‘Why aren’t you doing anything about it?’

Bill Schafer, candidate for Iowa’s third district Congressional seat, answered questions about abortion, health care and immigration during a meet and greet Monday at Creston’s Pizza Ranch.

Should he be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Schafer said he will focus his energy on supporting the Constitution, which he believes is in danger of being weakened, along with national security and immigration.

Retired Colonel Schafer is a 32-year Army veteran whose last post brought him to Iowa, which he now considers home. Due to his father’s military career in addition to his own, Schafer has lived in many states and overseas.

After a conversation with friends complaining about the state of politics in this country last year, Schafer said he looked in the mirror and asked himself, “Why aren’t you doing anything about it instead of just complaining.” That conversation and the introspection that followed eventually led to Schafer’s run for Congress.

Schafer will face David Young and Joshua Louis Schoenblatt in the June 2 Republican primary.

Health care

Creston resident Toby Henry asked Schafer about his stance on health care and insurance. Schafer said he doesn’t think the federal government should have gotten involved in health care in the first place,

“Once the federal government gets involved, the prices get artificial,” Schafer said. “Because the market gets taken out of the process.”

Now that the government is involved there are things that can be done to help lower costs such as transparency in billing, Schafer said.

“The first step is causing the medical system to give you one bill, not being able to give you a bill today and a week later ... it seems like you don’t even know when you are done paying for a particular visit,” he said. “ You get your car repaired, the bill can shock you, but they can’t send you another one a week later and say ‘the brake repair guy, that bill just came in.’”

He said transparency might not fix the problem completely, but at least patients would know what their entire bill is rather than having to go back to the insurance and the hospital several times to figure it out.

Schafer also advocates for separating everyday medical expenses from catastrophic illnesses and accidents to protect patients from bankruptcy due to medical bills.

Abortion

Schafer and Henry discussed Schafer’s pro-life platform with Henry asking why there is not a definitive stance on abortion on Schafer’s website. Schafer said he is still working on the wording that will show his pro-life stance while not alienating those who advocate for victim’s rights.

“That’s going to turn a number of folks away and make them think I have a hard head and don’t care about the victims,” Schafer said. “That’s what I’m struggling to articulate.”

Schafer said, on the issue of pregnancy caused by rape or incest, he doesn’t think abortion should be the default solution.

“If you allow the abortion, you didn’t solve the problem; you just created another problem,” Schafer said. “That (an abortion) is also going to be traumatic.”

Immigration

Schafer said he believes national security is important to the country. He objects to the current rhetoric that paints those who are against illegal immigration as anti-immigration.

“That’s not immigration,” he said. “They use that word ... immigration by the definition is folks that are immigrating to this country to become citizens and merge into our society ... People walking across your border and carrying their country’s flag and basically planting it in our dirt, that’s not immigration. You could argue it’s invasion.”

When asked about his support for the wall on the United State’s border with Mexico, Schafer said he feels “a physical barrier is necessary” and that it should be paired with more resources for the border patrol.

However, he said the key to stopping illegal entry to the U.S. is to remove the incentives such jobs and birth-right citizenship. He said holding employers responsible when they knowingly hire workers who are illegal is one step that needs to be taken.

Schafer went on to say immigration laws should take into account the needs of the country.

“It doesn’t mean that everybody that comes in has to be rich or has to be a rocket scientist,” he said.

His plan would include the federal government forecasting the types of jobs that are needed — computer workers or welders, for example he said — and adjusting the number of immigrants allowed.

Schedule

Schafer will hold meet and greets in Union County at noon today at the Roadside Bar N Grill 400 N. Division, Arispe, and 6 p.m. today at Homestead Assisted Living, 1709 W. Prairie St., Creston. The public is invited.