Lela Pittenger for U.S. Senate Real / Life / Experiences

The Issues

I Vow to Support the Constitution by:

1. Filing legislation requiring all proposed legislation to explain its constitutional authority.
2. Fighting for legislative integrity by expecting every Senate amendment to legislation to be germane to the bill. Senators should NOT be “forced” to act against their constituents’ values because of attachments to legislation they otherwise approve.
3. Working for the appointment of clearly constructionalist judges who refuse to legislate from the bench.
4. Fighting “over-federalization”—our massive government encroachment is created by “we the people” through demanding federal involvement in local issues. Whether local crime, natural disaster, or policing businesses, we spur the cycle of federal control over what is closest to us. We must do all we can to maintain local control of every aspect of our lives, predictable and unexpected.
5. I will refuse to vote yes on any legislation that is not given proper time for consideration and debate.

Advance 2^nd Amendment Freedom by:

1. Supporting the right of all law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms—it is the duty of each person to know how to properly use, store, and secure their arms.
2. Strongly opposing the U.N. Small Arms Treaty.

Work for Energy Independence:

1. It is important to drill here and drill now as well as make clean coal plants operational and wisely use lands for wind, solar and hydroelectric sources. A diversified energy “portfolio” will help protect the U.S. from the power of all enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. End all energy subsidies—the free market always selects the best options and rarely has the level of fraud and abuse that comes from the government picking winners and losers.

Get Real on Border Security and Immigration by:

1. Expecting our government to enforce existing laws—before adding to the staggering amount of federal legislation, we need a thorough review of current immigration and workplace laws to verify their effectiveness and cost, both human and financial.
2. Taking an incremental reform approach and make more real-time adjustments—To truly measure the effectiveness of reform, we need to take it one step at a time. History has shown us “comprehensive reform” of any aspect of our government quickly becomes a source of waste, fraud and abuse.
3. Pushing to end Federal funds for Sanctuary Cities—the enforcement of law is not to be done only when fashionable but at all times. Should cities decide to become “Sanctuaries” for those who break federal immigration law, then those cities should also decide how they will replace every federal dollar they currently receive.
4. Maximizing border security effectiveness by increasing and empowering border agents, using the best technology, and rewarding cooperation amongst local, state, and federal authorities.
5. Find ways for non-governmental groups to effectively serve the youngest victims of the immigration battle – the children.
6. Restore an emphasis on our founding documents, a common language, and study of American history and government for each year a student is in school.

Return Education to Parents by:

7. Working to abolish the Department of Education—Young people are not “one-size-fits-all,” nor should their education be. Education belongs in the hands of parents, local teachers, and education experts who know the family, region, and funding available to each child as well as that child’s talents and needs.
8. Keeping every penny at home—too much is lost in money changing hands. Let’s keep our education money where it belongs: in our own districts.
9. Encouraging schools to base teacher and administrator salaries on performance—not tenure.
10. Pursuing an end to social promotion—advancement based on educational attainment.
11. Giving parents total school choice—YOUR money should be spent on the education of YOUR choice for YOUR children.
12. Driving higher education reform – Federal subsidies must end on higher education campuses. Each state must determine what is most valuable for their schools and fund it appropriately. If the people of the state do not find a program, building or research project valuable, schools should not be able to skip taxpayer approval by getting money from bureaucrats with budgets on auto-pilot. Subsidies impose federal control of what schools can do to best educate students, placing a strait-jacket on the most creative minds. As markets and employability change daily, educators must be able to adjust in real-time to what graduates will need to succeed.

Taxes:

Having spent time as a volunteer tax preparer, I can say with confidence, the current tax system is a vast and confusing quagmire. Its creators cannot explain it, yet they enforce it at the expense of our citizens. It is generated and modified by legislators and lobbyists who do not prepare their own taxes, too many of whom never bother to pay. It is not fair. It is not clear. It is not voluntary.

While I favor a switch to the Flat Tax or the Fair Tax, I realize this would be a difficult transition, since many careers, educations, and business are invested in the deciphering of our present tax code. Whether by massive overhaul or gradual transition, changes must come. Some with which I agree are:

1. Abolishing the death tax
2. Ending the progressive nature of the tax code
3. Ending the taxes on capital gains and dividends
4. Cutting our corporate tax rates to 15% encourage the return of jobs to our nation

Additionally, I would support a requirement that the IRS provide a free on-line tax preparation program for ALL taxpayers, regardless of income bracket. If the government is going to take a big chunk, it should not cost us another chunk to obey their commands. While some may call this a compliance tax, I would call it a “fear tax.” Out of fear, the people of our nation spend billions each year to avoid prosecution by a government which does not know its own tax code. In a country where the Founders said we are innocent until proven guilty, the burden of proof needs to be on the IRS—not on our citizens.

Reexamining Our Global Presence:

1. Filing legislation to end our role in the World Bank
2. Working to dramatically reduce our role and funding in the UN—if this does not cause a rapid course correction in their behavior toward us and our allies, then I support ending their occupation of New York City.
3. End the nation-building currently expected of our military
4. Repeal Executive Orders allowing for UN and Agenda 21 power over our nation—helping Americans uproot these weeds that are choking our sovereignty

Support Right to Work:

1. I would support the National Right to Work Act
2. I oppose card check and support every employee’s right to secret ballots
3. I oppose forced union membership and dues collection

Action on the National Debt:

1. I support a Sunset Law and zero-based budgeting to eliminate government agencies and bureaucracies. Every federal agency and program should prove, on a regular and frequent basis, the need for its existence and for every dollar it receives. When reviewing, legislators should be required to receive testimony both for and against each dollar allocated to a program or agency. This is not an unconstitutional Super-Congress, but an expectation of full audits for every dollar spent.
2. I will push for honest entitlement reform—our unfunded liabilities are greater than all other aspects of our budget and future spending. With Defense, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid currently consuming 60% of our budget, the time is now for reform of these programs and government management of them.
3. Oppose tax-payer funded bailouts as well as the nationalization of any bank, program or industry
4. End Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
5. Require an annual audit of the Federal Reserve Banking System
6. Forgive our own debt to the Federal Reserve—we have frequently forgiven our loans to foreign nations, so why not our own?
7. Refuse to vote yes to raising the debt ceiling
8. Refuse to vote yes on continuing resolutions for government spending

Health Care:

As we look to the future, we have a generation completely unprepared for the task ahead: caring for the largest senior population in the history of the nation on the largest debt in the history of the nation. As Conservatives, we must take this opportunity to lead. Having spent 5 years as full-time caregivers to my husband’s grandmother, I have seen the challenges that are coming and have a passion for starting this conversation with my generation; always seeing the opportunity for family growth and connection, instead of burden and heartache. Now is the time for us to lead the way on how our seniors will best be served by our nation.

Government manipulation and irresponsible regulation of our health care industry has caused our costs to skyrocket and will continue to do so with the current disincentives to the free market. Still, much can be done and undone by the federal government:

1. Repeal Obamacare—this legislation is unconstitutional, unclear, and a burden to our nation’s caregivers.
2. The tax code should be written to help and encourage families caring for their elders and those with special needs. In the U.S. today, 95% of seniors age in their own homes with the help of their family, neighbors and friends. These family members are the front line in health care! They should not be punished with excessive, confusing and restrictive government codes and regulations when making such important decisions. Prevention is the priority, and families are their own best cure.
3. Aggressively reduce fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, an estimated 10% of a trillion dollar budget
4. Open the doors for the free market to reduce prices by allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines
5. Promote Texas-style Tort reform, dramatically improving the legal climate for physicians, allowing them to comfortably and responsibly practice in what once was a climate of fear-based medicine
6. Allow Medicare payments to reimburse family members for the time and money spent caring for loved ones. As they are saving our nation much in medical costs, there must be compensation for their lost wages and time spent.

Life:

Life begins at conception and ends in natural death.

Demand Elections Integrity by:

1. Filing legislation requiring ALL voters in Federal elections to present photo identification—Absentee and mail-in ballots should require a photocopy of the ID to be valid.
2. Issuing ballots early enough that every military vote is counted and counts
3. Require voter rolls to be cross-indexed with Social Security data and neighboring states to purge dead and duplicative registrations