Joe Wilson

(WLTX) – Second District Congressman Joe Wilson stopped by News19′s studios Thursday to talk through several major policy issues that are affecting the country.

Wilson was asked first about North Korea and the current diplomatic crisis with that country. Last weekend, the dictatorship tested a nuclear weapon.

Wilson, who’s one of the few members of Congress who’s ever been to that country, says nations in that region and across the world need to work together to put pressure on North Korea to stop it’s current acts of aggression.

On the current battle in our state over stimulus funds, Wilson says he understands and supports Governor Mark Sanford’s rationale to use stimulus funding to pay down state debt. Wilson, however, says that because the federal stimulus act is law, that the funds should be accepted and used for education in South Carolina.

Wilson also talked about his work on a bipartisan energy bill in Congress. He says it provides for the recovery of energy resources within the U.S. and the promotion of them, including renewable energy, alternative energy, and nuclear energy. It also provides for off-shore drilling 20 or more miles off the coast, with royalties going to the affected state. Wilson says the bill would provide no new taxes and immediate jobs.

Rep. Joe Wilson on Stimulus Battle, North Korea
WLTX | 05.28.09