USARAIHALA307

Our federal government needs to be held accountable for the fair taxation of its citizens and the fair spending of our tax dollars. Most of us can agree that the current rate of government spending cannot continue. Our government is borrowing 41 cents out of every dollar it spends.  Try and accomplish that with your family’s finances and see how far you get. It is a guaranteed recipe for failure. I’ve had several successful businesses, always balanced my books, and didn’t even have to go to college to earn a degree in accounting and finance to figure out fiscal responsibility.  There are only three ways for the federal government to become fiscally responsible and balance the budget:  Increase revenue, decrease spending or a combination of them both.   It is a most unpopular truth that constituents do not want to hear, but need to understand.  As your congressman I will strive to preserve spending that is most crucial to our citizenry, lessen federal government growth and control on issues that are better handled at the state level, and work to instill a balanced taxation system that is fair to all.

The Issues and my beliefs

National Defense

Our country must be so enabled to protect its sovereignty and that of its allies.  A military force with superior weaponry must also be so maintained.  Nuclear weaponry must be a vital part of our nation’s defense. I will vote to maintain this strength and also vote to end our current military conflicts.                                               

Health Care

Affordable health care must be the goal we all strive for.  Tort reform and interstate insurance exchanges, rather than be ignored, must be addressed. Any form of abortion options or funding language must be removed.                                     [click to view executive order]        Mandatory insurance requirements will be deemed unconstitutional by the courts making this recent health law financially unsustainable. This law must be repealed and reworked as separate smaller bills to determine if it’s fiscally viable. Fair debate must be allowed to ensure success!

Immigration

Immigration is a privilege, not a right. Those that are illegally present in our country are not entitled to citizenship. I will vote to strengthen our borders and will not reward amnesty to illegals.  Open borders are allowing all sorts of non-imigrant crossings including: drugs, human trafficking, weapons, gangs, potential terrorists, and eradicated diseases.                     

Cap and Trade

Capping green house emissions and mandating strict energy efficiencies during this recession does great harm to our economy. If indeed global warming can be righteously proven, then there needs to be a global solution and not just for the USA. How foolish that we mandate this on our people when major countries such as China, Russia and India chose to do nothing.                                                          

preamble

“ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”

John F. Kennedy
congressshots 196

 “A new dawn for America”                                           Barack Obama

“And it is spelled D-O-N”                                                  Don Raihala

Ask a question & get a reply, by emailing  don@donforcongress.com

Taxes

Income taxes must be fair to all.  The current federal tax code, influenced over the decades by special interests and comprised of thousands of pages, must be repealed. 

Jobs and Economic Recovery

It is reported that there are many companies holding cash reserves because of the uncertainty our government has created.  We must not burden industries with new increased taxes, healthcare mandates and new cap & trade emissions requirements.  We must work with our industries and include their direct input in the decision making process rather than answer to special interest groups.

Social Security

There are so many people that are depending on social security to be there for them at retirement.  I believe we must work toward preserving this crucial program for all. Sacrifices that are unpopular will need to be made in order to achieve solvency.                                                       

National Debt

Currently at $13.2 trillion, this must not continue to be ignored.  This has become a national security issue and must be treated as such. The reality is there are only three unpopular options to solving this problem: increase revenue, reduce spending, or a combination of both.  I will never vote for any bill that simply adds to this debt.                     

Government Accountability

This is OUR money! Yet we let the government spend it like they had inherited it.  Too often the government is spending with no sense or no record of where the money went or what was done with it. We need full disclosure of the money trails and routine audits to ensure all spending is accounted for and used responsibly.