Labrador said.  The Republican-led U.S. House passed such a plan this week, though the Senate, which has a Democratic majority, halted progress of that plan.  Labrador said that plan, called Cut, Cap and Balance, is his ideal option for raising the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion from its current $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.  The plan also cuts more than $100 billion in spending immediately and ties future spending levels to economic activity.

Labrador said he and other Republicans are pushing for Congress and President Barack Obama to approve a  good debt ceiling deal, not just any deal.

Debt and spending dominated the discussion at Labrador’s town hall event, with many in the crowd asking for deeper spending cuts, while others wanted to preserve some programs, including Social Security, or raise taxes on the wealthy.  Labrador shot down that last idea.

“I don’t think it’s time to raise taxes on individuals, but I do think it’s time to reform the tax code,” he said.  Labrador said reforms he favors include reducing the number of income tax brackets and rates of those brackets, and closing loopholes that allow large companies to avoid paying taxes.

Those tax code reforms are similar to a debt plan backed by Sen. Mike Crapo and five other senators in the “Gang of Six,” though Labrador said he hasn’t fully reviewed their proposal.  “I look at the ‘Gang of Six’ plan as a way to get to balance (the budget), not as a solution to the debt ceiling increase,” he told IdahoReporter.com after the event.

After the debt ceiling issue is resolved, Labrador said the debate in Congress will turn to the next federal budget, which starts in October.  One of the issues he expects will go on the backburner is one he has experience with, and one that stirred up controversy in his last election: illegal immigration.

“I just can’t imagine that we’re going to have any major legislation,” Labrador said about illegal immigration.  “There’s one bill that I may work on here soon that deals with the high-tech industry.”

Labrador’s vision for immigration reform includes tighter border security, a functioning guest worker program for non-citizens, and an increase in legal immigration for people who come to the U.S. for college.

“Right now, our immigration system is broken,” Labrador said.  He also linked illegal immigration to the nation’s economic problems.  “It is impossible for us to achieve any kind of prosperous system with the immigration system we have.”

Another area of spending Labrador said needs to decrease is in defense.  He criticized Obama’s military efforts in Libya.  “We need to get out of Libya,” he said.  “We also need to make sure we draw down what we do in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

It’s been more than six months since Labrador was sworn into Congress, and he said he’s already changed his views on one issue: term limits for members of Congress.  “I think people stay [in Congress] too long,” he said.  “They start thinking that their job is that they please special interests and many of the people working in the bureaucracy and they’re not so concerned about pleasing their constituents.”

The crowd in Meridian cheered when Labrador announced his switch on term limits.  Labrador has also started to receive more national attention.  He appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” last Sunday, and said he received requests to be on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and CNN’s “State of the Nation” this Sunday, but declined.  “I needed to come home,” he said.