Deal talks energy, health care and water

GAINESVILLE - Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal addressed Gainesville Kiwanians Tuesday, sharing his views on energy, health care and water.

The 9th District Congressman reflected on this time last year when gasoline averaged $4.00 per gallon and Democrats left Washington for the August break with no comprehensive energy plan in place. Deal noted that since that time the landscape of legislation has changed. The federal government has taken over large segments of banking, the largest insurance company and two automobile manufacturers.

"Hard economic times persuade people to accept ideas they wouldn't when in good economic times," said Deal. "The federal government has acted as if bad times were good with excessive spending." He said that spending started with the Bush TARP payments and have continued to the Obama Administration's large spending practices.

Deal suggested that "cap and trade" is a good example of such a program. He told his audience it is an expensive program, hard to control and will increase the power bill of every Georgian.

As far as health care is concerned, Deal is convinced the administration would like to move the country as close as possible to a single payer plan. He said he expects the Democratic leadership to repackage the plan under the name of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and try to pass a portion of the plan to deliver to the president for his signature.

On the topic of water supply, Deal said that three years is not enough time to come to a reasonable solution on water use from Lake Lanier.

Deal told Kiwanians that Gwinnett County stands to be the biggest loser in our area in the battle over water from Lake Lanier. Gainesville and Buford were using water from the Chattahoochee River before Lanier was formed, so the two cities are grandfathered in, so to speak, where drinking supply is concerned.

Deal commended Gov. Sonny Perdue's appointment of Georgia Power's Michael Garrett as the state's water negotiator. He said that Southern Company carries so much weight in the water decisions made in Alabama that he can see Georgia and Alabama coming to an agreement, and then teaming up against Florida for an three-state agreement.