Congressman Dennis Moore, in separate talks Friday in Lawrence, took issue with the growing federal deficit.

After taking student questions at Lawrence High School, Moore, D-Kan., said the government must do something to “stop this horrible, hemorrhaging debt.”

Later in the day, during a speech at a Lawrence Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Moore displayed a large screen that showed the current national debt. The figure hovered at more than $7 trillion.

“I asked the students why they should care about this,” Moore, who represents the 3rd District, said during the luncheon. “One shot up her hand and said, ‘Because we’re going to have to pay for this.'”

Moore said the government was paying $1 billion a day in interest on the national debt.

Moore, a member of the Budget and Financial Services committees, also spoke about:

• A bill he introduced in January that would allow Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to negotiate with drug companies for lower prescription drug prices for seniors. The Medicare Act passed into law last year banned such negotiations.
• A bill signed by President Bush that reimbursed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who paid for their rest and relaxation travel out of their own pockets. Previously the government would pay for troops’ trips back to the United States, but not necessarily to their hometowns.

Moore spoke to about 50 people at the luncheon. Earlier in the day he appeared on a KLWN radio show and spoke to the Kansas Postal Workers Union state convention. He also spoke Friday afternoon to seniors at Babcock Place.