What are your stances on the issues?
I am a Republican and a conservative. It is how I was raised – here in Eastern Washington – and it’s what I believe is best for my family and our country. This means I favor individual liberty, respect the Constitution, believe in free enterprise solutions and cherish the values and traditions that built America: a can-do attitude as well as love of family and country.
Thomas Jefferson said, “the God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” Benjamin Franklin said that the Founders bequeathed us a democratic Republic...“if you can keep it.” I will fight to keep it – for Eastern Washington, for our children and for generations to come – just as our forebears preserved it for us.
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Southern Border & Immigration | Inflation | Spending | Energy & Dams | Ag & Rural Communities
Education | Social Security & Medicare | Veterans | Military | National Security
2nd Amendment | Abortion
Secure the Southern Border
and Immigration
I will strongly support policies that secure our border and bring the rule of law and common sense to immigration policy. Our open southern border is letting drugs and unvetted migrants pour into America. I’ve been to the border, talked to law enforcement and border guards and I know the heavy cost that we are paying for the failure to secure our border.
Much of the crime, drug abuse and homelessness in Eastern Washington can be traced back to the Mexican cartels that bring drugs over the border and profit from human trafficking and the horrific exploitation of children.
When I visited the border in Yuma, Arizona, this past spring, I personally watched people from many different countries - including hotbeds of international terrorism - walk around the uncompleted border wall and enter our country. It poses a real terrorism threat.
It is important that the border wall is built, as requested by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but much more is required. We need a multi-faceted approach that starts with enforcing our existing laws. Economic migrants should be vetted before reaching the American border. Policies like “Remain in Mexico” need to be reinstated. E-verify needs to be fully implemented. The sanctuary city experiment needs to end.
Meanwhile, our refugee and asylum programs are being abused. There are people who deserve and need our help. My wife and I have assisted former Afghan colleagues who worked for the US Government and now face Taliban reprisals, helping with their applications for Special Immigrant Visas. However we need to tighten our asylum processes to reduce fraud.
The bipartisan border bill was a step in the right direction, but we need to do more. Our current border situation is untenable. Every person should be treated with respect and dignity, but failing to enforce our laws is encouraging unlawful entry and ultimately it is resulting in tremendous human suffering.
Tackle Inflation
I will strongly support policies that reduce inflation and the price increases that are crippling working-class families.
Inflation is a direct result of the federal government spending too much money, increasing demand and forcing prices to rise. The current administration has spent money like drunken sailors, with one mega-spending budget after another.
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Stop Reckless Spending
I will strongly support policies that reign in reckless spending.
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Our growing national debt threatens the prosperity of future generations of Americans. This year, our country reached over $35 trillion in federal debt. Interest payments have ballooned from $345 billion in 2020 to a projected $728 billion this year. It has to get fixed.
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A trillion dollars is a big number; a million dollars in $100 bills fits in a school backpack, a billion takes up 10 construction pallets but a trillion fills 1,000 pallets, each double stacked with bills – enough to fill a football field. Our national debt would more than fill every NFL field in America.
Annual interest payments on the federal debt are now the largest item in the federal budget, costing more than the national defense, highways, veterans programs or foreign aid. These huge interest payments are a result of the profligate, undisciplined and hypocritical actions of past Congresses.
As many individuals with a credit card know, it’s easy to spend today and put off payments until tomorrow - but in a short time, the payments become due...and with interest. On a national level, we’ve delayed paying the bill for a generation. We have to draw a line and say that we will not continue to add to the massive debt load. It fuels inflation and will be a burden on our children and grandchildren.
Only by eliminating wasteful spending can we keep our promises to seniors and veterans, to fully fund the benefits they have been promised (and earned). Some federal programs can be privatized with strict performance guidelines, while other programs can be canceled completely. For example, in Europe each airport contracts out its security service rather than running it through a bureaucratic federal agency like the TSA - saving money and improving customer service.
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Although having private companies delivering services can sound risky, NASA has shown that private companies - like SpaceX and Starlink, not to mention Boeing, Northrop Grumman and others - have a good record providing services. Even the Post Office contracts with FedEx for some delivery. Good public-private partnerships can save taxpayers millions and provide better services.
In the Washington State Legislature, we were required to pass balanced budgets. Congress must do the same. As a state senator, I also sponsored successful bi-partisan legislation that eliminated five government agencies – including such outdated functions as a state printer. The federal government is filled with overstaffing and inefficient programs, and it’s the role of Congress to provide oversight and hold the bureaucrats accountable.
Energy, Hydropower and Dams
I will protect the Snake River dams that are so important for our agricultural communities and our energy needs.
We should be investing in our dams, not threatening to tear them down. The dams allow efficient, low emission barge transportation of agricultural commodities and products, and they produce enough energy to power over a million homes – about 1,000 megawatts on average...the same as a large nuclear power plant. In addition, the dams have a maximum generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts and an ability to rapidly increase power generation at times of critical need.
Preserving our salmon population is important, and I appreciate the ongoing science-based salmon recovery efforts. Fish survival rates at the dams are comparable to free-flowing rivers, and salmon returns have improved over recent years. Unfortunately, the fish are under pressure from other factors including warmer ocean conditions, predatory birds and sea lions. Removing the dams is not the answer.
There are some who want to breach the dams. I’ll work to ensure this never happens. Federal policy must protect the dams.
America is an energy powerhouse. We can produce all the energy we need for our country and have surplus to sell to the world – and to help protect our allies. We need an "all-of-the-above" approach to energy production, including hydropower, wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas and oil, to ensure a future with reliable, safe and affordable power.
The nuclear age began at Hanford and Eastern Washington continues to be an important center for nuclear power. It’s time for the federal government to embrace new generations of nuclear technology to ensure that America and its allies are not held hostage by foreign governments.
One of the most damaging policies embraced by Governor Inslee is a carbon tax, or so-called “cap and invest” program, to funnel revenue into electric transit and vehicle programs (benefitting King County). Washington's new tax on CO2 emissions ended up adding about 43 cents per gallon of gas for 2023. The final price was reduced by several market interventions by Department of Ecology staff, but prices are likely to increase.
I fought cap and trade when I was in the Senate, supporting laws prohibiting such programs. But in the years after I left the Senate, a far-left majority removed the prohibition and put Inslee’s plan into effect in 2021.
Agriculture and Rural Communities
I will be a strong advocate for the farmers and ranchers of Eastern Washington.
I was raised in wheat country in Colton on the Palouse and I know how essential agriculture is to Eastern Washington. I’ll fight for our dams and work to ensure that the new five-year Farm Bill reflects the priorities of our local communities.
A new Farm Bill is overdue. The 2018 Farm Bill has currently been extended while Congress works on updated legislation, however passage of a new Farm Bill during 2024 now looks unlikely. I will work to ensure that the Farm Bill passes – without further delay – once I get sworn in to office.
We need a strong Farm Bill to provide certainty to farmers and ranchers. We must provide effective safety nets with affordable crop insurance, strengthen programs to boost market access and ensure ongoing funding for the world-class agricultural research at WSU which drives innovation and informs best practices to address local, regional and global challenges.
The United States is the world's leading exporter of food, but trade barriers and higher costs are damaging our competitiveness in global markets. Food security is national security, and it is critical that we protect our agricultural supply chain against vulnerabilities and that we do more to secure our farmland.
We need to support our timber communities, boosting markets for wood products and ensuring well-paid rural jobs. My father was a professor of forestry at WSU and worked in extension across Eastern Washington. We need to encourage more active management of our forest lands, improving forest health and reducing wildfire risk, while revitalizing rural communities. We should also allow greater local control, such as following the model of the collaborative Colville A-Z project.
Education
I support local control of education and empowering parents to have choice and options in their children’s schools. My mother spent 43 years as an award-winning public school kindergarten teacher in Colton and Pullman. I believe in our public schools and want them to deliver world-class education, free of political influence. I also support parents’ right to send their children to private schools or to home school.
K-12
Quality education means putting families in charge and ensuring transparency and accountability. Parents should be able to make decisions for their own children that align with their values.
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America was built on local control. We need less federal intervention in education, with greater local freedom over spending education dollars at the state and community level.
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Strong academic standards should be maintained in the face of efforts to “dumb down” curriculum.
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I support school choice vouchers In the State Senate, I sponsored legislation that would have created a voucher program and I’ve been an active supporter of our state’s charter schools.
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Political correctness and woke ideology have no place in our schools. It should be required that schools share curriculum content, educational materials and student records online so that they can easily be reviewed by families.
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Education should not take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Not all students learn the same way, and we need more vocational and technical education options.
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Higher education
I have a strong track record of supporting higher education. I led successful efforts for the only state college tuition reduction in American history - lowering the price of schools like WSU and EWU by 15 percent! I fought against determined opposition to successfully bring a new WSU medical school to Spokane, where it was critically needed to educate doctors for the rural communities of Eastern Washington.
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I’m interested in learning more about ways to reform our federal student loans program, which has had an inflationary effect on college tuition costs without significantly increasing access to college education.
Social Security and Medicare
I will fight to make sure that senior citizens receive every penny of the Social Security and Medicare benefits that they have been promised.
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It is important that we continue these vital programs and that people who have paid into them get back what was promised. This is non-negotiable: Medicare and Social Security benefits will not be reduced.
Veterans
I will work tirelessly as a champion for veterans, making sure the focus of the VA is where it needs to be – on health care, not bureaucracy.
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In Iraq and Afghanistan, working as a civilian, I saw firsthand the bravery and sacrifice of our service members. I made many friends there and view it as a personal commitment to live up to the promises our government made to them.
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Veterans earned their benefits and it should not be a bureaucratic nightmare for them to get health care.
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We need to hold the VA accountable and improve service at Mann-Grandstaff. Wait times are too long and care options are too limited. The VA needs to provide more flexibility for veterans and their families to get the help that they need.
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VA doctors and nurses are getting burned out and the system is under tremendous strain. Systems to improve electronic records management need massive overhaul. Veterans who need assistance are falling through the cracks. Too many disabled veterans are struggling to stay out of poverty. There’s got to be a better way.
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The general population doesn’t understand just how high our military’s operational tempo has been over the past two decades and what demands this has put on our soldiers and their families. Americans with a proud, multi-generational history of service are questioning whether they want their own children to serve in our armed forces these days. We can’t turn our backs on those who have shouldered such a burden for our freedom. We need to do better.
Supporting our Military
I will work to support and upgrade Fairchild Air Force Base.
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Fairchild Air Force Base is a source of pride for Eastern Washington, a key part of our national defense network and an essential part of our local community.
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Previous 5th Congressional District Representatives like Cathy McMorris Rodgers, George Nethercutt and Tom Foley worked to ensure that Fairchild would stay open when there were base closures and that it would continue its vital refueling mission serving the Indo-Pacific region. I will do the same.
We must strengthen Fairchild AFB - honoring those that fight for our freedom and providing our military with the resources they need. We must support our servicemembers with quality housing and healthcare, invest in advanced equipment and defense technologies, support recruitment and retention efforts and ensure we also care for military spouses and families.
National Security and China
I will support a strong and smart American foreign policy. I will work to ensure that the Chinese Communist Government does not buy up strategic US assets such as water rights, energy infrastructure or farmland near our military bases.
We need to be feared and respected on the international stage. Right now, we are neither. I’ve seen firsthand in Iraq and Afghanistan the result of Bush-era policies seeking to undermine support for Islamic terrorism by creating Jeffersonian democracies in the Middle East. It was a noble attempt, but it was unrealistic and cost far too many American lives.
Yet, we must stay engaged with the world. The world is a dangerous place and if we were to fully withdraw, our enemies would exploit the situation. Foreign events impact us here at home.
Our foreign policy must first serve America’s interests, and we need our allies to step up and share the burden of countering hostile actors.
China poses a unique threat. The Soviet Union was a determined adversary, but it was never economically strong or technologically advanced...China is both. And make no mistake: Chinese leadership is determined to topple America’s global leadership.
Their trade practices undermine our manufacturing, costing American jobs, while their spies spread disinformation and influence academics. Chinese companies increasingly are trying to buy farmland and agricultural producers.
In general, I’m a firm believer in the power of free markets and in free trade, but in this case we need to ensure that we are not sleeping while China mobilizes on all fronts – spying, buying and propagandizing.
2nd Amendment
I will support policies that guarantee Americans their 2nd Amendment rights.
I had a 100% voting record in support of 2nd Amendment issues during my time in the Washington State Legislature and will continue to vote in support of the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment must be protected both for personal freedom and hunting, but also to protect against tyranny of the Government.
I’m proud to be rated “A” by the Gun Owners of America.
Abortion
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution requires each state to make their own laws on this subject, and different states are adopting varying laws. I support the right of the people and legislatures of each state to make their own abortion laws as consistent with the US Constitution.
I am Catholic and pro-life. I support the option of IVF for those who need it. I would hope no state would adopt laws that prohibits abortion in cases of rape, incest, or when needed to protect the life of the mother.
I am a strong supporter of Crisis Pregnancy Centers and those seeking avenues for adoption.
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A “culture of life” should support young families and women making difficult decisions, just as it cares for the elderly and infirm.
