Lake Norman Publications

Tillis comes back to old stomping grounds to talk Ukraine, debt ceiling, Congress



Sen. Thom Tillis during multi-topic Focus Friday information session. /Lee Sullivan

CORNELIUS – In a casual setting at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce headquarters, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis held court on a variety of topics at the Jan. 27 Friday Focus event.

Speaking to a small in-person gathering of local government and business leaders that program host and Chamber Public Policy Chair Jeff Tarte joked was “mostly friendly” and a Zoomed-in audience of Chamber members, Tillis shared insights about national and international issues as well as previous compromises and anticipated conflicts in Congress, while adding advice to local leaders – based on his eight years of experience in national-level decision-making – to overcome political biases and personal perspectives to find common ground to address regional issues.

Following a welcome from Mike Riley, representing program sponsor Novant Health, and an introduction by longtime friend Tarte, the second-term Republican senator from Huntersville – previously a Cornelius commissioner and Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives – zipped through a rapid-fire perspective on subjects on the agenda or in the crosshairs of Senate and Congressional proceedings.

“Never more than 10 minutes,” Tillis said about his summary, referencing President Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of a 701-word second inaugural address near the end of the Civil War as his guide for to-the-point speeches.

The brief statement provided time for more direct comments from Tillis on subjects raised by Tarte.

After a partial summary of international fact-finding trips he has taken, and those in his future, Tillis zeroed in on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

“Everybody needs to worry about Ukraine,” he said, calling it a potential “stepping stone” for Russian advances into other countries.

Thom Tillis with N.C. Sen. Jeff Tarte, right.

“We need to continue to support Ukraine,” he said, adding the U.S. “can’t show any lack of resolve to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

On domestic issues, the looming issue that can’t be ignored, Tillis said, is the debt ceiling debate.

“It’s different than the other times in my eight years in Washington,” he said. “This could go to the brink, and that would be bad. We need to clarify, and curb spending, but find a solution.”

Concerns over the debt ceiling decision are a reflection of a larger unknown Tillis referenced: how the new Congress will work together.

Emphasizing he was proud of substantial achievements – infrastructure, Covid-relief and inflation reduction legislation were referenced – in the last two years through a “by necessity, bipartisan approach,” he doesn’t know how much collaboration will be possible in what he described as “a difficult Congress.”

He said in the previous term, Congress was able to address national-scale “big rock” issues, but sees no signs of that in the current, politically combative climate.

“The ideological divide will likely not be resolved in this Congress,” he said.

That also led Tillis to advise local leaders – following questions concerning federal assistance for prioritized projects – to work together to highlight regional needs, present a unified front and consider policies offering the best solution, even if some aspect is not universally popular.

He said fixing the problem should be the focus, and part of that process should include making sure those standing in opposition “understand the consequences of ‘No.’”

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