Congressman Thompson addresses public, holds private talk with Am Can officials

Napa Valley Register

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, dropped in on American Canyon Wednesday for a wide-ranging discussion with the public on the economy, the housing market and health-care reform.

Thompson spoke with the public and the American Canyon City Council after meeting privately with Mayor Leon Garcia, Vice Mayor Don Callison and City Manager Rich Ramirez.

The nation's No. 1 priority, Thompson told residents, city officials and business leaders gathered at the new Council Chambers, is turning the economy around. “We've got a lot of work to do,” he said.

The country has lost a tremendous number of jobs and that is affecting everyone, he said as he sat between Garcia and Councilwoman Joan Bennett.

“Every one of those numbers has a face on it,” Thompson said before giving details on the recently-passed federal stimulus package and the federal budget plan, which is still working its way through Congress.

The stimulus package includes about $8 million for transportation projects in Napa County; about $5 million for local schools and $4.6 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nationwide. Thompson was a forceful advocate for the Corps of Engineers â€" which is the lead agency in the Napa River flood control project â€" to receive funding in the stimulus package.

“Napa County, I think, will be a big recipient of Corps of Engineers funds,” he said. “Napa should be very pleased with what they get.”

The stimulus package will create or save between 3.5 million and 4 million jobs, Thompson said.

“It's keeping cops on the streets, it's keeping firefighters in the fire trucks, it's keeping school teachers in the schools,” he said.

“Had the stimulus bill not passed,” he said, “we wouldn't be in a recession right now; we would be in a depression.”

Of the fallout from the mortgage crisis, Thompson said the federal government must provide more strict oversight of banks and mortgage lenders.

While he said health-care reform is key, Thompson cautioned the country is not about to turn to a single-payer system. “I don't think you're going to get the radical reform that a lot of people are hoping for,” he said, noting that most people who are insured are pleased with the employer-based health-care system.

Thompson, who wants to strengthen preventative health care and bolster family practice medicine, also said he wants to expand telemedicine, a system that allows physicians to use videoconferencing and other tools to treat patients in rural areas.

Callison said the issues discussed in the private meeting were more local, including the city's plans to build water storage tanks east of town and the effort to build a recreational trail, funded in part with federal dollars, to connect the city to the Napa River. Thompson, he said, made a couple of suggestions, including reaching out to U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Callison said he was pleased that Thompson would take the time to come to American Canyon.

“We want everybody to come,” he said. “We're proud of what we have here.”