I support a comprehensive energy policy with a goal to move toward national energy independence. To that end, we must embrace and encourage the development and research in renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, ethanol (cellulose, waste. etc.), biodiesel, biomass, and others. Additionally, we must continue to encourage the exploration and development of oil and gas, oil shale, coal, and nuclear based energy. Electricity is fundamental to today’s society. Clean coal and nuclear power plants must be encouraged to meet the increasing demand for electricity.
• I oppose regulation that impedes energy discovery, production, and transportation.
• I oppose mandating the use of any energy resource.
• I oppose any Cap and Trade scheme.
• I support shortening the permit process for the construction and
improvement of power generating plants
• I oppose duplicative and punitive regulation and licensing that increases the cost of energy.
Water is the most precious resource that we have on the West Slope of Colorado. Because it is so precious, there are those that would like to take it from us, namely, the Federal Government, downhill states like Arizona, California, Nevada and the Front Range of Colorado. We must be on guard continually to protect our water rights on the West Slope. We must also support water storage projects on the Front Range that will help satisfy that demand for water. If we can satisfy their need for water, the Front Range will have no desire for West Slope water. There are and will be uses on the West Slope for unapropriated water in the Colorado River drainage. We must uphold the current interstate compact with downhill states. The environmental red tape and costs to build a water storage project is ridiculous. We must look at the regulations and eliminate those that are not needed. As your State legislator, I will work tirelessly to protect our water.
We must have jobs in Colorado. If Coloradans don’t have jobs they don’t have money. If they don’t have money they don’t buy things. If they don’t buy things businesses cannot hire people and we end up with fewer jobs. It’s a vicious cycle. Colorado government must give business people a guarantee that it will not be raising taxes and initiating unneeded regulation. Business people will then be confident in maintaining or expanding their operations thereby providing more jobs. Businesses will prosper and they will plan for expansion and will provide even more jobs.
As a Colorado Representative I will do my best to unleash the free enterprise economic system that has sustained our state and nation. I will say no to higher taxes and no to costly and unneeded regulation and legislation.
A huge problem is looming over Colorado tax payers. That problem is the Public Employment Retirement Act or PERA. The bottom line is that the PERA fund cannot sustain the promises made for the retirement of Public employees. The legislature made some important improvements to PERA this year, but more must be done. Simply stated these are some of the problems and the solutions to those problems of PERA. 1. PERA retirement is based on an 8% return on investment. This is an unrealistic return and must be brought down to a sustainable number. 2. The PERA plan does not have the same rules as private plans which insure long term stability. Private retirement plans are regulated and monitored to guarantee that employees and employers are not hurt by poor management. PERA should have the same type of oversight that private plans have. 3. The PERA board is made up totally of people who have a vested interest in PERA retirement. The board should be made up of a mixture of employees and other people that represent Colorado taxpayers. This will insure that the plan is realistic and sustainable.
As your Representative it will be a priority of mine to find a lasting solution to PERA before the cost is devastating to both employees and taxpayers.
We cannot stimulate the economy and create more jobs by raising taxes or raising fees. Government must prioritize needs and do only those things which cannot be done by free enterprise. We should include private business and the free enterprise competitive market place in all that government does. This can be done through a competitive bidding process. An example is what we did with the County Roads and Bridges Department when I was a County Commissioner. We bid our gravel hauling to private companies rather than buy trucks and hire people to do it ourselves. If the County owned the trucks they would not be used except for a short time of each year. Private companies on the other hand are more efficient because their trucks are working almost all year. Government should always be looking for ways of doing things more efficiently thereby saving tax dollars and keeping the tax rate low. If tax rates are lower and businesses and individuals have more disposable income they will spend that money for business expansion and thus more jobs.
This fall we will be asked to vote on Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61. These issues cut taxes and limit government, but are so restrictive that they will stifle government to the point that nothing can function. I am for limiting government but not for stopping it all together. 101, 60 and 61 will cripple state and local government. The best government is that which is closest to home. Proposition 101 and amendments 60 and 61 takes the decision making away from local government and puts it in the hands of the Colorado legislature and the Colorado Constitution.
I cannot agree with this. I will oppose 101, 60 and 61.
The entire subject of people illegally crossing the borders of the United States has been so confused by political demagoguery that it is difficult to find the root problem.
Illegal entry into our country is being confused with immigration. Therefore, a few general comments are in order.
First, one of the basic necessities for any country is to have well established borders. What follows immediately is that these borders, once established, need to be protected. Governments therefore establish laws designed to control the flow of commerce and people across those borders. A wide variety of approaches are used but all countries have and enforce such laws. Legal immigration has always been an important and prominent part of the settling of the United States. In our nation’s history, there were only a few haphazard attempts at control until the early 1920’s when laws establishing quotas were passed by Congress. Interestingly, in this initial legislation no quotas were established for people from Mexico because of our humanitarian concern for those fleeing the Mexican Revolution.
In the decade between 1944 and 1954 there was a flood of illegal entry into the U.S. from Mexico. During this time, the numbers of those crossing illegally is thought to have surged by 6000 percent. In 1954, this massive influx of illegals prompted a major effort to deport them back to Mexico. Since that time, people have continued to enter our country illegally from all over the globe. This has resulted in an estimated 12 to 20 million illegals in the U.S. today. The entire subject has become a political football with constant charges and countercharges between politicians, and worse, the haphazard enforcement of our immigration laws. This has progressed to the point that in some cities local politicians have passed "sanctuary city" laws that blatantly disregard federal law and protect lawbreakers. The federal government has a constitutional duty to curb this activity and protect our borders.
Today our politicians are totally incapable of addressing this obvious problem in an effective manner. The basic decisions that must be made are:
1. A priority of our federal government is to protect our borders. What should Americans do when this priority is openly ignored?
2. Is it wise for to allow citizens to pick and choose which laws they wish to obey and which they will openly break?
Should immigration policy be developed to fit the needs of our all our citizens, or should we consider only the needs of those who come here to escape the policies of their home countries?
3. Is it fair to demand that all legal immigrants closely follow our laws while those who break our laws are allowed to do so without penalty?
4. Mexico openly admits that it depends upon the return of money from illegal immigrants in the U.S. as a major part of its economy. At the same time, Mexico has exceedingly strict immigration laws and aggressively deports illegals. Is this fair and equitable?
5. The services and benefits used by illegals are impossible to accurately quantify, but can we justify providing these to illegal immigrants at the expense of legal citizens?
6. History has proven that rewarding those who have broken our immigration laws by giving them amnesty only encourages such illegal activity by others. Why is amnesty even being considered?
Immigration reform is sorely needed, but first our borders must be secured and laws must be enforced to protect our citizens from social and economic ruin.
We must repeal the Obamacare fiasco which will do exactly the opposite of everything the President promised, It will cause crippling new taxes for everyone, it will decrease the quality of care, it will do nothing to control costs. It shifts massive new costs to States that are already having fiscal crises; it paves the way for mandated rationing by unknown central panels, and robs every patient of the right to control the care of themselves and their families. Nationalized healthcare will ultimately cost the taxpayer trillions of dollars that we do not have. The president’s new Medicare Czar has bragged that Obamacare's greatest achievement will be the transfer of wealth in our country.
The Federal Government is spending us into a hole that we may never dig ourselves out of. We must demand that our elected legislators put a stop to this immediately. Those who refuse to act must be voted out of office. If this is not done in the upcoming election, it will send a clear signal that we don’t care.
We need to balance the federal budget and need to enact ongoing balanced budget legislation to prevent this from happening in the future. It is clear that our legislators are incapable of being fiscally responsible unless they are forced to do so; they have had their chance – now it is ours.
We must resist the tired old knee-jerk reaction of trying to balance the budget by raising taxes. This has never worked and would be a disaster for our crippled economy. Every action taken must be one that is historically proven to reduce costs and to stimulate private sector business growth. We must look at every line item in the federal budget and strike everything that is just a “want” and not a “need”.
The States must become fiscally responsible and become leaders by example in this quest. As your representative in the Colorado Legislature, I will add my voice to those who share these convictions. I will demand that Colorado stand up against Federal Government attempts to usurp the rights reserved to the States by the U S Constitution.