Comer Discusses Bills, Taxes, Tweets, Harassment

Congressman James Comer has written his first bill, which is designed to hold federal employees more accountable, and he thinks it may pass the House this week.

Comer's legislation extends the probationary period for a new federal employee before they become permanent.

Comer told West Kentucky Star, "When you look at problems with the VA and other federal bureaucracies, I think it's a good government bill that holds employees more accountable and allows the management to be able to have a longer period of time to evaluate employees."

He said many conservative groups, such as Heritage Foundation and Freedom Works are excited about the bill, and it has support of the Trump administration.

Mark Meadows, Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, has co-written the bill with Comer, who believes it will be voted on this week. 

Comer recently met with President Donald Trump and took advantage of the opportunity to take a "selfie" with the Commander-in-Chief and posted it on Facebook. However, he doesn't use social media nearly as much as the President.

"I try to be a little more disciplined," he said. "I'm at the end of the bench and he's the main guy, that's for sure."

Constituents have suggested that Comer tell Trump to stop Tweeting as often as he does, but the Congressman hasn't broached the subject.

"So many people have told him that, I think that makes him Tweet more, so my strategy is 'don't even mention it to the President.' He's gonna keep Tweeting, I think he enjoys harassing the liberal media and that's one reason he continues to do it," Comer said. 

The first district representative said he thinks the President is beginning to make progress. He said some of the older, more established legislators are frustrated with Trump because of how he operates, including how he uses Twitter.

Comer said, "I think that's what the American people want, they're not satisfied with business as usual. So there's some new members of Congress and this President, and I think we're trying to make the change the American people want, and I believe you're going to see the results."

The freshman congressman said progress is being made on bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. He said this is being done by reducing regulatory burdens from the previous administration, cutting taxes, and re-negotiating trade deals. 

He's optimistic tax cut legislation the House passed last week will also pass the Senate. 

Comer disagrees with opponents of the bill who say middle-class taxpayers will be in worse shape than they are now.

He said, "The average wage in this district is $28,000 a year. If you're married and have a child, the standard deduction goes from $12,000 to $24,000. Then, with the child tax credit, if you're making $28,000 a year, you don't pay any federal income tax under this bill. So, I don't see how some of the people who are complaining about the tax bill can say it raises taxes for working poor or middle-class people when it eliminates taxes for the average wage earner in the first congressional district."

As for the recent increase in sexual harassment claims in the nation's capital, Comer believes everybody has gotten the message, and is taking the situation very seriously. He said if there have been legislators who have used taxpayer dollars to pay settlements, they must be held accountable. He knows colleagues are looking into it.

Comer said, "I think there's a lot of digging going on. It's getting a lot of attention in Washington, as it should. Hopefully, if there is a culture - I have not seen that culture - but if there is a culture of bad behavior in Washington that it will be changed immediately."