Rep. Darin LaHood On Biodiesel, The Green New Deal And Trade With China

Republican Congressman Darin LaHood represents Illinois’ 18th Congressional district, which includes parts of Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and stretches all the way west to the Missouri border. We spoke with Rep. LaHood in Washington D.C. at NPR. 

When asked his thoughts on the Green New Deal, Rep. LaHood said he had some concerns about its economic impact. “We have the best economy we’ve had, in 40 years, in terms of low unemployement, in terms of jobs in terms of private sector wages going up. We want to keep that goin’." LaHood, a Republican, added that he supports an all-of-the-above approach to creating energy jobs that includes fossil fuels.

Rep. LaHood also discussed border security and the partial government shutdown earlier this year, saying, "The details [of an agreement on border funding] are still coming out. I want to read the bill. Obviously I've had concerns all along about how we secure our border....but we have to make sure we don't have another government shutdown again."

Of his districts relationship with China, Rep. LaHood said, "We are interdependent on each other. We have to work together. Our relationship is kind of like the stock market. It goes up and down."