My Agenda
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National Defense | Energy | Taxes | Federal Reserve | Healthcare
Education | States' Rights | Liberty | Right to Arms | Congressional Integrity
Congress spent over $180,000 dollars for every temporary job they claim to have created with the Stimulus. Even more alarming is that Congress only appropriated 6% of the Stimulus money to transportation and roads even though roads are one of the responsibilities of Congress outlined in Article I Section 8 of our Constitution. Washington cannot create jobs efficiently when it tries "one size fits all" solutions to a problem that is local. Government is most efficient at the local level so we should return money to State and local governments.
California only receives 80 cents back from every dollar we pay the federal government. Some states receive over two dollars back for every federal tax dollar paid. The State of Alaska is able to give their state residents a substantial tax rebate each year with the $1.84 they receive back from the Feds for every dollar in federal tax they pay.
California's deficit, high unemployment, and declining economy are directly related to this unfair taxation by the federal government. This burdensome taxation from the federal government has also moved California from the fifth largest economy in the world to the ninth largest.
Only when we return money to the states from the federal government will we see a better economy, efficiency in government spending, and more jobs.
It does not serve our national interests to maintain this level of troop presence in a post World War 2 era especially considering the massive debt we have accumulated and new threats to national defense that have occurred in the last decade.
Social Security for current beneficiaries must not be reduced however because these Americans have been paying into the system their whole lives with the promise that they would get the money back when they got older. Unfortunately time and time again our Congress has voted to raid money from Social Security to pay for other programs. This has led to the federal government stealing $2.5 trillion from the Social Security trust fund since 1983. I will support legislation, like this one, that makes the practice of spending Social Security money on other programs against the law.
What's worse is that the national debt has also directly affected Social Security recipients because, through inflation, the real value of the payments they receive has dramatically reduced.
I will tackle the deficit through a required balanced budget amendment, a line by line evaluation of every government program, and reduction in foreign aid (which was more than double the California deficit last year). I will do all of this with the goal of saving Social Security and protecting your tax dollars from being wasted.
Any ideas for new programs should be shelved until we get our deficit under control. Our government is spending more than twice the revenue it receives and this unsustainable debt is the biggest threat to our national security.
This debt has contributed to massive inflation that is devaluing the purchasing power of all Americans. We must Balance Our Budget, Restore Our Dollar Value, and Ensure a Better Future for the United States of America.
Unfortunately our Congress has proved time and time again that they do not have the political will to make a balanced budget. The only way to get balanced budgets is to force Congress to have one by law just like we force California legislators to have a balanced budget.
I will support a Constitutional amendment that will require Congress to balance the budget by law. We've gotten close to passing this amendment before. Between 1996 and 1997, the House of Representatives passed a balanced budget amendment and the Senate came one vote short of passing one (both votes required a two-thirds majority).
This time we will succeed in passing a balanced budget amendment because Americans have become aware of the massive inflation and destruction of our economy that occurs with huge deficits.
The Constitution mandates "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence." We have foreign invaders kidnapping Americans across our borders yet Congress ignores the Constitution and sits idly by. It is also unacceptable that parts of this country are controlled by gangs and Congress continues to ignore the Constitution's mandate against domestic violence.
Our priority should be protecting our citizens and our borders. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have distracted the Federal government from its constitutional duty to protect American citizens, in America, above all else. Arizona is overwhelmed by violent drug cartels and border related crime in California continues to escalate as a direct result of the unsecured borders.
Furthermore congressional attacks on the 2nd amendment must be stopped. The 2nd amendment is a strong deterrent against invasions by foreign nations and many have speculated that it is the reason why Japan hesitated to attack the continental United States during World War 2. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, famously warned Japan that "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass."
The United States must have a national energy policy for the 21st century. Americans have long been at the forefront of clean renewable energy. The Bay Area itself is home to some of the most advanced research in the world, both in the private and public sectors including new fuel cell technology, renewable energy production and conservation.
Cap and trade is not an energy policy; it is a tax on business and industry and will ultimately be passed on to the voters. This is not the way to make American industry competitive.
Controversial decisions such as where to drill oil domestically should be made by the states and citizens using the oil. Imposing federal mandates limiting oil production while voters willingly consume petroleum products from other countries is at odds with our values; Free Enterprise, Competition, States' Rights and National Defense.
Some states will drill for oil and others will build windmills; the beauty of a States' Rights energy policy is that we allow the states to compete for the best energy policy. States will emulate the successful energy policies of competing States just as the founders intended.
Our congressional representatives have let us down. Year after year they approve budgets that recklessly redistribute California's tax dollars and give them to other states. California receives 80 cents back from every dollar we pay the federal government. Some states receive over two dollars back for every federal tax dollar paid. The State of Alaska is able to give their state residents a substantial tax rebate each year with the $1.84 they receive back from the Feds for every dollar in federal tax they pay.
This is not right and is nothing more than redistribution of wealth. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue; it is an issue for all Californians who are punished for the economic success of our state. A vote for me is a mandate for California's congressional representatives to hold the line on our disproportionate taxation and to stop penalizing individuals and businesses for succeeding. Our Congress should not be wasting the money of the people who are productive enough to produce it.
One of my first actions in Congress will be to support a full audit of the Federal Reserve and make government transparent with our tax dollars. The Federal Reserve makes decisions determining the value of our taxdollars every day and it's about time these decisions came out from behind closed doors.
Seeking transparency regarding how our tax dollars are being spent, many congressional leaders have questioned Bernanke about what programs the Federal Reserve is spending money on. Bernanke has declined many of these questions because currently the Federal Reserve, unlike other government agencies, operates independent of congressional oversight. It is our right as taxpayers to know how our monetary supply is being manipulated and spent.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to "coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin" yet Congress feels it can outsource its responsibility to the Federal Reserve and ignore its congressional oversight role. Auditing the Federal Reserve will finally bring light to how our taxes are being used and help restore the congressional oversight responsibility of Congress.
I will co-sponsor H.R. 4995 which is a simple two paged bill appropriately titled "End the Mandate." This bill would remove the individual mandate that forces people to purchase health insurance under the government's new assumed power that it can force us to consume goods it deems necessary.
The government shouldn't be pushing "one size fits all" solutions on healthcare given that the individual healthcare problems are vastly different from state to state. The government should not mandate HMOs and should allow all citizens to purchase insurance from outside of their home state (the Constitution grants the Federal government authority over interstate commerce) to encourage competition and lower prices from health insurance providers. Additionally I will support H.R. 5444 which gives citizens a tax credit for 100% of their healthcare expenses.
Healthcare is appropriately a state issue under the 10th amendment of the Constitution however and the best solutions will come from local governments dealing with local problems; only competition of the best healthcare systems between states will provide our country with true solutions to our healthcare crisis.
Our young people represent this country's economic future. These children will also be the leaders to guide this country through increasingly complex international and domestic issues.
It is essential that we have the best education system in the world. In order for Americans to compete in the 21st Century, we must place a renewed focus on our schools; especially math and science education.
This is why resources should be directed to the states and not wasted at the federal level. We have fifty unique states. Yet Congress insists on "one size fits all" solutions for education and many other important issues where there are many options which may bring us to better outcomes.
The founders were clear in their language and it is about time we start electing more congressional leaders who do not blatantly disregard the balance of power in our republic.
Our country's value of freedom is what allows us to be innovative, prosperous and a beacon of light to the rest of the world. I will error on the side of more liberties and not less. In Congress I will vote to defend the liberties guaranteed to Americans in the Bill of Rights. I will work to end warrantless wiretapping as it is a direct violation of the fourth amendment.
I support the Repeal of the Patriot Act as it has proven to be a substantial reduction in fourth amendment rights. The national security letter provision of the Patriot Act, which allows FBI agents to write their own warrants, has been abused countless times. Additionally, frequently the Patriot Act is used for cases that have nothing to do with terrorism. We are a nation of laws and we must protect Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Another important issue for liberty is the new provisions in the recent National Defense Authorization Act which allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens, captured on American soil, without a trial and without charging them. The language in this bill that allows this obscene violation of due process rights must be repealed immediately.
Furthermore the 10th amendment found in the Bill of Rights ensures the federal government has no authority to dictate how we live our personal lives . If individual States wish to ban certain private conduct then it is within their authority (assuming it does not violate liberties guaranteed in the Constitution) and not within the authority of the federal government. Such laws were meant to be made State by State and not "one size fits all" at the federal level.
The Republican Liberty Caucus has endorsed me as the best candidate in the race to preserve our liberties and if you elect me I will do so.
I am opposed to assault weapons bans, ammunition caps, and laws which require "proof of necessity" for concealed weapons permits. Any criminal who is willing to break the law by killing another person will not care about laws regarding possession of the weapon they use to kill. Instead gun control laws end up hurting law abiding citizens by handicapping their ability to protect themselves.
I, and many other congressional candidates in other states, have made a pledge to restore congressional integrity to our government. It is recognition of four important issues every congressman should abide to.
-I will work to restore honesty and transparency to our financial system
-I will protect individual liberties and state sovereignty from being eroded by overreaching federal laws.
-I will work for a foreign policy that prioritizes protecting our citizens from those who wish to harm us by crossing our borders.
-I will actually read bills before voting on them. It's ridiculous that so many representatives neglect to do their JOB! One cannot represent constituents if he doesn't know what he's voting on.
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