By Trevor Keiser
Leader Staff Writer
The Oxford and Lake Orion Chambers of Commerce teamed up to host a roundtable discussion with U.S Senator Gary Peters (D) at Independence Village in Oxford on Friday Jan. 26.
Peters, was elected to U.S. Senate in 2014, serves on the senate’s commerce, science and transportation committee, the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, the joint economic committee and small business and entrepreneurship committee.
‘I come from a business background. I spent 20 plus years in the investment business, prior to being in public service, serving in the state senate and then in the House,? he said. ‘And now the U.S. Senate I wanted to also focus on those business issues, so when it came to getting committee assignments. I couldn’t get all the committees I really wanted, because I’m the new guy coming in.?
But one committee Peters is proud he landed on was the commerce, science and transportation committee, which has jurisdiction over everything in the economy with the exception of banks and energy.
‘The thing that is the most important here for us in Michigan is that (that committee) works closely with the auto industry,? he explained. ‘Having the fact that the autos are important here in Orion with the (General Motors) Orion plant, all the suppliers that we have everywhere that’s around the state, this is something I’ve always made a priority in my work.?
Peters said back when he won his original congressional district for the State Senate back in 2008, he was very involved in the auto-rescue plan and intimately involved in working with Chrysler, until they redistricted him and then he had GM in his district. Now he has all of the big three, which he says are working on a variety of things.
‘Probably one of the most exciting things that is just going to be transformative for the auto-industry has to do with intelligent vehicles, (which includes) vehicle to vehicle communications, vehicle to infrastructure and ultimately autonomous vehicles that drive themselves,? he said. ‘It sounds science fiction, but we are literally just a few years away from this happening. My goal is to make sure Michigan is the center of that. We have to continue to be the center of the auto-industry and the only way to do that is we have to be able to make sure we’re on the very cutting edge when it comes to these new technologies that are coming online.?
Peters noted that some of the computer technology coming down the line is ‘pretty remarkable.?
‘The National Highway Traffic Safety Board believes what we’re seeing come online right now, means that we will likely see 80 percent of all car crashes eliminated,? he said. ‘That’s pretty significant and that’s before you get to autonomous vehicles.?
Peters fielded questions from the audience on several subjects including the new fiduciary rules that will be coming from the Department of Labor, as well as how to fix the country’s overall deficit.
‘There is no question that you have to put the country on sound financial footing and concerned about where is the long term. The deficit has come down dramatically over the past few years. The annual deficit is down, it’s over half of what it was before,? he said. ‘The solution to it is not an easy one, which makes it politically difficult, but it’s one we must do.?
Peters said the only way to reduce the deficit is to look at it as three-legged stool.
‘You have to do all three legs of the stool or none of the math works,? he said. ‘Most people want to do two of the legs, but not three legs.?
The three legs are economic growth, cutting spending and looking at revenue sources.
‘It’s hard to do all three,? he said.
Peters also talked about how there needs to be better discussions on healthcare and how to deliver it more efficiently.
‘It’s about how we think about this as a business person and how we do it and incentivize it properly,? he added.
He finished the roundtable with discussion on future energy sources.
It’s important to have a diverse energy base, he said. ‘We can’t just focus on one source.?