ISSUES
FOR THE 2008
CONGRESSIONAL
ELECTION

U.S. CONGRESS
      
RAY'S PLATFORM











1. Taxes and Spending:

Legislate to extend the Bush Tax Cuts which the Democrat controlled Congress and Senate voted not to extend. These tax cuts have helped many families to make ends meet during these troubled times. There are better ways to balance our budget and to reduce the National debt through reducing government spending and not through raising taxes.

Fight on a National Level to make it harder to raise taxes by requiring a 2/3 vote in Congress before a bill goes to the Senate which should also require a 2/3 vote for a tax increase.  This would avoid unnecessary tax increases and a Presidential Veto.

Legislate to revamp our whole Internal Revenue Service system. Explore all the possibilities to replace the IRS with a simpler, straight forward, and fair federal taxation system. (Possibly a Flat Tax System or National Sales Tax System.)

Seek legislation that would allow tipped employees not to be taxed. Gratuities are gifts from the Patrons of our local businesses and should not be considered wages!

Work toward comprehensive mortgage reform on the federal level to prevent a reoccurrence of the current mortgage crisis that has negatively affected the global economy. Encourage and support governmental, commercial, and personal fiscal responsibility to reduce personal debt along with our overall national debt.

Reward those people who Save money, Invest and Risk their money in the US economy with tax breaks.

Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
Cut taxes on the Middle Class.
Eliminate Wasteful Spending and Broken Government Programs.
Reform the Civil Service System.
Lower Medicare Premiums and control Medicare program growth.
Reform Social Security.
Enforce Fiscal Discipline.
Eliminate the Death Tax.
     

2. Re-invigorate Education:
Ensure funding to build and staff schools to permit reasonable class sizes.
Ensure proper protection for our children from predators by making sure that there is enough money through Federal Funding to hire armed security guards to work along with our police patrolling the school grounds. Also ensure that these predators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. No plea-bargaining for predators.
Demand fiscal responsibility of public schools that emphasizes academic standards without diminishing the arts or extra-curricular activities.
Parents should be able to choose their children's schools, including public, private and home schooling. Support parents as educators without burdensome regulation.
Provide tax breaks for private and home-schooled options.
Create a No Talent Left Behind program to eliminate financial barriers to better or higher education for motivated academic achievers.
No Child Left Behind Act is busted.  Eliminate need to emphasize some subjects at the expense of others.  Funding should not be used as a weapon.
Provide real incentives for family values such as parental participation, individual responsibility, diligence, civics and ethics.
Fight against attempts to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from schools. Maintain religious freedom within public institutions.
Fund armed security guards to work with police patrolling school grounds. Predators must be prosecuted vigorously with no plea-bargaining.
     
3. Environment:

Keep up the fight against Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste disposal. Find alternative ways to properly dispose of nuclear waste and alternative energy resources that are cost effective and do not create hazardous waste.

Continue to reduce our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Preserve our Property Rights.

Protect our vast Natural Resources.
   
4. Protect Second Amendment Rights:

I fully support law-abiding citizens' right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Citizens have a natural right to defend their lives and the lives of their loved ones from imminent danger, as intended by the founding fathers.

Firearms should not be discriminated against on the basis of caliber or appearance.

Citizens transporting legally possessed firearms for legitimate purposes in a federally prescribed safe manner should not be subject to seizure or fine while traveling between the state of origin and a destination state for which the items and their possession are legal in both states.

To promote a knowledgeable and safe public, programs that support the development of safety, marksmanship and competitive events under the direction of certified instructors and safety officers, as recognized by such organizations as NRA, CMP, JROTC, Boy Scouts and other qualified organizations at the national, state and local levels, should be encouraged.

Approved public shooting facilities that operate safely, in accordance with federal and state laws, should not be involuntarily pre-empted for other purely commercial purposes.

Legislation already enacted by many states for no net loss of public lands available for the hunting sports should be supported at the federal level.

I support criminal background checks for firearm purchases in a manner such that honest citizens are not prevented or discouraged from purchasing legal firearms and ammunition.

I believe in strict mandatory penalties for criminals who illegally possess firearms or use firearms in the commission of a felony.
   
5. Homeland and National Security (Immigration):

Ensure our military is properly funded and modernized to meet the nation’s foreign and domestic security needs.

Fight against violent Religious Extremists and Terrorist Tactics.

Build stronger Border Security to protect our National borders.

We must support rigorous enforcement of immigration laws by all levels of our Government.

No amnesty for illegal immigrants. However, we must deal with this issue in a compassionate manner because we understand the spirit and desire of individuals from nations all over the world wanting to be part of the American Dream.
We must support the rule of law and the United States Constitution as it pertains to the 14th Amendment and its explanation of citizenship.
We must support civil and criminal sanctions for employers who hire illegal immigrants.
Fight for English to be the official language for all Cities and States throughout the United States and the printing of all government materials in English only.
   
6. Iraq:

Our nation’s economic, social, political, and physical freedoms depend on securing our nation from terrorist threats. It is critical that we eliminate these threats proactively wherever the threat may be. Our nation must support our troops and their efforts to create stability in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea or anywhere that a threat is eminent. Our Military leaders are best qualified to determine when we have reached our objectives. Until General Patreaus and his Team determine that it is time to withdraw troops from Iraq, we stay the course to win and preserve Democracy. There are no costs that outweigh the benefits of preserving the lives, liberties and happiness of Americans from a real and eminent threat.

Bolster the troops on the ground and in the air.

Implement New Counter Insurgency Strategy.

Strengthen the Iraqi Army and Police.

Create the Security Necessary for Political Progress and Stability.

Call for International Pressure on Syria, Iran and other rogue nations.
   
7. Israel:

Stand with Israel against terrorist factions in the Middle East. Israel is the only Democracy in that region. They are our one true ally.

Resist the policy of making Israel give up land for peace. I will fight for Israel’s right to maintain their national borders and to not be forced to negotiate with other national leaders who participate in and back terrorism.
   
8. Veterans:

I strongly believe that those who sacrifice and risk their lives for the preservation of our freedoms must never doubt that their service matters.  

I will fight to improve Veterans Health Care Funding, for better access to special healthcare needs and for their retirement health care needs.

I support our VA hospitals.  We must ensure the VA hospitals do not need to turn away our nation's veterans who need their care or be forced to provide them with substandard care.

Help ease transition to Civilian Life for all our War Veterans.

Provide for the families of fallen heroes for they have paid dearly, too.
Our service members must be able to go to foreign conflicts knowing their families will not suffer unusual hardships.  Decent housing and childcare should not be lost to their families due to our service members' sacrifice.
Ensure the GI Bill evolves to offer our newer veterans the benefits it has provided past veterans.
Permit those who have made a career of service to our country to enjoy the retirement benefits they have earned without having to choose between those benefits and other resources they have also earned.
Our war veterans are required to endure conditions and risks to their lives that we would abhor.  Yet they do this with dedication to a cause they hold to be greater than themselves that should humble the best of us.  Can we honorably offer them less than our gratitude.
   
9. Healthcare:

Protect and care for our seniors.

Strongly support a meaningful healthcare reform, non-government funded to ensure comprehensive and affordable healthcare to all citizens.

Strongly support a public/private community-based solution for mental health patients providing continuity of treatment and community re-integration.
   
10. Pro-Life:

Strongly support the inalienable right to life of all persons from the moment of conception to their natural death and oppose human cloning. Strongly support the development of adult stem cell and umbilical cord (received from live babies at birth) stem cell research.
   
11. Transportation and Infrastructure:

Legislate for Federal Funds needed to continue to build our rapidly growing roads and highways to keep up with our increasing population. Also, legislate for the Federal Funds needed to maintain our roads and highways.
   
12. Legislation:

Strong Support for our Police, Fire Department, and Emergency Services. Seek the Federal Funding needed to hire and train enough qualified applicants in these Departments to keep up with our growing population.

Deal Tough with Drunk or Drugged Drivers. Make it a Federal mandate that every instance of driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law with a thorough investigation at the first offense.

Provide training programs to help our unemployed to find jobs faster.
   

For more information on these issues:
Contact Ray Kornfeld



Paid for by the Committee to Elect Ray Kornfeld to US Congress - Nevada District One