Teche Area residents flocked to the standing-room only Iberia Parish Council chambers Friday for a question and answer session about local and national issues with U.S. Sen. David Vitter.

At a town hall meeting hosted by Vitter, R-Metairie, residents focused on, among other things, illegal immigration, health care insurance, Medicare and above all, the energy crisis.

“When it comes to gas prices, it’s not just the first question, it’s the first 10 questions I get at these town hall meetings,” Vitter said.

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Vitter said he voted against Congress returning home in August because members had not yet acted on the “biggest issue in the country,” but added that it will be one of the first issues to act on when session opens again in September.

Action will have to be taken to decrease demand for oil, he said, like new forms of energy, energy conservation and new technology. It is equally important to address the supply of oil by finding and producing it from the United States, Vitter said.

“We can’t just drill or conserve our way out of the problem,” he said. “We have to do both.

“The American people get that. There’s a clear, common sense consensus in the real world that there is no simple answer.”

For residents like Ryan Case who raised questions about illegal immigration, Vitter said although $2 billion in additional funding has improved enforcement at the border, the key to controlling illegal aliens is not at the border.

“The biggest missing piece is in the workplace, not the border,” he said.

Vitter proposed a new electronic system with a database for employers to use when screening applicants for jobs. It would be a time-consuming and expensive process, but it is possible, he said.

“They come here for the jobs,” he said. “If we truly have a system where 97-98 percent of illegal aliens can’t get a job, that would solve a lot of our problems.”

Vitter introduced a bill that would cut federal funding for “sanctuary cities,” cities around the country that vote to “look the other way on illegals,” he said.

When Karen Boudreaux asked about Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination provisions that pertain to Social Security benefits, Vitter said he opposed them because of the large amount of money the government takes from people’s Social Security funds.

With the upcoming federal elections, Vitter said it would be better and more efficient to begin a massive bipartisan Social Security reform bill with the new administration in January.

The crowd briefly paused at the question and answer session to offer a round of applause to Vitter for the work he has done to bring federal money to New Iberia for consideration of an overpass over the railroad tracks. The overpass is being proposed to better enable people who need emergency care to get to a hospital without being barred by a train passing.

“Thank you so much for helping to get things done,” said City Councilman David Broussard. “We’re using the $1.6 million you’ve gotten us federally, and we’re using your money now.”

One resident told Vitter she is worried about the Medicare program, citing that many doctors are denying the Medicare card as a form of payment.

Vitter said he is working on a bill that would eliminate the sustainable growth rate formula, which calculates how much doctors will be reimbursed for Medicare patients.

“Doctors are opting out of Medicare because reimbursements are too low,” he said. “The seniors are hurt most by that.”