Stay Informed

Our country is going through one of its most difficult economic times since the great depression.  Our responsibility as legislators is to create an environment that encourages economic growth and investment in Ohio and in this country. 

During a time when Ohio saw unemployment soar above 11%, we cannot afford to have members of Congress, like Zack Space, supporting Cap-and-Trade legislation that threatens to put another 100,000 Ohioans out of a job. 

The United States is spending billions on a stimulus package in an attempt to create jobs.  Our unemployment numbers in Ohio continue to increase even while money is being spent in the name of stimulating the economy.  The only proven way to bring down unemployment and create good jobs in Ohio is to create opportunities for business, large and small, to locate and expand in Ohio. 

We must work on a tax structure that rewards hard work and success rather than one that overburdens profitable businesses.  While we continue to support Ohio’s vast manufacturing base, we must also fight hard to draw innovative and ground-breaking industries that will put and keep Ohio on the cutting edge of the global economy.  

Health care is one of the most debated issues in both living rooms and boardrooms throughout our country. This is one issue that every man, woman and child has a vested interest in and most likely has an opinion on. The health care needs of the people are taking a back seat to partisan politics in Washington and we need members of Congress that will stand up and do the right thing. 

• If you like your health care that you have now, you should be able to keep it and not pay more for it.
  
  
• Our seniors should be able to maintain the benefits that they are comfortable with through Medicare or Medicaid and not forced to struggle with reduced or eliminated benefits.
  
  
• Doctors and their patients should be the only ones making critical and sensitive health care decisions, not bureaucrats.
  
  
• Allow individuals and small businesses to use pre-tax dollars for health coverage – like large businesses and unions already do.
  
  
• Make health coverage patient-owned and portable across state lines and from job to job.
  
  
• Patients should be able to keep their current Doctors and not forced to choose new medical providers just because they fit into a particular box on an insurance form.

I believe that life is one of our most precious resources and one that should be protected. During my tenure in the Ohio Legislature I have supported Pro-Life legislation at every opportunity and I’m proud to have earned past endorsements from Ohio Right to Life on all of my legislative races. There is a sharp distinction in this race on the issue of life between myself and my opponent. Click here to visit National Right to Life’s voting record site to see Zack’s Space’s disappointing voting record on life.

As a life-member of the NRA, I am proud to have received previous NRA endorsements in all of my legislative races to date. In Congress, I will continue my record of supporting legislation that protects our right to keep and bear arms. I am proud to have received an A rating from the NRA based on my legislative voting record, and I will continue to stand up for the rights of sportsmen and gun owners.

The National Energy Tax is bad for Ohio and is wrong for America. Zack Space voted for Cap-and-Trade even though he knew full well that it could cost Ohioans over 100,000 jobs and would cost the average household approximately $1,761 per year in increased energy rates. In the 18th Congressional District, 100% of electric generation comes from coal. That means that every single household in this district will see a huge increase in their energy bills if Cap-and-Trade would become law.

Ohio has a long history of rich natural resources such as coal, oil and gas, natural gas and biofuels. Along with our natural resources come tens of thousands of good jobs for Ohioans. In Congress I will stand beside the workers of Ohio and oppose Cap-and-Trade legislation and any other energy taxes that will place an unfair burden on our region.

If I am elected to Congress I will do everything within my power to ensure our government protects our borders and enforce our immigration laws.  I absolutely oppose amnesty and will oppose any legislation that would try to subvert our current immigration policies.  I am also against using any government subsidies for any purposes related to illegal immigration.  Currently I have voted to pass three bills out of the Ohio Senate which address immigration issues:  Senate Bills 35, 150, and 238.  Senate Bill 35 out of the State Senate which directs the Attorney General to pursue a memorandum of agreement that permits the enforcement of federal immigration laws in this state by law enforcement officers.  Senate Bill 150 provides that a board of county commissioners may direct a sheriff to take custody of persons who are being detained for deportation or who are charged with civil violations of immigration law and to expressly authorize state and local employees and county sheriffs to render assistance to federal immigration officials in the investigation and enforcement of federal immigration law.  Finally, Senate Bill 238 prohibits illegal and unauthorized aliens from receiving compensation and benefits under Ohio's Workers' Compensation Law. 

I have also taken the Americans for Legal Immigration pledge:

If elected or re-elected to the US Congress, I will oppose any form of Amnesty or path to citizenship for illegal aliens, including Comprehensive Immigration Reform which would turn millions of illegal immigrants into voters thus destroying future borders of America. I will use the full power of my office, including impeachment if necessary, to insure the Executive Branch secures America's border immediately and begins to adequately enforce the existing immigration and border laws of the United States, which were enacted by Congress at the behest of America's citizenry. I understand that the failure of the Executive Branch to secure our borders and enforce existing immigration laws is depriving all Americans of a Republican form of government and depriving our states of protection from invasion as mandated by the US Constitution. I intend to use the power of Congress to immediately remedy this problem that is costing many Americans their jobs, wages, taxpayer resources, property, security, and sometimes their very lives.

Our current Congress just finished the fiscal year ending Sept. 30th, with a $1.42 trillion deficit. That is trillion with a “t.” I take issue with the fact that Zack Space voted for an unbalanced budget that put an additional $1.42 trillion dollars toward our national debt. This amounts to over a threefold increase in just one year. Federal deficit spending is siphoning capital out of the private sector at an unsustainable rate that will increase costs, lower private sector investment and, at best, resulting in a stagnant economy with little or no job growth.

Federal debt compared to the economy, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is expected to be 61% this year, 70% by 2013, 85% by 2018 and a whopping 98% by 2020 and still growing.  At this rate interest costs will amount to $800 billion and the Heritage Foundation’s analysis estimate it could surpass $1 trillion by 2019. To put that into perspective after adjusting for inflation, total Federal spending in 1970 was lower than what the costs will be to service our exploding debt in the very near future.

Congress just raised the debt ceiling from $12 trillion to over $14 trillion and with the current spending levels our nation’s total debt will increase by more than $16 trillion by 2020 for a total debt of over $30 trillion.  This unprecedented level of debt resulting from reckless and unsustainable spending will exceed the capacity for global capital markets to continue financing our debt which will trigger a global financial crisis that will increase interest rates and inflation significantly and serious negative economic implications.

The problem is spending not lack of revenues. To illustrate this point historical Federal spending is approximately 20.7% of the GDP. According to the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, adjusted baseline by 2020 spending will surge to 25.9% of GDP, while revenues estimated to be 17.6% of GDP, creating a deficit of 8.3%.

Not to address this skyrocketing levels of debt by controlling spending our children and grandchildren will be saddled with a burden that will lower their standard of living and erode their quality of life.

Being a member of Congress is about making tough decisions and prioritizing and I am ready to make the tough decisions necessary for the long-term benefit of this nation. We need to grow our economy with public policies that incentivize the private sector to be innovative and invest capital to create jobs by cutting taxes, suspending the capital gains tax and regulatory relief.

A stronger economy will provide additional revenues without raising taxes and also ease the burden on taxpayers for the costs of providing safety net programs. On the spending side I will fight to limit the growth of overall spending and cut programs that are not necessary.

I will support initiatives to eliminate wasteful spending and reform the budgeting process. An essential reform to help cut wasteful spending is to curtail a process commonly called “earmarks.” Earmarking is a corrupting process because it essentially gives individual lawmakers the ability to funnel dollars to various entities without a structured competitive process that is transparent and thoroughly debated in the legislative process. All too often earmarks are for political gain and not for the benefit of taxpayers. The current earmarking process has little or no government oversight or accountability. I will oppose omnibus spending bills that are loaded up with earmarks that are not fully vented in the legislative process under the light of day.

I will support legislation to curtail the practice of earmarks and establish an appropriation process that awards grants to projects through an established framework which is transparent and accountable, meets establish criteria, competitively bid and as proper oversight throughout.