Burr reflects on first term

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, came through Kinston twice this week to tour the Lenox China factory and West Pharmaceuticals. The pressing issue on his mind was fixing the economy.

Burr, a first-term Republican senator, is up for reelection on Nov. 4 against Democratic challenger Elaine Marshall.

Burr said he realized in his first term as senator that the U.S. economy is affected on a global scale, and that when an economic hiccup happens, it has resonating effects to the rest of the world. That the hiccup was in the United States this time has been a learning process for everyone, he said.

“I think what we have learned over the past two-and-a-half years is that the same tools that we have used historically to repair our economy are not quite as effective now that we are part of a global marketplace,” Burr said.

Figuring out the answers to the economic situation are on everyone’s mind right now, and a better knowledge of the market will eventually lead to policy changes,  Burr said.

“We have got to spend more time understanding how the global marketplace impacts us,” he said. “I hope we will begin to change policies in this country so that global manufacturing is a profitable thing for American companies to do.”

Lenox China, which Burr toured on Tuesday during the August break from the Senate, should serve as a great example of a company not outsourcing their production, he said. Lenox can say they maintain “Made in America” status — which is once again becoming the preferred standard, Burr said.

Burr was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and served five terms there before being elected to the Senate in 2004. He said coming from the House meant few surprises upon his election into the Senate, but he underestimated the amount of time senators must spend in the confirmation process of the president’s cabinet.

While he said he has learned a lot during his first term in the Senate, Burr said he does not plan on doing anything differently if reelected, unless that action is called for at the particular time.

“I think anything that I do differently will be based on the times we are in,” he said. “I do not think there is any question that we need to focus like a laser beam on job creation and the economy — nothing is more important than that right now.”

Participation and involvement is the best way to change something in government, Burr said.  He applauded North Carolina’s aggressiveness in pushing early voting, and trying to recruit as many of its citizens as possible to vote.

“I believe having consistent turnout in election is essential to making sure we pick the right leaders,” Burr said. “The more people you can get to participate, the better off you are with consistency of good leaders.”

Joel Gerber can be reached at 252-559-1076 or jgerber@freedomenc.com.