Issues

Reducing Spending and Paying Off the National Debt

Government spending is out of control and quite frankly, unsustainable. I have worked hard and even fought members of my own party to make sure that the federal government lives within in its means. Since President Obama took office, we have seen spending at unprecedented rates.  In his short time in office, he has grown our national debt more than 40% and it now tops $15 trillion with no end in sight.  We must stop the ‘spend now, pay later’ mentality that has driven our country to the brink of financial ruin.  We are burdening future generations with an unsustainable debt that they cannot afford nor deserve to pay.

In order to do that, we must first start by ending wasteful, unnecessary, and applicative spending.  But we can’t just stop there.  We must also look at tightening our belt across the board.  The federal government cannot afford to fund every program simply because some bureaucrat in Washington likes it.  Even though many of these programs may help some Americans or even have some successful results, it is no longer feasible for the American taxpayers to bankroll every idea thought up by a bureaucrat in Washington.

We also must address our entitlement programs.  They currently account for almost 50% of federal spending and their costs are only expected to rise as the Baby Boomer generation continues to retire.  This doesn’t mean we should end important programs like Social Security or Medicare, but rather that we must reform them in order to preserve them for future generations. 

If we roll up our sleeves and find ways to make real changes to the way we spend money in Washington, we won’t need to raise taxes on hard working Americans.  We do not have a revenue problem in this town, we have a spending problem.  We should not force the American taxpayer to shoulder the burden of wasteful spending taking place in Washington.  That is why I will continue to fight against raising taxes.

Creating Jobs and Growing Our Economy

One of my top priorities as your U.S. Representative is improving our economy.  The last several years have been hard for many Americans.  Unemployment and foreclosure rates remain high, and the shroud of uncertainty continues to cloud what the future holds for us.  For the first time in generations, many Americans have begun to believe we may not be able to leave this country in a better position for our children and grandchildren.

Since taking office, the president has tried to spend his way out of this recession, and his plan has utterly failed and has left us with trillions in new debt and unemployment above 8% for more than 30 months in a row.  That’s because he has relied upon the government to create jobs.  I believe the private sector, and not the government, create jobs.  Rather than spending taxpayer money on more failed stimulus plans that play favorites with the president’s largest campaign donors, we need to pass legislation that remove the uncertainty and barriers that hinder job creation by American small businesses.  Instead of increasing their tax rate like President Obama continues to advocate for, we should decrease their tax burden, freeing up more earnings to expand and hire more employees.  Instead of increasing the number of burdensome regulations that increase the cost to do business, we should remove these onerous barriers that cost American companies hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

Lowering Your Tax Burden

The federal income tax system has become so complex that the majority of Americans need to pay for professional assistance just to file their yearly return.  The burden the federal tax system places on our families and businesses is one of the reasons why I first ran for office in Georgia, and continues to be one of my top reasons for serving in Congress.

That’s why I am a proud supporter of the Fair Tax.  The Fair Tax would replace our current income tax system with a progressive national sales tax.  This would end the need for the burdensome income tax paperwork you must file each year as well as a majority of the Internal Revenue agents, saving taxpayer money.   To learn more about the Fair Tax, visit www.FairTax.org.

Until we can finally pass the Fair Tax, we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to lessen your tax burden.  While President Obama and Congressional Democrats continue to call for tax increases on American families and small businesses to pay for their wasteful spending habit, I have fought tooth and nail against increasing their taxes.  As I have said on many occasions, we don’t have a revenue problem in Washington, we have a spending problem.  Raising taxes is not the answer.

I was honored to receive the "2009 Taxpayers' Friend Award" by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). The award is given every year to representatives and senators who achieve an "A" grade in NTU's annual rating of congress. The rating, which is based on every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy, assigns a "Taxpayer Score" to each member of congress that indicates his or her support for reducing or controlling federal spending, taxes, debt and regulation.

Protecting Your Second Amendment Rights

Our Founding Fathers wisely included the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights to ensure we have the right and ability to protect ourselves and our families.  That’s because they knew if the people were armed, there would always be a built-in protection against criminal activity and tyranny.  As a gun owner and avid hunter, I have always been a strong supporter of protecting that right.  Liberal activists are working hard to find ways to take your guns and curb your right to bear arms.  One of my top priorities is to stop them from infringing your rights and protecting our guns.

There are those in Washington who want even more restrictive gun laws in place because they blame guns for the violence in our society.  Well, I disagree.  The solution to curbing violence lies in our homes, schools, and places of worship – not by limiting the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens.

I am proud to have been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, if elected, will continue to fight to protect and preserve your Second Amendment rights.

Saving Medicare and Social Security

As we work to dig ourselves out of the debt amassed since President Obama took office in 2009, we are forced to look at all federal spending to determine a path forward that is both fiscally responsible and honors the commitments we have made to all Americans.  This is especially true when discussing Medicare and Social Security.

Whether the president and Congressional Democrats like it or not, Medicare and Social Security simply cannot maintain the status quo and survive.  Therefore, in order to save both of these programs for our children and grandchildren, we are looking at many different options.  I promise you that none of these options for saving Medicare or Social Security will affect anyone currently receiving either one.  Those who are 55 years and older have paid into these systems their entire lives and their benefits should not be affected simply because Congress has refused to fix this problem before now.

Repealing ObamaCare

Since first introduced in the House in 2009, I have strongly opposed the government takeover of our health care system.  I joined a majority of Americans in opposing ObamaCare when Congressional Democrats and the White House used political gimmicks to pass the bill into law and have  since fought tirelessly to repeal the law and replace it with common-sense legislation that will address the problems within our health care system without changing the entire system as we know it.

As many of you know, the Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the law.  I joined 118 of my colleagues in submitting an amicus brief requesting the Supreme Court overturn the law.  We won’t know if they will heed the request of myself and millions of Americans across the country until some time in June of this year.  However, until then, I will continue to fight to repeal this harmful and unconstitutional law.

Preserving Family Values

I am proud to be the father of three children and seven grandchildren.  My wife Joan and I know the importance of family and of protecting our family values from those who want to destroy our faith.  Even though liberal activists continue to fight to corrupt the American families, I will continue to fight even harder to protect them.

When our Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment, they made sure to include language to prohibit the federal government from abridging our right to exercise our religion.  Unfortunately, there are those who want to erode that right.  I am proud of my faith and will not let anyone take away your religious freedom.  

I believe that life begins at conception and have always supported legislation that would end abortions in this country.  I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, as established the in the Bible, and that the sanctity of marriage must be protected.  

Providing for Our National Security

First and foremost, the responsibility of government is to protect its citizens. I am fortunate enough to have a portion of Ft. Benning in my congressional district. I will continue to work side by side with the leadership at Ft. Benning and in Washington to make sure that we strengthen and maintain our military power so that our brave men and women in the armed forces will be ready for any national security crisis when and where it happens.

I will continue to make certain that our men and woman in uniform continue to have the best equipment and training possible and I will work hard to eliminate bureaucratic red tape that hamper our efforts to obtain new weapons and intelligence technology.

Implementing an All-of-the-Above Energy Solution

Energy costs continue to be a serious issue facing American families and small businesses.  As gas prices rise, consumers feel the pain in their wallet both at the pump and at the store as the price of goods increases.  While President Obama continues to push for a green energy only platform to help out his environmental buddies, I know that the only way to truly lower our energy costs and decrease our reliance on expensive foreign oil is to develop an all-of-the-above energy plan.  That means tapping into our vast oil and coal reserves, exploring new energy alternatives like wind and solar power, and expanding our nuclear energy capabilities.   

Fixing Our Financial and Housing Industries

As a member of the House Financial Services Committee in the 112th Congress, I have fought tirelessly to fix our financial and housing industries.  When the market crashed in 2008, it was on the backs of many community banks who suddenly found themselves failing through no fault of their own but rather due to overregulation by agencies like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  Community banks are often the life-blood of small communities and when they fail, capital throughout the entire community can completely dry up.

My legislation, HR 2056, was signed into law in early 2012 and requires a study into the practices and procedures of the FDIC to determine whether they have helped or harmed smaller banks trying to recover from 2008.  I am proud to serve on this important committee and will continue to serve as the voice of the community bank in Congress.