Speaker of the House Mike Johnson tackles hot button issues

United States Speaker of the House and Shreveport native Rep. Mike Johnson paid northwest Louisiana a visit Friday, Feb. 23.

"It's just a warm embrace to be home and be with people that have always supported us and prayed for us," Johnson said.

During that visit, Johnson discussed several issues, including open borders, abortion and war.

Hot button topics

Open boarders

"Most everybody in our district is deeply concerned about the open border," Johnson said.

He said the district's proximity to Texas and the I-20 corridor adds to the concern.

"That's a big thing, because there's a lot of terrible societal ills that accompanying open borders, fentanyl being one of them," Johnson said

The fentanyl trade is not the only concern Johnson has, but also national defense. With Barksdale Air Force Base situated in the northern portion of his district, he knows the importance of keeping it protected from outside forces.

"Two-thirds of the nuclear triad is housed at Barksdale with Global Strike," Johnson said. "That is the reason we are maintaining what stability is left on the planet right now. We have to project peace; we have to maintain peace through strength."

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Abortion ban

Johnson discussed his views on abortion.

"I'm a pro-life individual, always have been," he said. "I am the product of teen pregnancy myself."

He continued by saying although he supports a nationwide abortion ban at 16 weeks, that does not mean his personal views can take legal actions.

"The thing about Congress is we're just one of 435 members," he said. "You have to build consensus before you can take legal action on any matter like that."

He continued by saying, "before you can have a political consensus on a big issue like that on a federal level, we have to have cultural consensus first and we just don't have that right now... it's important issue to me, but we've got to build a culture."

Congressional reporting

Johnson discussed his lack of congressional reporting. "It's not required," Johnson said.

The only thing Congress members are required to report is if they have any interest-bearing accounts. Johnson stated he never had an interest-bearing account.

"About 400 members of congress do the same exact thing, but when you become the Speaker of the House, everybody tries to attack you for every little silly thing," he said. "We've always reported everything we are supposed to report."

Wars

With two active global conflicts, Johnson discussed the stipulations for spending on the wars in Israel and Ukraine.

Right now, there is lot of disagreement on Ukraine funding amongst congress, but a broad bipartisan consensus on Israel.

"Israel is a tinderbox," Johnson said. "It's a dangerous situation because we've got Iran, the largest state sponsor of terror, right there, and they have their proxies firing on Israel.

"There's a lot of reasons to support Israel, and to keep one stable democracy in the region. What they need right now is to replenish the support for defending the Iron Dome."

He continued by stating that Ukraine is a different matter because the American people need real answers and accountability.

"They don't quite understand what the strategy is, what the endgame is and how we will have accountability for the funds," Johnson said.

More: Back home in Louisiana, Speaker Mike Johnson talks budget, border, Ukraine, Israel

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addresses border, wars, abortion