| | | | | Reducing Waste in Washington - George will go to Washington with a multi-pronged plan to put the nation's financial house in order. The details of these proposals may be found in our Bold Plan for America. They include the elimination of unused and underused federal properties and vacant lots which cost us billions in maintenance as well as abused and insufficiently monitored payments made by the government. He will bring forward a proposal to reduce the current number of cabinet level departments from fifteen to eight, resulting in massive savings and a reduction in the size of government. George will also propose legislation to create a bi-partisan commission of business leaders and experts to make recommendations on reigning in out of control federal spending. This permanent commission would continually investigate waste and inefficiency, reporting regularly to Congress with proposals to cut costs and find new avenues of savings. Unlike President Obama's suggestion of a panel to balance the budget, this group would not be able to force tax increases. Congress is responsible for balancing the budget. George's proposal is modeled on the Reagan era Grace Commission which found that more than one third of federal spending was wasteful and inefficient. Unfortunately its recommendations for curbing this waste were never enacted.
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| | | | | Creating Jobs - George firmly believes we need to stop penalizing entrepreneurship and hard work. The current Congressional majority talks about jobs a great deal, but continues to propose and maintain policies and programs which hinder economic recovery and growth in employment. So called health care "reform" which drives up the costs for employers seeking to hire new workers is precisely the opposite of what we should be doing. A "cap and trade" proposal which places additional taxes and fees on energy producers - among others - results in increases in the cost of doing business and price hikes which are inevitably passed on to consumers, further reducing the incentive to create new jobs in the private sector. George will fight to reform the tax code so that small businesses can keep a greater share of their earnings to reinvest in their business and create jobs. This type of creative solution is also a good fit for addressing the government's budget woes. When the corporate tax rate is low, revenues to the government rise, along with employment.
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Health Care -George believes that we need to look for solutions to make health care more affordable for business and the uninsured. However, he opposes a government take over of the health care industry, believing that the overall costs and inefficiencies of government will make matters even worse.
Real solutions to both the availability and affordability of health care will be found in expanded competition, including the option of purchasing insurance across state lines. Careful reform of the medical malpractice system will deliver additional savings and long needed relief. While more work is required, George Phillips supports the health care reform proposal introduced by Congressman Paul Ryan during the summer of 2009 and since ignored by the Democratic majority. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Stimulus Package - George opposed the stimulus package as it focused too much on billions of dollars in spending for big government programs that will run up debts and hurt the economy in the long term. As time goes by, the rising unemployment numbers, ballooning deficit figures and sagging consumer confidence have demonstrated that this massive spending program has done little to alleviate the real problems facing the nation. George believes a true stimulus would have focused more on tax relief for individuals and small businesses. Direct spending and intervention by the government should have been restricted to programs which are truly federal in nature, such as interstate highway improvements and other investments in our critical infrastructure. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | War on Terror -George believes that we must continue to fight Al-Qaeda and other enemies of America wherever they are organizing to harm the United States. George believes the success troops have achieved in Iraq is truly remarkable and supports troop withdrawals, but not in hasty manner that would threaten the gains we have made. He hopes that methods used to bring stability in Iraq can be duplicated in Afghanistan. But even beyond the wars we are fighting, George strongly supports expanding and improving our intelligence capabilities to root out and eliminate threats before they come to fruition. The attempted Christmas Day bombing of 2009 should serve as a stark reminder that this job is far from over and we must continually dedicate our efforts and resources to ensuring the safety of all Americans.
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Family Values — George and his family are strongly pro-life and he supports traditional marriage. He sees FOCA — the so-called Freedom of Choice Act that would end the ban on partial-birth abortion, mandate taxpayer funding for abortion and even force religious based health facilities to perform abortion against their conscience - as completely unacceptable. George draws great strength from his faith, while understanding that America is a diverse tapestry made up of many religions and beliefs. Our nation's greatest strength is not found in the federal government, but in the shared values and bedrock foundation of family and community. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Energy - George supports using the resources we have here in the United States — including off-shore drilling — to meet our energy needs. He believes in exploring the viability of new alternative energy programs through more analysis and investing our resources wisely in those areas which will help assure our future energy independence. Meanwhile, current domestic energy resources must be utilized in the most efficient, safe manner possible. This includes harnessing the huge potential of our native natural gas supplies, which provide clean, low cost energy. We must also look into expanding our current nuclear power capabilities in a safe manner until such time as they are no longer required. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | 2nd Amendment Rights - George is a firm supporter of 2nd Amendment rights and applauded the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller which affirmed that the 2nd Amendment represents an individual right of all lawful American citizens. He recognizes the need to provide for the safety of individuals against violent crime and to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but these concerns must not infringe upon the rights of law abiding citizens.
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| | | | | Immigration - With over 12 million illegal immigrants in our nation, George knows that our immigration system is broken. George believes that we must work to secure the border and stop immigrants from entering the US illegally. The United States is and must remain a beacon for those seeking freedom and a better way of life, but the realities and security concerns of the 21st century demand we ensure that all immigrants follow the laws and policies in place to bring them to citizenship legally.
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| | | | | Term Limits - George believes many of the problems in Washington are due to career politicians. He will fight to enact term limits for Members of Congress to help send politicians addicted to spending and dominated by special interests home | | | | | | | |
| | | Marcellus Shale Exploration - George believes we should be actively and safely exploring the energy resources available to us in the form of natural gas found in the Marcellus Shale deposits. He opposes Maurice Hinchey's FRAC Act legislation which would bring the federal government into the process and delay it for years. He remains a supporter of local landowner groups, such as The Southern Tier Landowners Coalition, who are working to harness this energy for the benefit of our district. | | | Earmark Reform George Phillips understands the need for reform in Congress, particularly when it comes to the earmark system. In Washington, George will work with other members to eliminate the earmark system, preferring to replace it with a program of federal grants which are handled in a fashion fully transparent to the public.
As long as earmarks remain a part of the system, George Phillips will not accept any campaign contributions from any recipient of federal funds through an earmark. If such a recipient has previously donated money to the Phillips campaign, those donations will be returned. | | | | | |
