Congress is broken. We are all tired of the endless partisan bickering occurring in Washington today. The political games being played by both parties are extremely dangerous given the serious and urgent issues we face as a nation. Continuous partisan attacks have resulted in an inability to decisively deal with our budget deficits and have led to several near shutdowns of our government. Too many elected officials are putting their party's ideology ahead of their constituents and that must end. We need to replace partisan-driven Congressional gridlock with a willingness to find common ground on which to build common-sense solutions. We must begin to move forward as a nation and stop being immobilized by petty partisan bickering.
I have spent my life in business and in community service bringing people together around ideas and important issues regardless of party affiliation. My success in building a statewide, bipartisan early childhood initiative across Virginia over the last 6 years is a prime example of this ability. I know how to find common ground on which to build the necessary common-sense solutions.
Once we bring common-sense decision-making back to Congress, we must focus on and work to resolve these critical issues:
The Issues
Creating 21st Century Jobs
Creating 21st Century Jobs Growing our economy and creating jobs will be my top priority when I get to Congress. There are still far too many people in Hampton Roads out of work, and countless more that are underemployed. As a lifelong businessman, … Read more
Building a 21st Century Education System
Building a 21st Century Education System Education holds the key to America’s future success. For our country to continue to succeed economically, it is imperative that we continue to out-innovate our global competitors. But we can only out-in… Read more
Growing our Small Businesses
Growing our Small Businesses America was built on the backs of small businesses, and today small businesses are still at the heart of the American workforce. In fact, the Kaufman Foundation showed that nearly all net new jobs over the last thirty years we… Read more
Honoring our Veterans
Honoring our Veterans Home to Naval Air Station Oceana, Langley Air Force Base, Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads and Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station, Hampton Roads is blessed with a community filled with veterans who have honorabl… Read more
Congressional Reform
It’s Time to Change Congress It is time to get serious about reforming Congress. It is time to recognize that real change is requiring Members of Congress to abide by these reforms, not just hoping that they will choose to do the right thing. We nee… Read more
Military
Making sure that our military has the hardware necessary to keep America safe is a national imperative. It is also clear that given the budget deficit issues we face, there is no good rationale for moving any aircraft carrier currently home-ported in Norfo… Read more
Budget Deficit
We must get our deficits under control and begin to reduce our national debt. Our nation has faced the worst economic recession since the Great Depression resulting in staggering job losses, home foreclosures and economic uncertainly for far too many Ameri… Read more
Job Creation
We must create more and higher paying jobs in order to grow our economy and reduce the tremendous negative impacts of unemployment on our families. America's economic success in much of the 20th Century was as based on growing jobs at home. … Read more
Social Security and Medicare
We cannot break the promise we have made to our seniors. I reject the idea that these programs cannot remain strong for generations. There are intelligent ways to reduce the long-term costs of Social Security and Medicare that do not break our promise… Read more