ISSUES

Creating Jobs: Our #1 Priority

If you’re like me, you run across countless people in our communities looking for work. Maybe it’s you, a family member, a neighbor, or a recent graduate. I worry about our young people who want to stay in Oregon but can’t because there aren’t enough jobs here. They are the future and hope of our region, and we need to provide opportunities for them to achieve success right here at home.

Oregon’s unemployment rate is 9.1% and has been above the national average for 15 years. The underemployment rate is a staggering 19.6%, the fourth highest in the entire nation! With all the assets Oregon enjoys, this is simply unacceptable.

Meanwhile, our economy is stagnant as Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C. continue to play games and point fingers like it’s a reality TV show. But this isn’t TV. It’s real life! People are hurting, and the fastest way to fix our national deficit and reduce our debt is to create real jobs for people in Oregon and throughout the country.

What we need is a U.S. Representative from the First Congressional District who is going to champion the people, resources, ideas, and employers of Northwest Oregon. We need someone who has spent a life building careers for others and who understands the rigors of sustaining a successful business with productive employees. Congress has proven they know how to waste other people’s money, but do we really need another long-time politician who’s never actually created a job out of their own pocket telling us how to grow the economy?

The company I founded in 1995 right here in the First Congressional District of Oregon has placed more than 500 individuals into full-time jobs around the country and trained more than 30,000 professionals in how to achieve greater success. I understand what it takes to create jobs and launch careers because I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years.

Like most small business owners who create nearly 60% of jobs in Oregon, I built a company despite never having received government stimulus money. Nor could I afford the legions of lawyers and lobbyists that huge corporations use to manipulate the obscenely complex tax code to pay little or no taxes. And I certainly have never expected to be bailed out by fellow, hard-working taxpayers should my company ever run into hard times. If I can do it, so can others – if given the chance.

As a Member of Congress, the question I will ask myself before every vote is this: Does this proposal help or hinder our ability in northwest Oregon to create jobs and build strong communities? Click here to read my Jobs Plan for Oregon.

I also invite you to read on about my views to make Oregon and the United States a more prosperous place for all.

NATIONAL DEBT

In 2009, my then 12-year old son and I were watching a news program about the growing national debt. When it concluded, he turned and asked, “Dad, am I going to have to pay for that?” Yes, Chadd, unless the grown-ups of today start acting like adults, your generation will be the first in American history to inherit a lower standard of living from their parents and grandparents…

TAX SIMPLIFICATION

We can’t avoid paying taxes, but we can certainly move away from the inflammatory rhetoric and name calling that this issue seems to continually generate in Washington, D.C.

I believe if fair and forward-thinking compromise can be reached, the simplification of our tax system could be the key to revitalizing our economy and growing jobs again. But first, we need some honest dialogue…

BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

Fifteen years ago, a Democrat President and a Republican Congress worked together to control government spending and grow the economy. The result of this collaboration was four straight years of a budget surplus (1998-2001) and a 4% unemployment rate.

The most important factor in producing a balanced budget is a growing economy. The federal tax system, like Oregon’s, relies heavily on an income tax for revenue. As a result, the U.S., like Oregon, has an imbalanced budget reaction to recessions and long periods of high unemployment…

EDUCATION

The most important investment we can make as a society is to prepare our children for future success. This happens in two ways: Build better homes through a stable employment environment and offer the finest education in the world.

Statistics tell the story. A more educated workforce is a key factor in a company’s decision on where to grow or relocate, bringing more jobs and opportunities to states with higher student achievement…

NATIONAL SECURITY

I hold our nation’s armed forces in the highest possible regard. Their sacrifices – and those of their families – are the reason we Americans enjoy the freedoms we do. There is no vote in the United States Congress more sobering than that which will send our men and women in uniform onto the battlefield. If I ever commit myself to that course of action it will be because I believe our national security interests are at stake, we have a clearly defined mission (entrance and exit strategy), and our troops will enter the fight with the best equipment and most favorable rules of engagement…

MEDICARE

Medicare has provided Oregon seniors and vulnerable families with the security and peace of mind of knowing that health coverage will be there for them. Since seniors have both paid into the system throughout their working life and contribute to their premiums and co-payments, the system has been largely self-financed. Our rapidly aging population and excessive health care inflation, however, have created real uncertainty about the program’s sustainability…

HEALTH CARE

We all agree that individuals and families need access to health care. The only question is how to expand that access. Is it through a combination of government support and incentives aimed at helping families purchase private insurance, or by expanding government-delivered health care and moving our nation toward a nationalized system? My position is based on one simple fact: The United States has the best health care in the world; it’s just not available to enough people.

Based on the results of government-run health care in other countries, I cannot support a drift toward this type of system…

BORDER SECURITY

The seriousness of this issue cannot be overstated. As much as any challenge facing our country, the issue of border security affects national security, public safety, jobs, education, health care, the environment, and of course, families.

The debate surrounding the border between the U.S. and Mexico has taken on a new urgency. In the last five years, 28,000 people have been killed in a war between rival gangs just in the area of Northern Mexico south of Texas. Some of that violence has spread across the border, claiming the lives of six U.S. citizens over a short period of time last year. This violence can be found all along the border and is a situation more analogous to a war zone than two nations at peace…

TRADE

Oregon is one of the most trade-dependent states in the country, and the First Congressional District is certainly one of the most trade-dependent districts – and we should be!

We sit on the Pacific Rim, boasting diverse and valuable goods and services produced in the high-tech sector of Washington County, the fisheries on the North Coast, the forests in Columbia and Clatsop Counties, the nurseries and vineyards in Yamhill County, and the center of business activity in Downtown Portland. Bordered by the navigable waters of the Columbia, our largest city is called Portland for a reason. Truly, Northwest Oregon was built on trade…

SECURING OUR ENERGY FUTURE

Securing America’s energy future will be one of the defining issues of this generation and the next. I will be dedicated to working toward a comprehensive energy strategy that will responsibly boost supplies of American energy at home, create jobs, and invest in American technologies that keep the cost of energy low. This includes responsibly increasing the supply of domestic sources of energy in this country, developing renewable energy resources in our local communities and encouraging investments in world class research and advanced technologies…