Harshbarger: ‘People want someone to be a truth-speaker and not a power-seeker’
Published 5:03 pm Friday, May 27, 2022
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Vietnam veteran Douglas Boyd with Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger with Vietnam veteran Richard Sullivan.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger with Vietnam veteran Larry Jackson.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger with Vietnam veteran Reese Graybeal, Jr.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger recognizes a Korean veteran who was in attendance at Friday mornings event.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger makes a point concerning the baby formula shortage.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders First District Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger makes speaks about the importance of the United States becoming more self dependent especially when it comes to pharmaceuticals.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders First District Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger makes a point about the Southern Border.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The courtroom was filled Friday morning as part of the 'Coffee with your Congresswoman' series being done by First District Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Virginia Laws who will be 102 in June has her photo taken with Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger.
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U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., visited the Carter County Courthouse on Friday morning to provide an update to her Carter County constituents.
During “Coffee with your Congresswoman,” Harshbarger spoke about different issues affecting the country from the baby formula shortage to problems at the southern border. “I am here not to give fluff, but to give facts,” she said.
“We go back and look at that baby formula shortage and it started in October and November of 2021, and the FDA knew there was a problem then. Why did it take until February to ring the bell and say we are going to have a shortage,” Harshbarger said. “There is one company that produces 40% of formula in this country, and it’s in Michigan. You should never have one entity making the majority of a product. It should be spread out … that is common sense in business. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Harshbarger switched to the topic of medications highlighting that most medications are made in China and India. She said that American companies need to be incentivized to begin producing pharmaceuticals once again.
“Why are we not self-sufficient as a nation in our medications,” she said. “Seventy percent of the generics come from India and they get the ingredients from China. The government is always reactive and not proactive with anything. Can we not just do a long-term plan like they do in business. Let’s have a goal to be self-sufficient. This is not rocket science people. It’s common sense. People are afraid to be anything besides politically correct. I talk the same way that I have always talked. People want someone to be a truth-speaker and not a power seeker.”
Speaking on issues that are hampering the Southern Border, Harshbarger shared with the group the numbers that her office had received about the number of migrants that are entering the United States along the border that include:
– Nearly 234,000 migrants came across the border in April.
– The bottom line is these people (border officers) cannot control the people that are coming across the border.
– Some 7,000 migrants come across the border daily.
– Nearly 2.1 million immigrants are expected to cross the border this year.
– Officers have captured 42 people on the terrorist watch list.
– Over 105,000 deaths due to drug overdoses, the highest number in our history in the last year due to fentanyl that is coming across our border. It only takes 2 grams of fentanyl to kill you. Anything people are getting is cut with fentanyl.
Harshbarger also spoke about “got-away numbers” which refer to people that the border patrol doesn’t know anything about.
“There are 700,000 people in this country they don’t even know anything about,” said Harshbarger. “Cartels have set up shop in every state in this country. They make $6,000 on every illegal they smuggle, up to $26 million a day including their drug sales. And now they are using drones to go and kill other cartel leaders in Mexico.”
She also spoke about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this week.
“I was in Texas this week and we are finding out more information about what happened that wasn’t reported that grieves my spirit and my heart,” Harshbarger said. “I think about my grandchildren. I asked my son to find out what the protocols are for securing the day cares, the YMCA, and our schools. They send $40 billion to the Ukraine but they won’t give us money to fortify our school systems.
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. And we wonder why we need more mental health. Some of the things they are teaching our students in schools are horrendous. It’s a spiritual problem. If we allow one inch, they are going to take a mile. People need to be put in office that are not afraid to tell the truth. The truth will stand when the world is on fire.”
Harshbarger spent time fielding questions from those in attendance.
Prior to the start of the event, Harshbarger took the opportunity to pin and recognize five Vietnam veterans and one Korean veteran. The Congresswoman has pinned over 4,000 veterans in the last year showing her heart for the United States and its veterans.
Those recognized included:
– Sgt. First Class Hubert Hoover Davenport (deceased).
– Douglas Boyd — shot down twice on same day.
– Richard Sullivan.
– Larry Jackson.
– Reese Graybeal Jr.
– An unnamed Korean veteran who was only the second Korean vet to be recognized. Harshbarger said she is going to try to go back and honor other Korean vets.
Harshbarger also had her photo taken with Virginia Laws who turns 102 in June.
