Platform

West Virginians for Social and Fiscal Responsibility

The following is an idea of where I stand on many of the larger issues facing our nation. That being said, as your representative, if I am shown that an alternative perspective would serve the state or nation better, I will absolutely change position when it comes to my vote. That’s not being a “flip-flopper”; that’s how a congressman best serves the people he represents. So keep checking back, as this page may evolve over time.

Most importantly, make sure to let me know how you feel about the issues so I can assess this feedback and be sure I am serving you to the best of my ability.

Energy and Environment

  • To keep costs low and continue thriving as a nation we must continue using our traditional resources such as coal and oil reserves.
  • There is no reason we cannot be both secure in our energy policy and environmentally safe. We have the technology and know-how to harvest and process fossil fuels in an environmentally sound manner, and should do so.
  • In looking toward the future it is imperative that we continue to develop renewable resources and replace our usage of fossil fuels in an economically sound manner.

Social Safety Net

  • It is essential that all citizens of this great nation have somewhere to turn during times of hardship.
  • With a nation as strong and able as ours, there is no reason any citizen should be unable to provide the necessary food, shelter, and healthcare to their families through government assistance.
  • We must review our current programs to ensure they are run with efficiency and responsible stewardship of tax-payer dollars.
  • We must review the criteria of our programs to ensure only those with need of the assistance will receive any, and apply steps the recipient must take to continue to receive assistance.
  • We must include clearly-defined plans to assist recipients past the hardship so they no longer rely on the assistance programs.

Military and Veterans

  • Deploying our men and women in uniform should always be a last resort.
  • Once the military option is chosen, the mission must be clearly defined with a clear goal.
  • There is never a price too high to pay to give our war-fighters the tools they need to ensure their safety and ability to complete their mission.
  • We shall never forget the service provided to us by our men and women in uniform, and the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs must have the programs and funding to ensure necessary training and assistance for our forces when they return home.
  • We must strike a balance to maintain a force large enough to quickly come to the defense of our nation or her allies during times of aggression, but small enough to focus on improvement of our homeland during times of peace.
  • We must never forget the sacrifice so many of our service members have made. It is imperative that we provide adequate compensation to our disabled veterans.

Healthcare

  • Everybody in this nation receives healthcare. Whether you can pay for it or not, when you show up to the emergency room, you will receive care. The only question that faces us now, is how do we pay for this care.

Regulations

  • Safety of workers, protection of the environment, and consumer protection must always be protected.
  • Regulation should never be so burdensome as to prohibit growth.

Gun Rights

  • The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to own guns to all citizens of this country.
  • The standard background check is adequate to own any handgun, shotgun, or rifle commonly used for hunting, sport shooting, or home defense.
  • Ownership of fully automatic weapons or weapons covered under the National Firearms Act of 1934 should require background checks and/or training in addition to the basic requirement in order to assure the public that the individual is properly vetted and trained to safely handle, maintain, and store such a weapon.
  • In the interest of public safety, any person having been adjudicated as having mental health concerns should be barred from possession of a weapon until such time as those concerns are mitigated.
  • No law should be passed regulating weapons based on any cosmetic feature.

Term Limits

  • This country has term limits in place already – we call them elections; to legislate a limit of service is nothing less than to call the voters stupid.

The Federal Budget

  • I fully support balancing the federal budget each and every year.
  • I do not support a constitutional amendment to force a balanced budget; this action would tie our leaders’ hands in the case of national emergencies when additional spending may be required.
  • Sudden, massive program cuts will do more harm than good.  It will leave the employees supporting the programs out of work and leave those citizens using the programs without the service.
  • Outdated programs must be found and phased out of service in a manner so as to not shock employment or those using the service.
  • The federal government has an excess of similar or duplicate programs across multiple departments; these programs should be found and consolidated in order to reduce cost.
  • We must trust our officials leading the federal departments; when they testify to Congress that they do not need/want a program, we must not attempt to implement it anyway to please a Congressperson.
  • From time to time revenue may need to be increased in order to keep up with the rising cost of providing the basic services our citizens require.
  • Excess revenue must always be applied to debt payments before considering other options.
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