Spotlight on the IL 17th Congressional District

• Native of Rock Island, IL
• Attended, Blackhawk College
• Container Corporation of America, 1983-1987
• Insurance/Financial Services, Prudential Insurance Company, 1987-1995
• Owner, Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza, 1997-present

ISSUES

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY: In the early 1980’s President Reagan cut taxes and the economy exploded as wages increased, unemployment fell, and an astounding 19 million new jobs were created during his eight years in office.  And because of the amount of new jobs, tax revenue for the government nearly doubled during his presidency.  This type of tax policy will bring us out of recession and back into prosperity.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: As your representative, I will work to reduce spending, balance the budget, and pay down our debt.  This is the only choice we have, if we are to pass on an economically stable country to our children and grandchildren.

HEALTHCARE: In order to lower costs and expand quality coverage, reform must address: Medical malpractice (tort) reform; An increase in the number of doctors and nurses; Increased tax incentives toward the purchase of insurance and healthcare expenses; The creation of small business association health plans; Opening up competition nationwide; Eliminating burdensome regulations on Community Health Centers for the underserved; Standardization of insurance paperwork and procedures; Reducing waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid; All individuals taking responsibility for their health and for a portion of their expenses

INTEGRITY: Our country has been taken over by many representatives who have put their own best interests ahead of the people that elected them. As your representative, I will not take an annual pay raise, the government health insurance plan, or the pension.

NATIONAL SECURITY: The government’s greatest responsibility is to protect its citizens.

FOREIGN POLICY: America needs a firm, proactive foreign policy in order to deal with problems before they become crises.  We must be realistic about current threats and deal with them using a strategy of respect, endurance, intelligence, power, and historical knowledge.

ENERGY: The American Energy Act, which has been proposed in Congress, allows the opening up of America’s vast energy supply and keeps environmental protections in place.  Put simply, we need to drill here, drill now, pay less, and create jobs.

PROTECTING LIFE: Life begins at conception. The Right to Life Act and The Pregnant Women Support Act are two of the most sound pieces of legislation Congress has ever introduced.  They protect the lives of unborn children and provide support for mothers in need. These must be passed if we are ever to build a culture of life in this country. 

VETERANS ISSUES: The men and women who have fought for this great nation should not have to come home and fight for the benefits they have earned. Our veterans' hospitals should be the standard throughout our nations' medical facilities for quality and affordable healthcare. 

GUN RIGHTS: As stated in The Constitution, 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'  

AGRICULTURE: Many farmers work all their lives to maintain their farms, provide America and the world with needed agricultural products, and then pass on their farms to their children or grandchildren.  This is why I favor repeal of the estate/death tax.

EDUCATION: The blame for the problems in our education system cannot be put on teachers and administrators alone. Parents must take responsibility for their children’s education and lawmakers must take a step back from creating more regulations that make it harder for teachers to teach.

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE: Our transportation infrastructure is in great need of modernization. These deficiencies increase transportation costs, which in turn drive up the cost of every product we buy and make American products less attractive on the world market. I am committed to increasing the capacity of our roads, airports, and rivers.

TRADE: Trade with other countries stimulates the economy and creates jobs by expanding markets for American business. However, we need to ensure that trade is fair for our businesses in our agreements with other nations. 

IMMIGRATION: We must secure our borders to ensure illegal immigrants do not enter this country, we must not reward people who do enter illegally, and we must work with our neighbors on border law enforcement and to promote economic opportunity in their countries, in order to prevent illegal immigration for economic reasons. I will not support any bill that contains amnesty. 

LABOR: Union elections must continue to be free and fair with the secret ballot system.

SENIORS: We must begin to work to keep Social Security and Medicare solvent and effective. Out of control government spending combined with the recession has resulted in the greatest threat to Social Security and Medicare solvency we've ever seen. We must work to fix Social Security's current unsustainability through spending offsets and comprehensive reform. Cutting benefits to seniors cannot be an option. I support Rep. Roskam's H.R. 5546, a bill that would establish Medicare fraud protections that could save the government over $100 billion over the next decade.

WELFARE: We have an obligation to take care of those people that can not take care of themselves, whether they are children, disabled, or temporarily out of work. However, it is absolutely wrong for the government to take money, from people that work, through taxes, and give it to people that choose not to work, through welfare programs.