Saying he felt those seeking public office should tell the voters why they should support a candidate, U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield came to Albany last week to explain why he was seeking another term in Washington.

“When you run for public office – whether the first time or second or third or fourth time, I think you have to tell people why are you doing this and why should we support you,” Whitfield said.

The Republican from Hopkinsville who represents Clinton County as a part of his 1st Congressional District, made those comments to about 30 constituents and public officials gathered in the Clinton Circuit Courtroom last Thursday morning.

The visit was a part of a tour of his 1st Congressional District that Whitfield is making to announce his hopes to be re-elected to a 10th term in Congress, beginning his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995.

Whitfield was introduced to the audience first by Clinton County Republican Chairman David L. Cross, and also by Clinton County Judge/Executive Lyle Huff.

During his half-hour talk last Thursday, Whitfield spent most of the time discussing familiar issues, the economy and the national debt, the need for jobs creation and the energy needs of America.

He also said he was aware that for the most part, the American people are very dissatisfied with the government.

“I’m very much aware, that the American people are quite upset today and that they are frustrated at a lot of things, and that the approval rating of Congress is not very high,” Whitfield said. “

Whitfield said that the national debt had reached $16.2 trillion, adding that the current amount had increased by some $5.2 trillion during the three years that President Obama had been in office, and he blamed much of that on the stimulus packages and bailouts that the current administration had pushed for.

“I voted against every stimulus package and I voted against every bailout – some people liked the way I voted and a lot of people didn’t,” Whitfield said. “The reason I voted like I did was because I did not believe there was sufficient guidelines in the legislation to determine how the money should be spent.”

He also tied his vote against the stimulus packages to the current administrations’ desires to see America become leaned away from using fossil fuels, such as coal, and replace our energy needs with renewable sources such as solar and wind power.

“The truth of the matter is there is not enough solar power and wind power to meet the electrical needs of America,” Whitfield said. “As a matter of fact, we expect our electricity needs to increase by 50 percent by 2035 and if we’re going to be competitive in the global market place, we have to have electricity produced at a rate that is low enough that we can be competitive and the primary way that we can do that is by burning coal.”

Whitfield, who sits on the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee, said that America currently has a 250 year supply of coal, adding that the use of coal to generate electricity is currently, and can continue to be, supplemented by nuclear power and natural gas powered generation.

He also talked about grants and loans, totalling in the billions of dollars, that had been provided to companies tied to renewable energy resources, many of which have since filed for bankruptcy since receiving the grants and loans.

“I believe, and I think most of you believe, and I think most people in Kentucky believe, that the success of our country from an economic stand point has been individuals willing to risk their private capitol to build a business to make a product and to create jobs, without a lot of government assistance,” Whitfield said. “I don’t believe that America’s government should be picking winners and losers and using taxpayer money to fund whatever their particular interest is.”

Whitfield also mentioned the health care bill, noting that one factor would add some 20 million people to the medicaid rolls – a number that already has most states, including Kentucky, struggling to pay the expenses of the current number of medicaid recipients.

“We’ve turned our health care system upside down, for certain reasons that are not going to be accomplished,” Whitfield said. “These issues are so important and so complex, and the state of our country is going to be dependent on these big decisions that are going to be made in the next few years – so that’s why I’m running again for U.S. Congress.”