Risch talks ‘largest threat’ to America, Columbia River Treaty and national media

Idaho U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed America’s recent successes and the biggest threat facing the country while making no effort to hide his dislike of the national media at Thursday’s Boise Metro Chamber meeting at the Riverside Hotel.

Here are a few of the topics he covered at the chamber’s congressional forum:

Largest threat to America: “It isn’t North Korea. It isn’t the Iranians. It isn’t any of this stuff. Our own internal spending habits are a threat to this country. The national debt is the biggest problem that we have. ... It is the largest threat to this country.”

Risch explained how America ended up in this situation and why it is so troubling: “America spends about $4 trillion a year. They only take in about $3 trillion a year. So how can that happen? Well, I will explain to you how this happens: Every single day, 365 days a year, the United States government has to borrow $1.25 billion every single day. That is why the national debt is at $22 trillion.”

Risch said few in Congress are willing to talk about the problem.

“It is a national tragedy. Everybody knows what is going on in Greece. Greece is in better shape than we are ... and here’s why: We go off, we borrow that $1.25 billion every day. … We are operating on a credit card. If that credit card ever ends, it is a huge problem. Now why do I say Greece is in better shape? Because they were doing the exact same thing we are, except now Greece knows what the upper limit on their credit card is. We don’t know. Nobody knows it.”

U.S. vs. China: “In the 21st century we are going to compete with China greatly. It is going to be economically, it is going to be militarily, it is going to be culturally. I am convinced the 21st century is going to go back to what we were doing in the 18th, 17th and 16th centuries. And this is to have the competition of great powers.”

Micron vs. China: “Micron Technology is the unfortunate recipient of some of China’s activities,” Risch said, referring to China’s theft of U.S. technology secrets.

“I have had a lot of conversations with the Chinese about this. My most spirited one recently was with the Chinese ambassador and to listen to him defend the undefendable is stunning, because what they are doing is just flat wrong. We are going to stick with Micron, and we are going to see this thing through. We really have to. This case needs to become the line in the sand, so it does not become the norm for how the Chinese are going to try and get a leg up on us in the 21st century.”

Columbia River Treaty: “I have become chairman of [the Foreign Relations] committee at a really fortuitous time in Idaho. … The Columbia River Treaty is being renegotiated as I stand here and speak. It expires in 2024. The Columbia River Treaty is a treaty between the United States and Canada, which regulates the flow on the Columbia River of water for purposes of flood control and for generating electricity. All well and good. But where does that water start? It starts right here. And it is really important that this treaty be right for Idaho.

“The way the treaty gets put in place is the president signs it, he then submits it to the United States Congress, which submits it to the Foreign Relations Committee, whose chairman, if he so chooses, puts it on the agenda to be voted on. This is going to be the right treaty for Idaho. Or it is not coming out of the Foreign Relations Committee.”

Russia: “Russia is the most overrated country on the face of the planet. They get so much ink here. They get so much attention here, simply because of Trump, of course. These guys are incredibly inept. They are a nuclear power, there is no question about it. They certainly have some juice, there is no question about it. These guys, they are all bluster.”

War in the Middle East: “After World War II, America did a really good job of nation-building. We rebuilt Germany. We rebuilt Japan. After the Korean War, we did a really great job of building South Korea. Those were our experiments in nation-building. We do not get enough credit in the world for what we did in those countries.

“We have been at this now for over two decades trying to replicate that success in the Middle East. And what do we have to show for it? A goose egg is what we have to show for it. We need to focus on America’s interests. … I am through trying to do nation-building with countries that don’t want it. They have got to show some type of an appreciation. …They simply don’t.”

America’s success story: “Like many of you, I watch the news coverage of the dysfunction and chaos in Washington. I stand before you today to share a more positive and upbeat and better picture than what you get off of national media. I have been there 10 years now … I can tell you the first eight years I was there, it was pretty mundane. The last two years have been incredibly productive.”

Risch detailed what he calls unreported successes:

“After three decades of failed attempts, tax reform is finally achieved, bringing bonuses, pay raises and increased benefits to over 6 million American workers.

“Unnecessary burdensome federal regulations have been reduced at a rate of 12 to 1 in 2018 resulting in $33 billion in net regulatory savings so far.

“The U.S. Senate so far has confirmed a record number of 30 circuit judges and 53 district judges and two Supreme Court judges in the last two years. This has remade our federal judiciary. And we are not done yet. We have a lot more coming down the pipe.

“We have had 5.3 million jobs created since November of 2016. For the first time ever the number of job openings exceeded the number of unemployed individuals. We have the lowest unemployment rate in America in a half century.

“Young African-American males have the highest rate of employment in the history of the United States of America. All Hispanics have a higher employment rate in the history, as long as they have been keeping these records in America.”

Risch then asked the audience, “How many of you have heard those statistics in the media?”

Several people raised their hands.

“Then you must watch Fox News,” he replied.

National media: Risch said he would take questions from the audience after his speech.

“I have got a challenge for you today. I want to see how many people can ask a question without using the words ‘president, Trump or chief executive.’ Because in Washington, D.C., it does not happen.”

“The one thing that you pick up, that you do get properly out of the media, is the national media is full of hate, contempt and venom for this president. I have never seen anything like this as far as the hate and vitriol towards the president. Now I get it that people do not like him. There is not anybody in this room who wouldn’t agree, and if he was standing here right now he would say the same thing, he is different than any president we have ever had.”

“I say this with absolute sincerity, I deal with these national media people all the time, and some of them truly need some counseling or something because they are so full of hate and vitriol.”

This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 5:35 PM.