PORT ANGELES — State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, a candidate for the 6th Congressional District, discussed his approach to fiscal issues, immigration and more during a Port Angeles Business Association meeting at Joshua’s Restaurant.
MacEwen said Tuesday that Congress needs to pass a budget as a first step toward addressing federal fiscal issues. In the budget, he said legislators should try to cut wasteful programs and reinvest those resources into programs that work.
“To truly do a budget, you have to dig deep, and you have to find the things you’re going to cut,” he said.
One of the areas MacEwen said Congress should examine is the Department of Defense.
“We have to spend right,” he said. “It’s having the courage to get rid of the wasteful programs and invest elsewhere.”
To make the changes he’s proposing, MacEwen stressed the need for working across the aisle.
“If you can’t develop relationships and friendships on the other side, you’re not going to get a lot done,” he said. “We’ve got to stop vilifying each other.”
He also said he was generally opposed to tax increases.
“You cannot tax your way to prosperity,” he said. “On the surface, no, I don’t support a tax increase. Asking working families to give up more in this economic environment is the wrong solution.”
State Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, MacEwen’s opponent for the seat currently occupied by Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, did not attend Tuesday’s forum due to a scheduling conflict, according to Erik Houser, spokesperson for Randall’s campaign.
“She looks forward to meeting with voters in Port Angeles and the Peninsula between now and election day,” Houser said.
MacEwen also addressed questions surrounding hot-button federal issues like immigration, abortion, student loan forgiveness and social security.
He said he was not in support of sanctuary states or cities, which he said invite individuals to circumvent the system and gain refuge in the United States.
To address illegal immigration, MacEwen said he would support reforming immigration laws, devoting more resources toward reviewing asylum cases and securing the border.
“In order to protect people who are rightfully here, we’ve got to secure our borders,” he said.
MacEwen said he would not support a national abortion ban because that would go against the wishes of most Washington residents, who made abortion legal through a ballot referendum in 1970.
He said he also opposed student loan forgiveness, although he would support reforming the student loan program.
“I don’t think it’s right for the rest of the citizenry to pay for other people to default on their education,” he said.
To help reform social security, MacEwen said he would support raising the retirement age for those who are not in the current workforce.
“That’s not going to solve the problem today, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
MacEwen also addressed local issues such as rural healthcare and job creation.
Rural health systems are “vitally critical,” he said, and better Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements need to be offered to them.
“Partial reimbursements are a huge part of the problem,” he said.
He suggested infrastructure investments that promote business expansion as one way to help with job creation.
“Investments need to start happening now, and the longer we punt on that, the worse the problem becomes,” he said.
MacEwen’s past experience includes founding an investment business and serving in the Navy, the state House and the state Senate.
MacEwen said his resume has “given me a well-rounded experience to help represent this district.”
“I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers,” MacEwen said. “[But] I will always put my constituency ahead of all other concerns.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.