Congressional Candidate Gerard Bowen on the Issues

Access to your Congressman
I feel a Representative should be accessible to the people he represents, not just to deep-pocket contributors. Not only will I run a grassroots campaign, but I will run a grassroots office. I will be approachable and available to concerned citizens. I will continue to visit neighborhoods as much as Congressman as I do as a candidate and I will return phone calls.
The Budget
When I was in the Navy, toward the end of each fiscal year, if we had money in our budget that we hadn’t spent we were told we had to find a way to spend it or else we would get less the next year. That is absolutely ludicrous and it infuriates me that our hard earned tax dollars are being spent with this mentality. I will work towards the government using a zero-based budgeting process where you can’t spend any more money than you have just like all of us must do at home. Also, the merits of programs should be considered before funding them rather than just funding them because they were funded in the past. If a program is not working to produce the intended results it should be cut out and efforts should be made to encourage saving our money, not throwing it out the window. If there is a program worthy of us investing in we should cut back on one that is not working (of which there are many) to free up money for the new one. I will work towards balancing the budget and getting out of debt, but do it through spending less, not taxing more.
The Constitution
I believe our charter documents were not arbitrary, our founding fathers who created our charter documents were inspired and guided by God. The 10th amendment basically says that the federal government can’t just assume any power unless it is granted to the federal government by the states or by the people through the constitution. Whether they think can or not, the facts are in black & white that can not and should not restrict our rights to bear arms, free speech, and free practice of religion. In every vote I make in Congress, I will vote in a manner that upholds the constitution intentions of our founding fathers.
The Economy
The steps I outlined in my Budget discussion above would have a tremendous domino effect throughout the economy. Lower national debt would mean a stronger dollar. The price of gas is tied directly to the value of the dollar and the price of food is tied directly to the price of gas. Then with less debt they wouldn’t need to tax us so heavily and we could keep more of our money. If we keep more of our own money and things cost less we could better afford our own health insurance and our own retirement savings without the government interfering.
Family Values
While schools, teachers, coaches, church leaders and others act as influences on our children, I believe the family is the single most important unit in the development of the future moral core of our children and our nation. Children should be raised by a man and a woman who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. As such, I pledge to always act accordingly in my personal life and to promote measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Healthcare
I will support H.R. 1846: Medicare Access to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services Improvement Act of 2007, because currently the government is restricting the choice of the Physician to decide which licensed medical professional is most appropriate for your physical medicine needs by restricting Medicare reimbursement to certain licensed medical professionals. This in turn is preventing people who need the services from having access to it and is putting other licensed medical professionals who provide these services out of work. This bill would expand payments to other licensed medical professionals who are qualified to provide these services and take the government out of the medical decision process of your healthcare needs and put it back into the hands of the Physician by allowing reimbursements to the licensed medical professional that your Physician feels is most appropriate for your condition. Social Medicine – How much would they take out of our check to pay for it and how much would they waste in the process? Too much! If they lower our taxes we could better afford our own health insurance.
Immigration
I am all for legal immigration. We all have ancestors that came from other countries in pursuit of the American dream. I hear people say of illegal aliens “they are hard workers and law abiding citizens”. Well by definition, if they are here illegally they are NOT abiding by our laws and therefore are criminals and should be treated as such. Immigration should not only be allowed, but be encouraged, but it should be done according to our laws, at our pace, without putting a strain on our infrastructure and economy, and with respect for our culture and traditions.
Taxes
It is my opinion that the government should only take enough taxes to do the things for us that we can not do for ourselves. Military, national defense, and border security are the most obvious. Beyond that there isn’t much that the government can do for us more efficiently than we could do for ourselves. For example: Social Security - Have you ever known anyone to receive more from Social Security than they put in? Who keeps the difference? It goes to red tape, government inefficiencies, and who knows what else. I am paying $100 per pay period to Social Security. If we could keep that money to invest in our own retirement, in 30 years at an average of 12%, which is the average annual gain of the stock market in its history, it would grow to $627,000. Do you think I will see anywhere near that amount by investing in the government’s retirement plan? We need to gradually phase out the current system so no one in or close to retirement gets cut off from needed benefits, and gradually replace it with a system more like a 401(k) or Thrift Savings Plan. This will allow people control of their own investments and retirement. I will always try to lower the tax burden that is on us. As such, I will work toward the adoption of the FairTax Plan. Currently there are many ways people avoid paying income taxes. Some of these include not reporting tips, not reporting moneys earned from illegal activities (drugs deals and prostitution), loopholes, and simply not paying it because they don’t want to. I want to revamp the system so that we pay federal sales tax instead of income tax. By charging tax on sales, no one can hide from it and everyone will pay their fair share. That will lessen the burden on those of us already paying more than our fair share.
To learn more details about the FairTax Plan go to http://www.fairtax.org/
To learn more about Gerard, click here: BOWEN FOR CONGRESS