Congressman Robert Pittenger recently held the 6th Parliamentary forum which was attended by 120 members of Parliament, and government officials from 42 different countries. He took time out of his schedule to talk with BladenOnline.com about the forum and his thoughts about President-elect Trump.
Pittenger described the nature of the forum as allowing leaders from around the globe to hear from experts in the public and private sector on how to defeat terrorism through defeating their funding capacity.
“The experts made excellent presentations. The threat of Islamic terrorism is an unprecedented challenge to our country,” said Congressman Pittenger.
He added that at one time we were somewhat protected from terrorism by the oceans, but that is no longer true today. Pittenger pointed out now we have issues with cyber war, proud borders and the impact of social media. He said we are also facing challenges from those who have traveled to Syria and other Middle Eastern countries to participate in terrorist training camps.
“ISIS is far different than Al Qaeda or any other group. By the nature of its being, it is a nation state,” said Pittenger.
He added the ultimate goal of ISIS is to establish a caliphate complete with world domination. Pittenger said ISIS is willing to kill anyone that doesn’t subscribe to Sharia law. Pittenger said ISIS is an enormous threat to national security.
“President-elect Trump has a clear understanding of the threats against this country,” said Pittenger.
He added the United States needs its allies to be engaged in this fight with us. Pittenger said that President-elect Trump has surrounded himself with people that clearly understand the nature of the threats from terrorists.
Pittenger said at home the United States suffers from a weak economy. Pittenger said that it is important to allow companies to grow and create jobs. He noted that 70 percent of new jobs come from small businesses. Pittenger said that the government needs to work with small businesses to reduce their tax burdens in order to stimulate economic growth.
“We are working with economic development committees in each of the counties in our district on the efforts they have,” said Pittenger.
He added the the community college system is also important to the process through their job retraining and degree programs.
Pittenger siad currently, the united States is experiencing about 1 percent economic growth. He added that is not growth.
He said too many regulations and too many taxes have restricted economic growth. Pittenger said he will work with President-elect Trump to change that.
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