Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake, a six-term Republican House member who is hoping to move up to the Senate, blamed “regulatory overreach” by the Obama administration for economic woes in his state and across the country.
“If Arizona is in any way a microcosm for regulatory overreaches – and I think it is – then it is no wonder the economy is struggling,” the congressman said in Saturday’s weekly Republican address.
“Whether it is locking up prime mining lands in Northern Arizona to responsible mining, considering expensive and unnecessary requirements on power plants that could threaten water deliveries across the state, forcing state and local governments to shell out precious dollars to just get off the regulatory hook for dust storms they can’t prevent or control, or threatening hotels and resorts with requirements to install permanent lifts in every pool and spa, there seems to be no end to the regulatory appetite of this administration,” Mr. Flake said.
The congressman is locked in a tight race with Democrat Richard Carmona in the battle to succeed Sen. Jon Kyl, a Republican who is retiring at the end of this term.
The latest Public Policy Polling survey in the state has Mr. Carmona, a doctor who served as U.S. Surgeon General under President George W. Bush, up 2 points, 45 percent to 43, though other polls, including an internal Flake poll, show the congressman ahead.
Mr. Flake, the second Arizona Republican in a month to deliver the weekly Republican address, also noted a personal milestone, the birth of his grandson, and expressed concerns about the federal debt that will be inherited by new generations.
“Aiden Jeffrey Flake was lucky enough to be born in the greatest country in the world,” Mr. Flake said. “While it will be years before he is ready to start school, his share of the national debt is already over $50,000.”
• David Eldridge can be reached at deldridge@washingtontimes.com.
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