Jeff On The Issues
War on Terror
Terrorism, particularly Radical Islamic terrorism, is the strategy of an enemy unlike any we have ever faced, more sinister, more aimed at civilians, more willing to die in its hateful cause. Jeff is absolutely committed to fighting and winning the global War on Terror, defending the liberty, principles, and way of life that have for our entire history made America the envy of the globe and the most desired place for immigrants to come. He knows that this war is a long one, maybe without ever having an obvious end, but also that it is critical that we stand and fight when and where we know the enemy is.
Despite the desire of some to cave in to political pressure and retreat now, Jeff knows that were the US to abandon its mission it would embolden al Qaeda and its followers for generations to come. When faced with an enemy who understands nothing but force and is absolutely willing to die for their cause, the only responsible option is to help them fulfill that willingness.
Having served as a congressional military aide, Jeff spent years working with Congress, the Pentagon, and both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, as well as with the leadership of Fort Carson and other military bases in Colorado. Jeff had demonstrated leadership in getting our military the tools they need to do the job and our military families the support they need and deserve as they sacrifice so much so that we don't have to. Jeff will continue to work tirelessly on both those goals in order to help our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen defeat those who wish us harm. 
Business
With years of experience dealing with issues that are important to businesses large and small, Jeff knows that the United States owes its prosperity to our freemarket free enterprise system.
Jeff believes that government can't create wealth, but it can certainly destroy it. Therefore, the only proper role for government in our economy is to foster an environment where American entrepreneurs can use their creativity and their willingness to take risks in order to create jobs, make new products, deliver wanted services, and, yes, earn profits. Jeff realizes that American jobs are created because . . . and only because . . . it may be possible to earn a profit. Whatever government does to penalize success ends up penalizing workers, their families, the towns they live in, and our entire nation.
This is true of large business and small, and Jeff is a particularly strong supporter of small business, which is the source of most new jobs in America. Whether manufacturers or farmers, accountants or ranchers, blue-collar or white-collar, business-employed or self-employed, Jeff respects hard work and entrepreneurship and will fight for legislation to strengthen small businesses including through tax relief, health insurance reform, and modernization of our retirement and entitlement systems.
Home and Family Values
Jeff knows that there is no more important institution in America than the family, and no more important contract than the marriage between a man and a woman which creates the foundation for that family. He is proudly pro-life and will vigorously champion legislation supporting families and protecting life.
Jeff's pro-family values is based on support for traditional marriage. According to Jeff, the definition of marriage is not determined by debate. It always has and always will mean one man married to one woman; Jeff commits to defending that definition and the institution based on it because he recognizes the many benefits to society which strong traditional marriages bring and he will fight against anti-family forces in Washington. Jeff supports both the Colorado state marriage amendment and the federal Marriage Protection Amendment.
In addition to opposing abortion, Jeff's pro-life positions include support of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act and the Child Custody Protection Act as well as a complete ban on human cloning. While Jeff supports adult stem cell research, he adamantly opposes life-destroying embryonic stem cell research. In 2004, Jeff was honored to receive the "Champion of Life" award for his unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity and dignity of life.
Jeff is also concerned about other social issues, such as gambling, broadcast decency, and abstinence education. He believes that to the extent government schools must be involved in "sex ed", it should be to encourage the highest standard of such education: to encourage abstinence until marriage. Beyond that, and particularly as the parent of two young children, Jeff knows that parents are the best and most proper source of sex education for their children and that sex education should include not just parent-approved content but also should be at a parent-approved time.
Again, as the father of two young children, Jeff is concerned with the proliferation of violent and sexually explicit television broadcasting and supports congressional efforts to raise fines for indecent broadcasting. He also opposes the way government has not only accepted but encourages gambling - particularly when the government gets the profits - and will support efforts to rein in increases in the expansion of gambling, government-supported or otherwise.
Education
As the parent of two young children one of whom attends public schools, Jeff recognizes the importance of an educational system that prepares our children for the challenges posed by a global and technological economy. Jeff also realizes that the best way to improve that system is by strengthening local control, respecting and encouraging local initiatives, and loosening the ties that Washington, DC, bureaucrats have put on the hands of our school boards.
Despite a decade that has seen huge increases in the interference by the federal government in education – and a corresponding increase in the Department of Education’s budget, from $33 billion in 1997 to $66 billion in 2007 – our public schools continue to fail our future leaders. An estimated 70% of eighth graders can’t read at grade level and America ranks 19th in the world in high school graduation rate.
Clearly, the best thing that Washington, DC can do for public education is to get out of the way and let parents and local teachers, principals, and school boards do what they believe will work best rather than trying to fit a national one-size-fits-none paradigm.
Jeff sees another critical problem for public education in the lack of competition both within and among schools. Charter schools, vouchers, and home schooling should be supported and encouraged to bring competition directly to the public school system, letting the “customers”, namely kids and their parents have choices based on the quality of education provided, much as we can choose a supermarket or a doctor. Additionally, merit pay for public school teachers can bring additional motivation to the best educators we have. As with almost every other aspect of American life, quality (and price) improve when a free market is allowed to flourish. There is no reason to think that education is exempt from those beneficial forces. Parents, not political bureaucrats, are the best people to decide which form of education suits their children the best. They should have a choice which school program provides the best education for their individual needs. If they choose to be both the parent and a home school educator, we should reward that choice, not punish their leadership.
The key to America’s future is educating our youngest generation effectively and efficiently. We have demonstrated repeatedly that throwing more money at schools tends to fatten the teachers’ unions without helping America’s children. Jeff is committed to ensuring that the resources that get spent on public education are spent wisely and in the best interest of the students. It’s the only way to keep America a leader in the global economy and to ensure that our children can enjoy an even better quality of life than our parents gave to us.
Immigration
Immigration remains one of the critical issues facing our nation. Jeff recognizes the substantial positive contributions made by immigrants to America, but knows that states – especially rapidly growing states like Colorado – must address the problem of illegal immigration. Illegal immigration places often unbearable strains on our education and health care systems, as well as having serious law enforcement and national security implications. Paraphrasing Milton Friedman, you can not have open borders and a welfare state.
Jeff supports efforts to make state-issued driver’s licenses and other forms of identification more secure, including requiring proper and verifiable documentation to receive a license, and to require such a secure document in order to vote.
Jeff supports tougher penalties for illegal immigrants and opposes amnesty for them since he does not believe in offering a reward for breaking the law. He also will support every effort to prohibit the use of foreign-issued documents to obtain government benefits of any sort.
Jeff will introduce legislation in Congress to stop federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” that will not help the U.S. government enforce immigration laws. If these local governments choose to look the other way, they do not deserve federal funding in their community.
Immigrants have always been the key to the growth and success of America. What’s different today is that so many people are coming here illegally, not truly to be immigrants, not to assimilate, not to become Americans. Jeff will work to curtail this illegal and damaging behavior while recognizing and supporting the legal immigration that a vibrant economy depends on.
Second Amendment Rights
As an avid sportsman, a lifetime hunter and outdoorsman, Jeff understands the importance of protecting our right to keep and bear arms and will be a steadfast champion of defending the Second Amendment.
Some of the issues that Jeff will support in Congress include:
- Allowing the government to sell confiscated firearms, many of which are collectors items, to law-abiding citizens with the money used to reduce government budget deficits.
- Supporting the District of Columbia Personal Protection Act to end Washington, DC’s gun ban and allow its residents to defend themselves and their homes. Jeff will be closely watching the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller in which the Court may settle the question of whether the Second Amendment provides a right to individual Americans to keep and bear arms.
- Providing protection to gun manufacturers from frivolous litigation by anti-gun lawyers.
Jeff will also support the DCM Marksmanship Program, interstate recognition of concealed carry permits, and better access for sportsmen to federal properties suitable for hunting and target shooting.
Jeff is an elected representative on the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition Political Action Committee Steering Committee. Jeff will defend the US Constitution as our elected representatives are sworn to do and will never compromise the rights and freedoms it guarantees us.
Natural Resources
As the home of some of America’s most precious natural resources and some of the world’s most spectacular public lands, Jeff believes it is critical to protect Colorado’s generous inheritance from nature through championing conservation and preservation, both through legislation and through encouraging private behavior that defends our beautiful state.
Jeff also realizes that preserving our lands does not mean barring Americans from enjoying them. Jeff will work to keep public lands open and accessible while being treated with the care they deserve. He will work to ensure that federal lands are designated and managed through processes that are fair and which ensure that those lands are as beautiful and special for our children and grandchildren as they have been for us.
Property Rights
There is nothing more fundamental to our economy and our free-market system than the right to own property, including the right to use it, to keep others off it, and to sell it on terms that you agree to. Currently, eminent domain abuse puts this cornerstone of society at risk.
The disastrous 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Kelo case gutted the Fifth Amendment’s explicit conditions for the taking of private property by the government through eminent domain. Where the Fifth Amendment says “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”, the Court allowed “public use” to be changed to “public benefit”, meaning that any government can claim that it’s good for everyone if that government takes somebody’s house to give it to a developer or corporation.
The risk from this sort of abuse is especially high for rural property owners and lower-income homeowners who do not have the political pull to keep the greedy hands of governments off their homes.
Jeff will lead efforts to prevent any municipality which abuses eminent domain from receiving federal money for such projects. He will work to strengthen local control and property rights, and to restore to Americans our historical confidence that my home is indeed my castle.
Taxes and Spending
Jeff is a strong fiscal conservative who believes in instilling spending discipline on Congress and lowering the tax burden on Americas families and businesses. America has the highest corporate income tax rate in the industrialized world, something which directly damages our international competitiveness.
Jeff has seen too many Republicans in Congress stray from core principles of fiscal restraint. He promises to fight to return the GOP to being the party of lower taxes, less government, and spending discipline.
As part of that fight, Jeff promises that he will never vote to raise taxes. Instead he will focus on spending taxpayer money responsibly and allowing Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money instead of sending it into the money pit of Washington, DC.
Jeff wants to tear the Internal Revenue Service out by the roots as part of replacing our massive and complex income tax code with a simple and fair system. Families should not fear that an accounting error might bring the wrath of a greedy government down upon them. Families should not have to work until May to pay the government, nor should they spend weeks of time, money, and aggravation filling out paperwork that you need three advanced degrees to understand. These are the reasons Jeff wants to enact common sense solutions to replace our current tyrannical tax system.
A critical piece of the puzzle to force government spending discipline is balancing the federal budget. Jeff believes we must eliminate wasteful pork-barrel projects as well as outrageous bridge-to-nowhere and rainforest-in-Iowa earmarks. He supports a line-item veto for the president as well as the Balanced Budget Amendment.
As Gerald Ford put it, “government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.” Jeff knows that Washington already takes far too much from us and will never stop fighting to get government’s never-satisfied hand out of your wallet.