The Clean Water Restoration Act would allow the Federal Government to control all water in the U.S.  If you own land with a stream, or if your land is next to a river you would have to get permission from the Federal Government to use the water.                            

Are you in favor of the Clean Water Restoration Act, or do you believe the land owner should have the freedom to use the water on or adjacent to their land without government interference?

_For Clean Water Restoration Act
X_For the freedom to use the water on/adjacent to your land

GOVERNMENT REGULATORY CONTROL OVER BANKS

The sub-prime economic crisis cost Americans $8 trillion in retirement funds and home value.

The roots of the sub-prime market crash go back to 1977 when President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The Federal Government pressured banks to make sub-prime home loans to people who had poor credit scores and not enough income to meet their mortgage payments.

In 1994 the Clinton administration set new regulations to score banks on their compliance. Banks that didn’t have enough sub-prime loans found it difficult to get government approval for merging with other banks or even to open new branches.

Complaints from community organizations would lower a banks compliance score. The Senate Banking Committee estimated that $9.5 billion has gone to pay for services and salaries of community organizations. That included $760 million to ACORN.

In 1966 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (government sponsored enterprises) the goal of purchasing sub-prime mortgages. The goal was 42 percent of their mortgage financing had to go to borrowers with income below the median in their area.

Government regulatory intrusion into the mortgage banking industry hurt us all. But for the people it was trying to help, the low income person trying to buy a home, it was absolutely devastating when their homes went into foreclosure and they were ruined financially.

Would you, if elected to office, have the courage to stand up to the party you caucus with and say “NO” to this type of regulatory control over private industry?

  Yes__X_       No____

Or, do you think the Community Reinvestment Act, making sub-prime loans to poor people, is a wise use of our tax money?

  Yes___         No_X__

HEALTH CARE

Progressives and Liberals in the Democrat and Republican Party want to use government to take over Health Care (one-sixth of our economy) and thereby are able control every aspect of our lives.  Assuming Government Health Care is overturned, would you consider a common sense legislative approach that would stop them from ever attempting a Health Care takeover again?

Incentivize people to start Health Savings Account (HSA’s).  For every dollar you put in your HAS, the government will give you a two dollar tax credit.  Also, for every dollar your employer puts in your HSA, they would also get a two dollar tax credit.

Advantages

*  You have the freedom to spend your money, in your Health Savings Account, the way you want without having the government or the insurance company giving you permission.

*  Swipe your HSA card and pay for doctors visits, hospital expenses, prescriptions, even monthly payments for a major medical plan with a high deductable, 10 or 20K, to keep the payments low.

*  If you are spending your money, in your HSA, you will shop for the lowest price.  Doctors and Hospitals will not need a large staff to fight the government or insurance company for payment.  You receive the service, swipe your card, and it’s done.  Collectively this will reduce the price of Health Care.

*  People that are relatively healthy and keep their HSA’s in an interest bearing account will leave this as a tax free inheritance for their children.  Countries that have similar programs don’t have the working poor that we have.  When children inherit their parents HAS, they are able to buy a home, pay off their auto loan, and live virtually debt free.

*  If most people have HSA’s and are self sufficient, then government can use their resources to help that segment of the population that really needs help.

Would you be for or against government sponsored HSA’s?

  For__X_             Against___

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

To slow illegal immigration, would you be in favor of setting up a government web site where employers can check Social Security numbers and verify US citizenship prior to employment?  Businesses that choose not to check the web site or hire people knowing they are illegal should be fined.  The fine should be modest at first and increase with each offence until the employer complies.

For_X__    Against___

Also, as a companion question, would you be in favor of making it easier for aliens to get work visas and be able to come and go with a photo ID work permit backed up with biometric finger print ID?

  For_X__      Against____

LOCAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION

In the 1902 census records 97% of U.S. citizens could read and write.  Today, a full third of our young people are illiterate or functionally illiterate (can read but not understand what they read).

New Zealand started a common sense program that catapulted their standing from 17th in quality of education in industrialized nations to 2nd in two years. 

The money allocated for schools was given to the local school districts on a per pupil basis.  All control over schools…personnel selection, teachers pay, curriculum, everything…was given to the local school board in each community.  To serve on the school board you had to have a child in school.

Every community has talented individuals willing to serve, and what segment of the population could do a better job than…….parents?!!

If given the opportunity to get state and federal government out of our schools and have Local Control of Education, how would you vote?

  For _X__        Against___

LOWER TAXES

When Ronald Reagan was running for President his staff urged him to meet with a young Congressman, Jack Kemp, and listen to his ideas about the economy.  President Reagan adopted Kemp’s idea for “Supply Side Economics”.  He stopped President Carter’s wage and price controls, and lowered taxes.  The combination of stopping government regulation of the economy and allowing people to keep more of their own money gave us the largest and longest economic boom the U.S. has ever had.  In the eight years of Reagan’s administration, the economy grew to such an extent the Internal Revenue Service took in 75% more money.  The logical question would be, “how can you lower taxes and take in more taxes”?  The answer is; there were so many more people working and paying taxes that the Federal Government increased their income by 3/4ths.

Would you vote to lower taxes?

  Yes_X__       No___

Would you vote to keep taxes at their present level or increase them?

  Yes____        No___X__

LEGISLATION

Congress presents legislation that has hundreds, and sometimes thousands of pages.  With this volume anything can be hidden and passed because they go unread.  Then all the politician has to say is, “It was in the bill and we all voted for it”.

Question # 1 – Would you vote for legislation that would limit the size of bills, have clear concise language that anyone can understand, and require every congressman to read the bill prior to the vote?

  For__X___     Against_____

Question # 2 – Would you vote to eliminate all earmarks and vote up or down on each piece of legislation….separately?

  For__X__           Against____

OIL EXPLORIATION

Would you vote to open U.S. land and off-shore exploration and drilling with the goal of increasing supply and lowering prices at the pump? 

  Yes__X__         No____

Also, would you vote to stop buying foreign oil, which economically benefits and funds our enemies?

  Yes_X__           No___

POLITICAL BRIBES WITH OUR TAXES

Do you believe politicians should be prosecuted when they use taxpayer money to bribe other politicians for their vote?

Example:  Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana was given $300,000,000.00 of our tax money to vote for the government takeover of Health Care.

Senator Bill Nelson from Nebraska sold his vote for government health care by eliminating his state from any additional Medicare expense.  Now that government health care has passed the other 49 states have to pay for Nebraska’s Medicare expense.

Should it be a prosecutable offense to use our tax money to buy votes?  

  Yes_X___       No____

TERRORISM

Should foreign terrorists be given the same legal rights and privileges as  American citizens and tried in our court system, or should they be tried by our military as Enemy Combatants?

Check the response that most closely represents your position. 

__Suspected terrorists should be afforded all the rights and privileges as an American citizen.

__Suspected terrorists captured overseas should be tried by our military court.  If captured here they should be tried by our civilian court.

__It should be looked at on a case by case basis.

_X_Any foreign born suspected terrorist apprehended oversees, or in the USA  should be tried by our military court. 

Should  Enemy Combatants captured on the battlefield be Mirandized?

  Yes____       No__X__

When considering air port screening, we have a clear choice.  We can screen people like Israel’s El Al does, and have no planes blown up, no people killed, or we can try not to offend anyone by singling them out.

Would you screen people using terrorist profiling?

  Yes___X__         No_____

Would you keep screening as it is, knowing that to profile certain ethnicities or religious groups might cause more terrorism?

  Yes____         No__X__

TORT REFORM

In other countries the loser pays in a law suit.  In the U.S. it is very expensive to defend yourself against a law suit, but very inexpensive to sue.   It is not uncommon to use a law suit to intimidate, or to extort money from someone or a company owning assets.  Lawyers like our system because it encourages law suits. When efforts are made to change to a “loser pays system” they hide behind statements like, “our system protects the poor and allows them to sue at very little or no expense”.  Sounds good to be the protector of the poor.  The reality is this: if a poor person had a winnable complaint the lawyer would take the case and be paid if he was successful.

Those that fight against Tort Reform (which would institute “loser pays”) want to keep the system as is, so as to:

* give additional work and pay for lawyers.

* use a law suit to intimidate people, to silence their complaint.

* use bogus law suits against corporations, and individuals with deep pockets to extort money out of them.  They know that many will pay to protect their reputation and their business.

Are you for or against Tort Reform that would institute “loser pays”?

For__X___       Against_____

VOTER ID CARD

In the 2008 Presidential Election 56.8% of voters actually voted.  That’s 96,992,000 votes.   The total number of ballots in the ballot box was 132,618,580.  That is 35,626,580 too many votes counted.  If the integrity of the electoral process is not insured, and we allow fraud, can we continue to be a free people?

Would you be for or against a voter ID card so the average voter can be assured that their vote means something?

For__X___      Against_____

ABORTION

Concerning legislation that supports or funds abortion:

Which represents your position?

      __ Vote for it.

      __Consider its particular merits.

      __In most cases vote against abortion legislation.

      _X_In any and all cases vote against abortion legislation and/or  abortion funding, even if it is attached to a bill you want to vote for but the amendatory language could possibly support abortion.