BOISE, Idaho — During this week's episode of Viewpoint, Idaho Representative Russ Fulcher discusses the president's vaccination mandate, his no vote on raising the nation's debt limit, tapping more geothermal energy and reducing wildfire risk.
The Republican Congressman also told KTVB that he has finished chemotherapy in his fight against renal cancer. Rep. Fulcher also said that he feels pretty good and has one surgery left.
Fulcher gave that update during the taping of this week's Viewpoint with Doug Petcash, where he also said he plans to run for re-election in 2022.
The congressman has been able to continue working throughout his treatment in a hybrid way, through in-person work at the U.S. Capitol and videoconferencing while in Meridian for treatment.
Viewpoint airs Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on Idaho's NewsChannel 7 right after Meet the Press.
In the following excerpts from the interview, Rep. Fulcher discusses his cancer battle and his stance on the massive infrastructure bills being debated in Congress.
Editor's Note: The following interview has been edited for clarity and grammar.
Rep. Russ Fulcher: It's been going pretty well and I feel pretty good. There were two major processes that were recommended for my situation. One was chemotherapy and another was surgery to clean up what the chemotherapy didn't get. I'm completely done with the first part of that. It is not for the faint of heart. I have learned so much, and I have such an appreciation now for people who go through this and have been through this and have to deal with it on a more regular basis. I'm so thankful for the technology we have, for the systems that we've got. Things are going pretty well, and with God's blessing, here within a couple of months, this will be totally done.
Doug Petcash: Has this battle had an impact on whether or not you will run again in 2022?
Rep. Fulcher: No, I'm planning on running in '22 and there's no reason why, like I say, hopefully, this should be totally in the rearview mirror in the next 60 days or so.
Petcash: Congressman Simpson told me that he'll vote against the $1.2 Trillion bill, but both Senators Crapo and Risch voted for it, basically arguing that it was the lesser of two evils compared to the $3.5 Trillion "Build Back Better" bill and this $1.2 Trillion bill doesn't raise taxes because it's using unspent coronavirus relief money. Do you have any support for it, or are you against it?
Rep. Fulcher: I'll be opposing it, and it's because the circumstances have changed. By the way, I don't criticize my colleagues for their actions. They were working under a different set of circumstances over on the Senate side. They had a stand-alone bill, and that's not the case on the House side. On the House side, it's going to be coupled with the $3.5 trillion, and that's with a T, socialization bill that is going to be combined with that for some total of 5-plus trillion. Some argue that it will actually work out to be more than that. So, I can't support those types of things. Once again, this is not sustainable. We can't continue down this path.
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