JONESVILLE &8212; Work on the Black River bridge in Catahoula Parish is a step in the right direction for this portion of the state, U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander told the Jonesville Lions Club Tuesday.

Alexander, R-Quitman, said the continued construction will boost the area in terms of road infrastructure.

&8220;That&8217;s what is needed in this part of the state,&8221; he said.

A crew from James Construction Group, the contractors on the project, was out Tuesday conducting soil tests to determine the length and weight of pilings it would need to use as the bridge returns to land.

The bridge, part of the plan to four-lane all of U.S. 84 along the El-Camino Corridor, is scheduled for completion in October of 2008, a representative of James Construction said.

On a statewide level, Alexander told the club the Louisiana delegation in Washington is working well together to get money for the continued reconstruction of New Orleans and the southern parishes, but that the going is tough.

&8220;There&8217;s heavy resistance,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;re in a position where we&8217;re asking people in other states for a lot of money.&8221;

With a new farm bill due to take effect next year, Alexander said he is in favor of extending the current, 2002, bill, a view contrary to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns.

&8220;I think it&8217;s working pretty good now and don&8217;t care about what other countries think,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;If we can&8217;t do something to improve it, we should just extend it.&8221;

Alexander also stood up for legislators&8217; right to earmark funding for special projects, a practice that has been heavily criticized.

&8220;As long as they&8217;re legitimate requests, I see nothing wrong with it,&8221; he said.

After his remarks, Alexander opened the floor to questions, and he got some tough ones on matters ranging from Iran to the new Medicare prescription benefit.

Joe L. Green asked the congressman what he thought of a recent &8220;New Yorker&8221; article written by Seymour Hirsch that talks of an alleged White House plan to preemptively bomb Iran.

&8220;Does the U.S. have the financial stamina to fund another war?&8221; Green asked. &8220;Does this trouble you? Is this something we need to be doing?&8221;

Alexander, unaffected by the reading choices of his constituency, said he was concerned but that he didn&8217;t think the president was in any rush to invade Iran.

Iran&8217;s

president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been very vocal of his distaste for both the United States and Israel, calling for Israel to be wiped off the map and calling the Holocaust a myth.

&8220;I think he&8217;s a big talker, and I hope he&8217;s not serious,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;But I think we ought to be prepared to strike if we had to.&8221;

The congressman talked of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit as a positive thing for elderly patients, but could be better.

&8220;People are saving money, but we&8217;ve got to make sure it doesn&8217;t come out of pharmacists&8217; pocket,&8221; he said.

George Tosspon, an independent pharmacist in Pineville, agreed with the statement.

&8220;Well, it is, and I can show you a stack of documents to prove it,&8221; he said.

Tosspon told Alexander after the meeting he has received reimbursements that either barely cover his cost or actually lose money for him.

&8220;I&8217;ve got one for 89 cents and another where I lose nine cents,&8221; he said.

&8220;Eighty-nine cents doesn&8217;t even pay for the bottle.&8221;

Alexander agreed there were some bugs to work out.

&8220;We&8217;ll see what we can do to make sure independent pharmacists can still make a living.&8221;

After a meeting in New Orleans, Alexander was to spend the night in Vidalia before attending constituent meetings in Jena, Winnfield and Ruston today.