Issues

American Values
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Preamble to US Constitution

Since the 1980s Washington politicians have urged voters to turn their backs on their neighbors. Glenn firmly believes that this radical ideology has undermined the foundation of our American democracy. In the Preamble, Americans made a promise to each other. It clearly states that “We the people” will work to create a “more perfect Union.” Americans must renew that promise.

Congress has the responsibility to “promote the general welfare” which rest on the solid foundation of the American worker. Not only are well-paying and secure jobs the right of every American, but essential for national security.

Texas families need to know Congress is working to protect and promote their jobs and retirement.

Congress must reverse the decline in real wages and benefits for working families. Something is radically wrong with our economy when worker productivity, CEO compensation, stock prices and corporate profits go up while salaries of average workers go down.

Congress also must:

• Reward job creation at home instead of giving tax breaks to international corporations for shipping jobs overseas.
• Expand grants for vo-technical and higher education instead of cutting job training and educational assistance for average Americans.
• Insure commercial treaties put American workers first instead of making sweetheart deals with foreign governments and putting American workers at-risk.
• Demand real punishments for employers who use illegal immigrants to drive down wages and benefits

America has the best healthcare technology and personnel that money can buy. Unfortunately, too many Americans are priced out of the market and the number of uninsured Americans keeps growing every year. Congress must build on the strengths of the current system while closing the gaps which average Americans fall through.

Congress must:

• Provide affordable group insurance for small businesses and individuals modeled on the federal employee’s health insurance
• Reward preventive health care to lower long term cost.
• Expand the use of information technology to increase efficiency.

America’s future depends on clean, affordable energy. In the 1970s America faced a similar challenge to today’s energy crisis. Congress led the way to reducing the country’s reliance on foreign oil by requiring new technologies that reduced home and automobile energy use. Instead of the disaster the doom-sayers predicted, consumption fell and the economy bounced back. A wise energy policy makes a stronger America.

Congress must act again. America needs an “Apollo” type project to dream beyond the current paralysis. Private corporations will not lead the way; they are too entangled in their own special interests.

Congress must:

• Invest in a comprehensive public research project to find alternative sources of energy and to create greater energy efficiencies.
• Reward the use of existing technologies such as biodiesel, wind, solar and geothermal.
• Promote the creation and maintenance of mass transit.

Congress must reassert itself as an equal partner with the President in the area of foreign policy. The current mess in Iraq is the direct result of a larger problem: Congress has failed to take its constitutional obligations seriously. Congress, not the President, has the authority to declare war. It made a fatal error when it neglected to ask the tough questions before the invasion, surrendering to the President the decision to commit troops. It has continued to fail by not exercising any oversight.

While the President may be the Commander-in-Chief and has the authority over tactical decisions, Congress must hold him accountable for strategic failures. “Staying the course” in American foreign policy is not an option because it weakens our position in the world.

Creating a winning foreign policy requires Congress recognizing that American troops have done their job in Iraq. They’ve toppled Saddam Hussein, verified he had no Weapons of Mass Destruction, and supervised three elections. Our brave men and women have even trained hundreds of thousands Iraq security forces.  Now’s the time for Iraqis to take care of themselves.Iraqi politicians will never rise to the challenge of governing their own country as long as Washington politicians sacrifice American lives.  Congress must challenge the President to:

• Capture the terrorists responsible for 9-11
• Build a meaningful alliance based upon mutual respect and cooperation
• Set clear and measurable benchmarks for progress in Iraq before approving any more money
• Provide American troops with the armor, equipment, training and numbers that they need to fight effectively while in harm’s way