Issues
Jobs & Economy
The single biggest issue in this campaign is the economy and the most significant difference between me and my opponent is how we facilitate private sector growth. Where my opponent supported the failed stimulus package and believes that the federal government can best stimulate the economy through increased spending, my campaign believes that private sector growth is achieved by getting government out of the way. We stridently support:
Lower Taxes: Tax rates, especially in New York, are too high. To help struggling families, we clearly need property tax caps and to encourage growth and small business startups, we need lower overall tax rates and a simpler, more predictable tax code;
Streamlined Regulations: Businesses are facing duplicative, complex and onerous regulations which are preventing them from starting, growing and hiring new staff. Too often, companies are forced to navigate multiple permit and application processes which can cause unnecessary, costly delays in business start-up or expansion. Our legislators should work toward the elimination of duplicative agencies and the development of a clear, concise and fair set of regulatory requirements which promote smart growth.
Lower Health Care Costs: It is crucial that we work to lower health care costs—not through increased federal intervention and mandates as set forth in the recently signed health care reform bill—but through private sector competition, tort reform, health insurance cooperatives and the implementation of new incentives for people to become cost-conscious consumers of medical services.
National Deficit/Debt
Our country is on an unsustainable course. Presently, we spend over $400b servicing our national debt alone -- an unacceptable opportunity cost! If we were not paying this interest, that money would equate to more disposable income for ordinary Americans. That money could be used to create a “private sector stimulus” through investment, business development and consumer spending.
We must move quickly to balance the budget. This should be the mission of the next Congress. We need to begin paying down the deficit so that future generations are not strapped with unbearable interest payments which squeeze out other funding priorities and limit our choices and freedoms. In reality, deficit spending is nothing more than a tax levied against future generations, a terribly unethical proposition even in the best of economic times.
Reducing the deficit will require courageous leadership as federal spending will need to be significantly curtailed. Chris will lead this effort by proposing a series of budget cuts including the elimination of entire federal agencies. Chris is also committed to streamlining regulatory functions currently co-managed by federal, state and local agencies by promoting local control over issues.
Healthcare Reform
Chris Gibson understands that the cost of health care is making it increasingly difficult for individuals, families and small business owners alike to afford quality health insurance coverage. The recent passage of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, however, is a step in the wrong direction. The bill signed into law this March will increase health insurance premiums, raise taxes and drive physicians out of medical practice. In fact, an independent (IBB/TIPP) poll released in September, 2009 found that nearly half of all practicing physicians would consider retiring if the plan were approved. Once elected, Chris will work to enact meaningful reforms which will encourage private sector competition, tort reform and the development of health insurance cooperatives. Recommendations include:
- Allowing individuals/families to purchase health insurance from out-of-state providers;
- Encouraging the purchase of true insurance plans rather than “pre-paid health care” plans;
- Encouraging state-based solutions which could be administered and monitored more efficiently than a one-size-fits all federal program.
- Providing new incentives for people to become cost-conscious consumers of medical services.
(Read Press Release on Health Care)
(Read OP-ED on Health Care bill)
Second Amendment
Chris Gibson is an outspoken supporter of the right to bear arms and to protect one’s life, loved ones and property. As a student of history, Chris understands that our Founding Fathers were passionate about the need for an informed and armed electorate to prevent tyranny. Thomas Jefferson himself wrote that “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” As Congressman, Chris will oppose any legislation which restricts the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for protection or for sport.
Chris will cosponsor federal legislation such as:
H.R. 17 which reinforces the right to obtain firearms for security, and to use firearms in defense of self, family, or home and provides for the enforcement of such right; and
H.R. 197 which provides a national standard for reciprocity, that is, the right of an individual licensed to carry a concealed firearm in a particular State to carry a concealed firearm in other States.
Chris would also work with Second Amendment rights advocates to protect gun manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits intended to hamper their ability to produce and distribute firearms.
Stronger National Security
We will lead the Congress towards new legislation that better coordinates the US Government to “see” the enemy threats to America. We need to more effectively respond to threats as well as opportunities, and proactively advance US interests in concert with friends and allies.
Preserving Social Security
Social Security is a commitment to America’s seniors we must uphold. This program cannot and should not be privatized. Those who have worked their entire lives with the understanding that Social Security will be there for them when they retire must be able to count on this promise. For those in or near retirement, all benefits must be protected, including not raising the retirement age or taxes as these would alter the agreement our nation has with its seniors.
A 2009 report by the Social Security trustees shows that by 2016, Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes. This date is a year earlier than was projected in 2008 due to unsustainable government spending and misguided policies. We will hit a crisis point by 2037 when the Social Security trust fund will be depleted.
The biggest threat to Social Security today is the anti-job growth and high spending agenda my opponent, Scott Murphy, has voted for in Washington. With government spending out of control and unemployment unacceptably high with fewer workers paying into the system, the federal government is forced to borrow more from a Social Security program that simply isn’t taking in as much revenue. The first step to preserving Social Security and putting our country back on a path to fiscal stability is to stop the big-government tax and spend agenda Congressman Murphy has embraced in Washington.
Protecting Medicare
Many of this country’s seniors rely on Medicare for their health care. We must assure the program does not go bankrupt so that we can keep this critical promise we have made to them. It is unacceptable that my opponent, Scott Murphy and his fellow Democrats raided the Medicare program with nearly $500 billion in cuts to finance their unpopular healthcare agenda that threatened availability of physicians and existing coverage options seniors count on. Medicare – along with Social Security – is an important program, which on its current path faces insolvency by 2017. Letting this program go bankrupt cannot be an option. Like Social Security, Medicare‘s financing relies on a functioning private sector supporting workers’ payroll taxes into the Program. The number of current workers paying into the system is not sufficient to support the growing number of beneficiaries, particularly with retirement of the baby boomer generation. The Board of Medicare Trustees, a non-partisan group, has repeatedly issued funding warnings to Congress about Medicare. Increasing health care costs paired with a greater demand for benefits has positioned Medicare to go bankrupt if spending is not slowed.
Waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare cheats the program out of millions of dollars annually. Solutions for Medicare should be bipartisan and should not cut benefits or raise taxes. . There is a dire need to lower health care costs while ensuring quality and accessibility to these critical healthcare services so that Medicare can be more reliable and user-friendly for beneficiaries. We need to promote innovation and competition to ensure Medicare benefits will continue to reach seniors and ensure they will continue to have access to life-saving prescription drugs.
