Issues

"I'm running for Congress because I'm concerned about the direction of this country. I'm concerned for Tennessean families and businesses. I'm worried about the state of the nation that my grandchildren will inherit. Nancy Pelosi and her radically liberal colleagues are undermining the freedoms, liberties and values that we Americans have treasured for more than two centuries. I want to fight the socialism that is being pushed upon us by those in Washington and bring the conservative principles of God, family and country back to Congress. The voters of Tennessee deserve nothing less in their congressman. I ask that you join me in taking back America."

JOBS
I have been blessed to live out the American Dream in my life, but right now the American Dream is being shattered for millions of Americans and thousands of West Tennesseans. Unemployment rates have skyrocketed and local families are having difficulty paying their bills. The so-called stimulus bill adopted by the Democrat Congress has done nothing to help the situation. My top priority in Washington will be to fight to create an environment that is friendly to job creation and economic opportunity. It's well past time that the Main Streets of Jackson and Union City got more attention than Wall Street and Beverly Hills. I will support tax policies that benefit small businesses, which are the engine of our economy.

TAXES & SPENDING
The free-wheeling spending of both parties in Washington must stop. Real Americans budget as families and live off their hard-earned paychecks. Congress needs to do the same. As your representative I will fight the big government spending that is currently being pushed by the far-left and Nancy Pelosi and I will instead push to enact tax breaks for families and small businesses. We need to rollback the out-of-control spending and borrowing that is driving up our interest rates and benefiting nobody but the Chinese government. Big government is not the answer to our problems. I will not only work to rollback discretionary spending and eliminate pork, but I will address entitlement reform. Our government has made too many socialistic promises and it appears the Democrats in Washington think we can just keep printing more and more money to pay for their projects. It's time for that sort of thinking to stop.

ENERGY
My philosophy on energy is pretty simple: develop and produce as many sources domestically so that we are not beholden to the same foreign interests that wish to do us harm. So-called green energies like wind and solar are admirable, but they won't solve our problems alone. We need to greatly increase the domestic supply of natural gas and oil and that includes drilling in the outer-continental shelf and in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. And we must encourage clean coal and nuclear power. This is a serious issue that America faces and it is one of national security. Making sure our energy comes from within our country, rather than places like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, will go a long way toward making us a more secure nation. And as we produce more energy, the last thing we should do is tax it more. The job-killing cap & trade legislation being pushed by Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues is a disaster that I strongly oppose. At a time when we are facing record unemployment, we don't need more government intrusion that will stifle job-creation and increase the utility bills of Tennessean families.

HEALTH CARE
America has the greatest healthcare system in the world--I've seen that first-hand for years now. Yes, finding affordable healthcare is a real concern for many in our area, but a government takeover of the entire industry is not the answer. Congress should repeal the recently passed government takeover of our healthcare system and instead work to enact incremental and targeted reforms that improve our system, without taking away benefits from seniors like the current law does. I support common sense solutions like portability across state lines, allowing you to keep your insurance if you lose or change your job, lawsuit abuse reform so greedy trial lawyers don't drive up costs, and a ban on insurance companies discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions. This is an area where my background will help me build bipartisan support for changes we can all benefit from. Changes that will improve healthcare and drive down costs--not changes that will destroy our system and bankrupt America.

VETERANS
I was honored to serve my country as an officer in the Public Health Services, where I treated our brave servicemen and servicewomen at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I've seen firsthand the sacrifices our young men and women have made for America. I have never forgotten the debt we owe these heroes and I certainly won't forget when I go to Washington. I will work tirelessly to ensure that all of our veterans--from the grandparents of the Korea and Vietnam generations to the young college-aged kids of our current war--get the care and benefits they so richly deserved. Our veterans have volunteered to keep us safe and protect our liberties; Congress can never forget that we owe them our care in return.

NATIONAL SECURITY
We are at war. It seems that some of the liberals in Washington have forgotten that fact. But the same people who helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks are still out plotting to kill more Americans. As a people and as a government, we must remain vigilant. We must continue to maintain the strongest military in the world by giving our troops all the equipment they need to fight our enemies on the battlefield. Not only that, but domestically we need to adopt strong policies against terrorists. The fight against Islamic jihad is a war, not a police action--terrorists shouldn't be getting Miranda rights read to them and we shouldn't be trying these foreign killers in courtrooms in New York. We should be spending money to find and kill terrorists, not paying for their legal fees.

IMMIGRATION
Legal immigration is what has built America into what it is today. But illegal immigration is a scourge that takes jobs away from hard-working Americans, increases government welfare spending, and threatens national security. In Congress I will fight any efforts by liberal Democrats to enact amnesty for illegal immigrants. I sympathize with those that want to come to our country and live out the American Dream, but it must be done through the correct channels. Immigration reform, like healthcare reform, needs to be done in commonsense incremental steps. Everything starts with securing the border so more illegal aliens don't cross into the country. After that, we can address the status of those that are here illegally but no matter what they must go to the back of the line. It is wrong to punish potential immigrants who have waited their turn by "legalizing" those who have broken the law.

CONSTITUTION
After the Bible, the Constitution is the most important document in our civic lives. It appears that Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues don't share this view, as the Democrat-controlled Congress has twisted and bent the Constitution to fit their radical philosophies. When in Congress, I pledge to only support policies and initiatives that past Constitutional muster. We need to reinforce our forefathers commitments to protect free speech, free assembly, free exercise of religion and our individual property rights.

FAMILY
I am an unabashed social conservative and will be on the right side of the culture war that is currently being waged in Washington. I will stand up for our families, our religions and our Tennessee values and will fight against the San Francisco values that the Democrat Party espouses. I see this issue very simply: I'm pro-life, pro-traditional marriage and pro-religious freedom. That means I'll oppose bills expanding abortion, legalizing gay marriage, and curbing the rights of Christians to express their faith publicly.

GUNS
Liberal Democrats still want to take our guns away from us. We need a conservative Republican like me to fight the gun control agenda that is constantly pushed by the far-left in Congress. As a lifetime NRA member, I cherish our second amendment rights and know they are inviolable. Law-abiding Tennesseans should not have to worry about losing their God-given right to bear arms and when I'm representing you in Washington, I promise that you won't.