Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson made a visit to the legislature Thursday where he shared a list of things that he believes will help economic development.
He says the first task in encouraging economic development is eliminating uncertainty.
“You can’t eliminate all uncertainty of course but, when public policy multiplies the amount of uncertainty that’s out there, for the private sector, for the public sector, that’s a burden,” he says.
Matheson also included in his list energy development and making sure education is structured to prepare people for much needed tech jobs. Several members of the legislature then asked Matheson questions, including one about his thoughts on immigration reform. He says the U.S. Senate’s recently passed proposal is at least a start.
“I approach it with some level of reservation about what the specifics are going to be," he says. "I think we all want to see what specific proposals are but, to me, we can’t continue with the situation that we have right now.”
Matheson also criticized the U.S. Congress’ top down approach to legislation.