U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth discussed coal, Syria, the issues in U.S. veterans' hospitals and much more Wednesday during a WFPL News special.Yarmuth, a Democrat first elected in 2006 to represent the district covering most of Louisville, told WFPL's Rick Howlett that he wished "the Congress were more functional so we could actually initiate action and make the kind of changes in the law that I think would move the country forward. That’s not happening."Yarmuth is seeking reelection this year against Republican Michael Macfarlane and independent Gregory Peter Puccetti.Listen to the news special below:Here are some of the issues Yarmuth address.On President Obama's use of executive orders:"The president I think has no recourse in many areas other than to use his executive authority where he feels it’s appropriate. Now, to put it into perspective, in terms of executive orders, President Obama has issued fewer of them than the last five or six presidents.”On the situation in Ferguson, Missouri:“The fundamental problem that led to the militarization in Ferguson is something that every major community deals with. We’re fortunate in that we have great leadership in our police force; we have a very diverse police force. We do a lot of community policing here where officers are on the beat meeting with citizens, working all the time to establish good relationships there. So I think the climate here is a lot different.”On who should be included inKET's U.S. Senate debate in October:“I think an arbitrary standard like that is probably not a good idea. You obviously don’t want a debate show where you have two major candidates and 15 minor candidates all splitting up time equally, because that doesn’t do a service to the audience. On the other hand, that’s not the situation we have here. We just have, I guess, a couple of independent candidates running. That might not be that much of an imposition. I think a different standard may be that if somebody represents a third party that they would automatically be included. But I think it would have to be a subjective judgment.”
