Almost a year ago, Jack Bergman was elected as northern Michigan’s Congressman; since then there’s been ongoing controversy from the White House, legislative standoffs, nuclear threats from North Korea, and criticism back home from some who say he’s not spent enough time meeting with constituents. Bergman addressed many of the issues of the day in a conversation with The Ticker. 

Ticker: How you’ve spent your past week?
Bergman: The week sometimes, if you allow it to be, is a fast-paced, issue-filled blur, where you deal with issues one at a time hour-by-hour. But that’s the way the process was designed to work and that’s where your staff comes into play. They’re great. We finished the week completing the last eight appropriation bills, and I’m very proud of how that came out. I had one VA Oversight subcommittee meeting that involved one of unfortunately several areas that the VA needs to work on its accountability, in this case dealing with how much they spent on mail and why they couldn’t accurately account for it. So the average week is committee hearings…natural resources we had a markup a few days ago…

Ticker: You have some town halls in northern Michigan upcoming.
Bergman: Yes, what I told folks in August is we are going to be holding some community engagement events. I think the name “town hall” gives the wrong message in some cases. But we’re going to engage the community and listen. I promised folks that there would be town halls in some of the major areas by Halloween.

Ticker: What do you say to the people who are so upset that you’ve held so few town halls and waited so long?
Bergman: I guess what I say is if they’d ask me on the front end I’d have told them. There was no avoidance here; you have to manage your schedule so you can commit to people. There’s nothing worse than to say, “I’m going to meet with you” and then have to cancel. If they’re degrading me on how soon versus the quality [of the events], I guess I’d have to disagree.

Ticker: The town hall you held in Gaylord a few months back had such acrimony. How do you deal with that side of it?
Bergman: Number one, I’m a father and grandfather, so I’m used to tantrums. And that behavior does not represent the mainstream. That’s very few people trying to make something for their own individual purposes, and it just takes away from those who just want to come and listen. You know, we as the freshman class of the 115th Congress, on a bipartisan basis, gave speeches on the floor and made a commitment to civility. We agreed we’d debate the issues passionately but in the end not attack the person. We’ve got folks in D.C., both Democrats and Republicans, young and old, working together to get things done. But that just unfortunately doesn’t make the news right now.

Ticker: There’s so much to say and ask about Donald Trump, from his policies to his behavior to Russia. Where are you on your party’s president right now?
Bergman: I’ve supported the president since he was running for president. I’m a new guy in Washington too, and we really need leadership. The status quo of how we’re doing business is not working. The bottom line is doing things the same way over and over again without getting results shows a lack of understanding of how to deal with problems. The establishment is a little unnerved that the president is a different kind of leader, but you know, as a Marine, I was viewed as a different kind of leader, too.

Ticker: Closer to home here, what about the Line 5 pipeline? What specifically do you support in terms of action there?
Bergman: Number one, my position hasn’t changed since I went on the campaign trail a year-and-a-half ago. As a pilot, I never took a plane into the air that wasn’t certified. So if [the pipeline] is safe, keep it that way and keep it inspected. If it’s not, shut it down. But this has to be a data-driven decision, not an emotional decision. All parties, whether Enbridge or the State of Michigan, have to make sure that nothing -- and I mean nothing -- bad happens. We are going to assume zero risk on this.

Ticker: What do you make of the latest developments in North Korea?
Bergman: The world is a dangerous place. And whether we want to or not, we as the United States are the world leader protecting our own citizens and working as part of coalitions to protect the world from bad actors. North Korea will always be a recalcitrant child that exhibits bad behavior. So I think a combination of sanctions, diplomacy -- and by the way, we haven’t hit the full effect of sanctions yet, but that’s being worked on by Secretary of State Tillerson -- and maintain a strong military presence. But if it wasn’t North Korea, it would be somewhere else. That’s why our forward presence, particularly with the United States Army in South Korea, is so critical.

Ticker: What are the most common constituent calls your office receives?
Bergman: It depends. We have those who want to vent about a particular subject, the negative of the day, which varies based on what the media is reporting. I’ll monitor the calls sometimes, or listen in, and on occasion I’ll weigh in. But people want to know when are we going to get more jobs in Michigan; when are we going to get to creating an environment where Michiganders can raise a family and get a good education and either stay or leave but hopefully come back to the state. But most calls are where we can help due to some mistake the federal government has made in a payment. The federal government pays out $150 billion -- with a “b” -- in improper payments.

Ticker: How can this job possibly be fun and rewarding right now?
Bergman: Oh, that’s easy. If you allow it to be, it could be [bad]. But my glass has always been more than half-full; I was raised in a family that celebrated what you had. And it’s the people…the people I work with, colleagues in the House, the staff. One example of a diversion to take the edge off and have some fun is we have an annual Congressional football game. Unlike the baseball game where it’s Democrats versus Republicans, here the Democratic and Republican members of Congress play against the capitol police. And we practice at 7am, and it’s great to get out there with colleagues and start every day on a good foot, though we never quit talking about political issues while figuring out which pass route to run. That’s how I keep my positive attitude; every day is a gift, and I choose to see it that way.