Congressman Sam Graves spoke to voters Tuesday at Salisbury High School’s showpiece fieldhouse on South Maple Street, as he faced several dozen of his constituents from a multi-county area, part of his August Listening Tour.
At Salisbury, Graves said he wanted to update his audience on the work of the Congress to halt President Obama’s attempts to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, reduce Second Amendment rights for gun owners and impose federal regulations on farmers through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the USA program. The latter would allow the EPA to regulate ditches, flood plains, ponds, streams and farmlands — a move that Graves pointed out has been bridled by Congress. He also saluted the U.S. Supreme Court for rejecting the president’s attempt to grant amnesty via executive order.
The president, Graves said, has repeatedly demonstrated his “disdain for the Constitution.” He said he did not know who would win the presidential election, but suggested he and his colleagues in the Congress would welcome the chance to work with a new president in passing a conservative budget.
“President Obama cannot regulate what Congress has refused to legislate,” Graves said.