I’m a father, a retired 30-year veteran Army colonel, a small business owner, and a community lawyer. Gridlock and partisan obstructionism are hurting America and Congress is broken. Eric Cantor is the poster-child for what’s wrong in Washington. I’m running to get Congress working for the people again and to end Eric Cantor’s culture of corruption.
Energy and Conservation
Here in Virginia, we can create jobs and protect our natural resources by investing in new forms of energy. But career political operators in Washington have stalled legislation that encourages renewable energy.
Eric Cantor has received huge contributions from big oil companies. No wonder, then, that his Republican Congress has passed tax breaks for multi-national oil companies, even as gas prices have skyrocketed. We need to end Washington’s collusion with the oil companies, and end billions of dollars in handouts for companies that are already making record profits.
Medicare and Social Security
For generations, Medicare and Social Security have been an ironclad promise and commitment for those who work hard and pay their taxes during their working years. In Congress, I will make sure that promise is kept. To ensure the long-term financial viability of Medicare and Social Security, we must implement common sense reforms to lower costs and eliminate fraud and abuse.
I oppose the Cantor-Ryan Budget that that wants to convert Medicare to a voucher system and cut funding to states for Medicaid. America must not break its promise to our seniors.
Veterans and Our Armed Forces
As a 30 year Army veteran and a retired Army Colonel and the father of a soldier serving in Afghanistan, I know what our service men and women confront every day. Military personnel and their families deserve our respect for the sacrifices they make to serve our country. With the Iraq War over and our mission in Afghanistan winding down, our nation must provide soldiers and military families with assistance when they return. These include first rate health care and mental care to deal with not only the physical wounds of war but PTSD, other consequences of TBI injuries. We also must insure that veterans are provided with educational employment opportunities and training programs that take advantage of the skills they have gained during their military service so they can apply them in the civilian sector.
Respecting Women’s Rights
Eric Cantor has been a leader in the Republican assault on women’s rights. In Congress, he has led efforts to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood and he has sought to take away women’s access to the full range of health care services. As he has done this, he has sought to redefine rape, to cut funding for older women in nursing homes, and to cut critical nutrition services for poor women, infants, and children.
Jobs, the Economy, and Rebuilding the Middle Class
Rebuilding our nation’s economy and putting the middle class back to work will be my top priority in Congress. Wall Street profits are rising every day, while jobs on Main Street are disappearing and benefits are being cut. What is worse is that Eric Cantor and Republicans in Congress are more interested in partisan political obstructionism than common sense bipartisan measures that can put Americans back to work.
Fighting Corruption in Congress
I’m running to reform Congress, create jobs, and make sure every American has the opportunity to find a job. Congress is broken, and I will fight to reform Congress, and end the culture of corruption in Congress that Eric Cantor symbolizes.
