Rep. Adam Kinzinger says he’s ‘very concerned’ with President Biden’s forthcoming infrastructure plan, calls for bipartisan input before support

DeKALB - During a virtual lecture hosted by Northern Illinois University’s College for Liberal Arts and Sciences, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, said the country’s democratic state is “pretty bad.”

Kinzinger’s comments came during Tuesday’s virtual NIU’s Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series, during which he fielded questions from the college’s Dean, Robert Brinkmann, on foreign policy, the state of domestic democracy, climate change and divisive political rhetoric.

“Compared to the standards that we have for ourselves, it’s pretty bad,” Kinzinger said when asked how he’d classify the health of the U.S. currently. “We pride ourselves, rightfully so, and really have a rich tradition of understanding differences, debating those differences passionately. I think it’s a mistake we get into nowadays when we assume that if someone disagrees with us then we disregard them, don’t listen to their ideas. But if you still compare us to the rest of the world, then I think we’re in an OK position. There’s a lot of countries that really struggle with having a democracy that works.”

Kinzinger also said he’s “very concerned” about President Joe Biden’s plan presented Wednesday, which will lay out the first part of the Biden administration’s multitrillion-dollar economic recovery package, focusing on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure, followed by a separate plan later in April addressing child and health care. Kinzinger made those statements before Biden unveiled the details of his plan Wednesday.

“I’ve always been a huge advocate for infrastructure,” Kinzinger said. “I’m very concerned with what I think is going to be presented [Wednesday]. It’s probably not one that just philosophically I can support. But my hope is that this infrastructure [package] is a starting point for negotiations. I do think we can get to a position where you may not have 400 members of the House vote for it but it would be bipartisan.

Kinzinger also spoke about how his time in the military, including the Air National Guard, has informed his view on foreign policy, and said “it teaches you how to navigate and respect people in an environment where you may be different.”

He said he doesn’t see the U.S. military leaving the Middle East in the near term but thinks “it’s the desire of every policymaker, every American to get out.”

“But what’s the result of leaving, and if we do, is that going to make it worse?” Kinzinger said. “The reality is, we saw this with COVID, what does happen around the world does affect us, and anytime the United States has tried isolationism ... it’s never worked.”

Kinzinger, one of a handful of outspoken Republicans who spoke out after the Jan. 6 insurrection and one of 10 House Republicans in Congress to vote for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump following the day’s attacks, called Jan. 6 “a really weird day” and said it would live in his memory much like Sept. 11, 2001.

He said he feels the democratic state of the country is going to get better and that he’s sensed a change “in the last few months,” referring to a shift among supporters of the former president away from his administration and rhetoric.

“For instance, in my party, people that were buying into the big lie, some still do, some are still spreading it,” Kinzinger said. “But there’s also some people that have even if they haven’t admitted that they’re wrong, they’ve at least backed away from it, so I think that’s a good thing, I guess.”

He urged younger generations to participate in democracy, which includes discussing and debating alternating points of view.

“The best advice I can give is you just have to be responsible for your own actions,” Kinzinger said. “You’re not going to be able to argue somebody into capitulation and saying ‘You need to see things my way.’ It’s being responsible for your own behavior and starting to see things through other people’s eyes. The younger folks are going to be the ones that have to save the democracy because they’re not entrenched in these old cultural battles.”