JACK BERGMAN

IRON MOUNTAIN — While border security is important, an actual wall between the U.S. and Mexico might not be the only answer, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman said in a recent interview.

In the interview, done just before the congressman from Watersmeet was to return to Washington, D.C. to address the pending partial government shutdown, Bergman said other options — additional border staffing, improved electronic surveillance — could be a better fit given the topography of the Rio Grande Valley.

“A combination of things, with maybe a wall as a part of it,” Bergman said, adding, “we don’t need symbols, we need solutions.”

At that point, it appeared President Trump might be softening his stance that any short-term spending bill include funding for the wall. But by mid-week, Trump announced he would not support the measure passed by the Senate because it did not contain money for the wall.

Bergman and most of his Republican colleagues in the House wound up Thursday adding $5.7 billion in wall funding to a Senate bill, passed earlier in the week, that would have kept government running into February but only provided $1.3 billion for border security projects.

Lacking the votes, the Senate took no action on that revised bill, setting up the partial government shutdown that started at midnight Friday.

White House officials signaled Sunday they might be willing to settle for less funding for the wall. Democrats, however, indicated while they could be persuaded to approve more money for border security, they would not agree to the wall.

Bergman pledged to “work hard to find an acceptable compromise” as congressman for District 1, which covers all of the Upper Peninsula plus 16 counties in northern lower Michigan.

Trump said part of the reason he’s pressed for border wall funding now is the Democrats will take control of the House in January.

It will mean Bergman for the first time will be working in the minority. But with only one two-year term under his belt, Bergman said he’s in a better position than some of the other Republican members who have served eight years in the majority.

“At the end of four years,” he said, “I’ll have a balance.”

He said he’s already tried to work across the aisle. “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t make it all about you,” he said, adding it’s unfortunate more Americans can’t see the bipartisan efforts that take place in federal government, rather than just the clashes.

Asked about the prospect of getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, Bergman answered, “Define out.” The U.S. will have to maintain some type of strategic presence there, he said, to deal with the small but persistant pockets of opposition that remain.

“We cannot allow these little groups to flourish,” Bergman said, adding, “The key is diplomacy has to continue to drive everything. It’s not a military answer, it’s a diplomatic answer.”

The interview took place before Trump announced troops would be withdrawn from Syria, a move that prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to say he would leave his Pentagon post by the end of February. Sunday, Trump indicated Mattis would be out effective Jan. 1, replaced by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan as acting secretary.

Bergman noted that while more money has been allocated for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it comes with the expectation it will be used for better outcomes with patients, not for expanding administration.

The VA is challenged to keep up with treating not just aging veterans but the more recent casualties of the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where use of body armor has meant fewer lives lost but more serious arm, leg and head injuries, Bergman said.

Bergman said he would be open to seeing marijuana downgraded from a schedule I to schedule II controlled substance, which would reduce the penalties involved. Having it as schedule I also has made it more difficult to do research on its potential medicinal uses, Bergman noted.

He promised to check on whether the U.S. Attorney General could take independent action, without the need for legislation.

As to Michigan on Nov. 6 voting to become the first Midwest state to legalize recreational use of marijuana, Bergman said time is needed to look at the unintended consequences of that move, the costs that could result as communities adjust to seeing increased use.

On a final note — for those who questioned whether he truly is a resident of the Upper Peninsula, Bergman had this message: Thank you. He believes it helped him gain a second term.

“Basically they told a lie,” Bergman said, “and people voted for me … it was a political stunt.”

He recommended U.P. residents keep up with issues but “don’t get caught up in personality,” stay informed and “please exercise your right to vote.”

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 40, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.