Freshly off the campaign trail, former schoolteacher and recently re-elected 1st Congressional District Rep. Tim Walz reassured a group of about 70 Albert Lea High School seniors Thursday about the importance of their opinions as members of the rising generation.

Because the country will someday be turned over to the next generation, he said, it is frustrating for him when people don’t take the time to talk to the youth of this country.

“Make no mistake, your opinions matter,” Walz said.

He noted he hopes it’s clear that the decisions being made at the Capitol have more of an impact on the younger generation than on other generations like his own.

“Why talk to high school kids?” he said to the American government students. “You’re going to inherit all of this.”

Before getting elected to the United States House of Representatives two years ago, Walz taught 11th-grade global geography at Mankato West High School. He is on a five-year leave of absence.

He said he loves going back into the schools and talked about how impressed he is with the new Albert Lea High School. He had a brief tour before meeting with the students.

He said though he knows people are sick of hearing politics after the election, he wanted to point out that it seemed this time around the media recognized how involved young people were in the election. And that’s because “you’re optimistic you can make change,” he said.

Walz explained a little of his background to the students about what he’s done in his life and how he decided to run for Congress. He flies out to Washington, D.C., every Monday morning, and then every Friday he flies back to his wife and family, he said.

He talked about how he retired as a command sergeant major after being deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He came out frustrated that Congress wasn’t working, he said, so he decided to run for office himself, which is not a cheap thing to do. Running for a seat in Congress costs about $3 million; a lot of fundraising is needed.

He told the students how he was elected as president of the freshmen class in 2006, a recognition that more reflective of his constituents than himself, he said. He also talked about the committees he has served on.

After Walz gave his introduction, students asked the congressman questions about other topics including energy, Social Security, Medicare, health care and the war in Iraq.

A few students expressed concerns about ever being able to see the benefits of Social Security in their own lives, and Walz explained there are a few things that can be done to extend Social Security’s lifespan.

This includes making sure that money set aside for Social Security stays set aside for the program. The retirement age might also have to be raised, he said.

Forty-five percent of seniors in the United States depend solely on Social Security, he said.

Regarding taxes, Walz said the bottom line is when people are taxed, the sole purpose is to be able to do things collectively that a person can’t do alone. For example, he said, he alone cannot build roads, but together it can be done.

“Those who say we should eliminate all taxes, it’s going to be difficult,” he said.

Regarding the health care crunch, Walz said most of this country’s health care is spent on treatment for chronic disease, where it should be spent on preventative measures.

“Everyone I think should have health care because morally it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “It also makes sense economically.”

It is actually costing taxpayers more money to not insure everyone, he said.

And he doesn’t think any parent should have to choose between paying their rent or taking their child to the doctor, he said.

He hopes people can move on from the thinking of one party versus another and become more unified, he said.