Bill Gillespie's Top Ten Issues

1. Bring New Economic Development to South Georgia and America

2. Lower Taxes for Small Businesses, Families and Individuals

3. Win Peace in Iraq and Destroy Terrorism Around the World

4. Improve Veterans’ Benefits and Healthcare

5. Secure Our National Borders and Reform Immigration

6. Protect Social Security from Privatization

7. Rebuild America’s Public Education System

8. Protect Natural Resources from Pollution and Over-development

9. Reform the Insurance Industry and make Healthcare Affordable

10. Balance the Federal Budget and Champion Fiscal Responsibility

My Personal Pledge: Make sure Congress always puts People First

A Closer Look At Bill Gillespie On the Issues

(also visit my BLOG for policy views and opinions)

1. Bring New Economic Development to South Georgia and America

■ Aggressively recruit new jobs to South Georgia

I will bring together the business community and federal, state and local government officials and agencies from throughout our region to discuss how we can become better and more coordinated in recruiting business. South Georgia’s business assets (airports, ports, roads, inexpensive real estate, etc.) and amenities (weather, culture, beautiful landscape, etc.) make it the perfect place for corporate headquarters or regional offices. Knowledge-based small businesses such as architects, designers, lawyers, consultants and many more are also attracted to our region for the same reasons. I propose expanding The Creative Coast Initiative to all of South Georgia, or developing something similar. Let’s not forget about manufacturing, either. Made in America is still the best. Several industrial and commercial properties in our region are ready for business, many of them pre-planned and permitted, including the state-owned ‘megasite’ in Savannah. I’ll give us the strong leadership we need at the federal level to fill these properties.

■ Grow South Georgia's economy by securing more federal funds

Every year, the federal government doles out billions of your hard-earned tax dollars as part of its budget. Much of where this money goes has been decided long ago, such as entitlement programs and funding the military and education system. South Georgia gets a lot of federal funding for our many military facilities, ports and infrastructure, much of it due to Democrats such as Congressman Carl Vinson, Senator Richard Russell and Senator Sam Nunn. Our current Congressman Jack Kingston always boasts about federal funding, as if he is the only reason South Georgia gets any money. When he’s on the campaign trail, this is what he touts most. It is important to understand that HE IS ONLY DOING HIS JOB. What’s more, his track record actually shows he is not doing as good of a job as he should in securing federal funds, especially considering how long he has been in Congress. Click here for the news story. He’s one of the best at tacking on shadowy earmarks to legislation for his special interest friends and campaign donors. Click here for news story #1. Click here for news story #2. But when it comes to getting money for South Georgians, his efforts have become lazy. We need new energy that will fight hard to bring back more money to South Georgia. I will secure funds that invest in our region’s ports, agriculture, technology, manufacturing, transportation and most importantly education. I will not rest until there are major increases in federal funding for our public school systems, technical schools and universities. As far as our region’s military installations, I have worked and have many friends at these places and know exactly where funds should go. Not to defense contractors. Money will go to upgrade facilities, security and the quality of lives of the soldiers and their families.

■ Support South Georgia’s tourism industry

As your Congressman, I will be proactive in supporting our region’s tourism infrastructure, tourism businesses and visitor bureaus. I will support continued growth of our airports. I will ensure beaches such as Tybee Island and others get proper beach renourishment. I will do all that I can to protect Jekyll Island and our other parks from attacks by developers. And I will also protect our natural resources such as rivers and lakes from pollution to make sure South Georgia’s water is clean for boaters, fisherman and all.

■ Create the South Georgia Alternative Energy Alliance

Imagine the economic opportunities if there was a whole new industry in South Georgia. Hundreds of new businesses move in. Thousands of new jobs are produced. As more money and people enter our economy, demand for all services increase. This is my vision. I want to create the South Georgia Alternative Energy Alliance, which would make South Georgia the national leader in alternative energy production and research. The bottom line is this: some part of America is going to capitalize on our country’s move to alternative energy. I want this to be South Georgia. Click here to see Georgia’s alternative energy potential. The federally-funded “Alliance” would be an organization made up of public and private partners from the different counties of South Georgia. This group would recruit and facilitate alternative energy investment in our region such as research centers, biofuel plants, wind and solar farms, parts manufacturers and so much more. RIGHT NOW South Georgia’s farmers are ready to produce biofuels from things like switchgrass, peanut shells and timber. Not only do biofuels help the battle against global warming, but the industry as a whole promises to spur the American economy. Producing 25 percent of America’s energy from biofuels would generate $700 billion annually, produce 5.1 million jobs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and gasoline consumption. South Georgia CAN GET A PIECE OF THIS PIE. As your Congressman, I will support the market for biofuels by providing a federal funding stream to commercialize oil substitutes made from switchgrass, algae, and bio-butanol, among others. America is in the midst of a long-term energy crisis. The country’s addiction to carbon-based fuels, especially imported oil, poses a triple threat to national security, economic vitality, and environmental health. Modernizing the country’s energy policies, while not easy, has the potential to generate immense benefits for the environment and economy alike. To put it simply, clean energy technology—”cleantech”—could become the next great engine of the U.S. economy.

■ Invest in technology and infrastructure for a clean energy grid

Creating the new technology and infrastructure for a ‘clean’ energy grid would generate billions of dollars in economic activity and put hundreds of thousands of people to work in new jobs. In addition, our country must motivate business to wean itself off fossil-fuels, and can receive an economic boon while doing so. California’s 2006 state law—led by Silicon Valley venture capitalists—that requires fossil-fuel producers to limit green house gas emissions added 20,000 jobs and a $60 billion increase in gross state product.

■ Develop a network of university-based venture capital funds for start-up businesses

New ideas and innovations are vital to economic growth and job creation. I will seek legislation that creates a network of regionally focused, university-based venture capital funds that finance loans for startup companies trying to commercialize new scientific and technological advancements. The federal government would provide seed money to be matched by state governments, universities and the private sector. A federal investment of approximately $100 million per year could, over time, leverage billions of dollars in investments from other sources that would help drive economic growth. Investment in new technologies and innovations will spur economic development and help create the jobs of the future. America’s higher-education system, including schools in South Georgia, would benefit greatly from the new access to capital and researchers this initiative would generate.

■ Cultivate America’s next generation of scientists and innovators

Currently, a third of our country’s science and engineering Ph.D.’s were born abroad. While America should always recruit the best talent, whether homegrown or international, our country should do a better of job producing our own innovators. We have always been the leaders of world innovation, and I want to keep it that way. Congress should fund a national network of 250 science and technology public charter academies that focus on math, science, engineering and computing. This would open up a pipeline for homegrown scientific talent for our colleges and universities. Importantly, I would ensure equal access would be given to all students in regards to enrollment in the new charter academies. The top talent would be accepted without regards to race, gender, ethnicity or economic class.

■ Secure funding to upgrade/expand mass transit in South Georgia

Our bus and commuter rail system in South Georgia needs significant improvement. In most places of the First District’s 25 counties, mass transportation does not even exist. Our current Congressman has done a disservice to our community by not investing in a proper mass transportation infrastructure in his 14 years in Washington. While many other areas of the nation have grabbed billions of dollars in federal money for use in mass transportation, our current Congressman did nothing. I will seek federal funding to upgrade and expand current bus lines. The First District’s inner-city systems and rural connectors must be made a public priority, not only for energy conservation but more importantly to ensure clean, safe, fast, reliable and affordable transportation for anyone who chooses to take advantage of it. I will also seek to commission a study to research the impact and cost of developing a light-commuter rail system for South Georgia, with lines connecting our centers of trade and education. I envision a “coastal connector” with a line to Savannah, Richmond Hill, Hinesville, Jesup, Darien, Brunswick and Kingsland. I also envision a “mid-south connector” with a line extending to Baxley, Waycross, Douglas and Valdosta. A goal would also be to use commuter rail to someday interconnect our region with other parts of the state: Athens, Augusta, Macon and Atlanta. No private property would be taken through eminent domain. Commuter trains could use current commercial tracks, or rails could be constructed through interstate medians. The trains would be clean, safe, fast, reliable and affordable, and would run on bio-fuel, produced in the First District, or another form of clean, efficient alternative energy. As your Congressman, I will connect South Georgia.

■ Work to open markets and better enforce trade agreements

The United States needs to revitalize its efforts to open world markets and enforce trade agreements. We must focus more on strategic initiatives dealing with major markets, and we especially need new initiatives with Europe and Japan. Simultaneously, we must defend American rights in the global trading system more forcefully, as well as actively address trade abuses.

■ Implement a new economy scholarship program

As more and more companies send American jobs overseas, hard-working Americans are finding themselves without a job and with little hope of new, comparative employment. Laid-off workers must get more help boosting their skills for other employment. A “New Economy Scholarship” plan would change this by allowing laid-off workers collecting unemployment insurance to receive up to $5,000 worth of scholarships to assist in retraining and re-employment. Americans are the hardest workers in the world. If layoffs happen, let’s make sure they have the skills to compete in the new economy job market.

2. Lower Taxes for Small Businesses, Families and Individuals

■ Eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses

A primary goal of the federal government should be to keep taxes low on America’s 26 million small businesses, which are the heart of our economy. Small businesses, defined as those having fewer than 500 employees, account for 50 percent of America’s nonfarm Gross Domestic Product, and have generated 60 to 80 percent of the nation’s net new jobs over the past decade, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Most of America’s 26 million firms are very small, with 97.5 percent of small businesses having fewer than 20 employees. History teaches us that low taxes on small businesses results in strong economic growth. I support eliminating all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses. This would encourage capital investment, innovation and job creation.

■ Provide small business owners with a “Making Work Pay” tax credit

As Congressman, I would join members of both political parties to push legislation that would provide small business owners with a $1000 “Making Work Pay” tax credit. Small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and this measure would reduce the burdens of this double taxation.

■ Promote scientific research with expanded tax credits

It’s important that the government work with scientists to help them achieve. I support expanding the research and experimentation tax credit. I will sponsor legislation making the current Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (RETC) permanent and also DOUBLING the tax credit from 20 percent to 40 percent of all Research & Development expenditures.

■ Offer a single $3,000 college tuition tax credit

As the cost of college has continued to rise, Washington has tried to help families through tax incentives. However, these often well-intentioned policies have complicated the tax code making the current tax-based college subsides confusing and sometimes contradictory. A single $3,000 college tax credit would replace the Lifetime Learning Credit, the deduction for higher education expenses, the exclusion of employee-provided education benefits and the exclusion for qualified tuition reductions. It would cover up to four years of college and graduate school and would also be eligible for workers to use for additional education and training.

■ Give hurting homeowners tax relief with a Universal Mortgage Credit

One of the best things government can do for families and individuals hurting in an ailing economy is cut their taxes. Homeowners have been hit particularly hard in the bad economy, especially in South Georgia. Immediately when I get to Washington I will work to create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.

■ Expand the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to help victims of foreclosure

I will fight to expand the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit (HBTC) to allow those who have been victims of the foreclosure crisis to use the credit to purchase new homes. Home buyers would get a 5 percent credit on new home purchases. Communities that have high foreclosure rates could apply for HBTC designation for up to five years and would be judged on their plans to match the HBTC with tax incentives or other housing programs. Families who lost homes due to the subprime market collapse and who held one of the dormant subprime mortgages (228 or 327 ARM products) would also be allowed to take the HBTC. This policy would have a positive multiplier effect throughout the housing market, because, as a rule, every new home sale stimulates sales of four existing homes. The policy would also benefit the overall economy because building accounts for 15 percent of annual growth in the nation’s gross domestic product, not to mention that home building accounts for more than four million jobs.

■ Combine confusing tax credits into a single, family tax credit

Congress has the ability to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) while also simplifying the already Byzantine federal tax code by folding the EITC, the child credit, and the child and dependent care credit into a single, turbo-charged family tax credit. I also support softening the EITC’s marriage penalty by raising the qualifying income thresholds for two-earner couples.

3. Win Peace in Iraq and Destroy Terrorism Around the World

■ Empower the Iraqi people by withdrawing from their country

I served in Iraq as a Lt. Colonel with the Third Infantry Division, interacting daily with American and Iraqi government and military leaders, as well as the Iraqi people. I understand the political and military landscape there. The United States has trained hundreds of thousands of Iraqi troops. It’s time for the Iraqi people to stand up for their own liberty, and it’s time for the U.S. to let them. I call for an honorable, victorious withdrawal from Iraq, allowing and empowering the Iraqi people to take care of themselves. American soldiers have done this job for the Iraqi people long enough. The military defeated Saddam Hussein's regime. Remaining in Iraq is not smart foreign policy. American troops could be out of Iraq in 18 months with the correct withdrawal plan, and I will push for that. Plus, transitioning out of Iraq will allow our military time to re-strengthen, which is now necessary after more than five years of war. It is dangerous for America to strain its military to the extent we are now. The situation in Iraq will not be solved with bullets; the country and its people need independence, economic development and a broad base of international partners who want Iraq and the Middle East to succeed in the name of peace and prosperity for the entire World.

■ Maintain a military presence in Middle East to ensure stabilization

Unfortunately, the Bush administration has placed America front and center into the myriad of conflicts among the countries and cultures of the Middle East. Their mismanagement of the Iraq War is unfortunate for soldiers on the ground and for all the citizens back home. The region has been pushed to the brink. Therefore, unfortunately, the U.S. must continue to maintain a military presence in the Middle East at our bases in other parts of the region. This display of force is necessary for stability in the region. 

■ Secure America by overcoming our dependence to foreign energy

A top priority for our nation's security should be to get America off its dependence to foreign energy. WHY ARE WE PLACING CONTROL OF AMERICA'S ENERGY NEEDS IN THE HANDS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES? Why are Americans sending our money to the Middle East to buy energy? I propose a program designed to fast-track the development and commercialization of an energy alternative to fossil-based fuels (i.e., oil, etc.). It would be similar in scope to the Manhattan Project of W.W. II. with the goal of pushing alternative energy into the market in a widespread manner as soon as possible.

■ Keep the heat up on terrorists worldwide

Federal agencies and our military must continue to partner to rid the world of terrorists. Osama Bin Laden must be captured and brought to justice. Al-Qaeda and other radical organizations with a mission to harm Americans must be destroyed. The U.S. should use all elements of national power to achieve this end: diplomatic, economic, legal and military.

■ Institute a Federal Terrorism Court

The Bush administration, Congress and the federal courts have struggled with the many legal quagmires that arise from modern terrorism. A new approach I support is the establishment of a specialized Federal Terrorism Court for terrorism cases. This court would have a dedicated set of federal trial judges working with an expert bar of federal and military prosecutors and defense counsel—all with high level security clearances. The court could be established under the authority of Congress as defined in Article I of the Constitution, with a 10-year or 14-year appointment for the judges. As America prosecutes terrorists to the full extent of the law, we should make sure to live up to our Constitutional duty of upholding Rights. This will help America spread liberty, the rule of law and representative government around the world.

■ Fix the Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), now in its sixth year, is plagued with problems and chronic mismanagement. It must be reformed to better protect the American people. I support focusing the department on border and infrastructure protection and removing functions that do not relate directly to this task, including spinning off entities such as FEMA. The other primary duty of the DHS would be acting as the conduit for integrating and sharing homeland security intelligence with state, local and private-sector sources. I also support consolidating congressional oversight of DHS into one committee in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate.

■ Protect our nation’s ports, nuclear and chemical plants, and other sensitive facilities

A big part of the Department of Homeland Security’s border and infrastructure protection should be ensuring that our ports, nuclear and chemical plants, and other sensitive facilities are secured against attack. I support increased funding for our first responders such as police, firefighters, EMS and local, state and federal emergency management and security agencies. I also support increased funding for programs like the Department of Justice’s COPS program, which promote community-oriented policing. As your Congressman, I will work to keep our communities safe.

■ Attract the nation’s most talented cyber-security personnel to guard America

Our nation not only must be vigilant against violent terrorist attacks, but also non-violent attacks, especially through cyberspace. America’s economy could be crippled with an attack to the Internet or other communication systems. I support a recruitment program to attract highly-skilled technology personnel, including raising the pay for federal cyber-security employees.

■ Rebuild America’s Reserves

America’s military reserves face unprecedented strains. These vital components of our national security—consisting of citizen soldiers who are deployed for crises ranging from domestic natural disasters to overseas combat—have been misused and overstretched. As a result, the National Guard and Reserve are increasingly unable to carry out their core missions. Congress should rebuild America’s reserves by: restoring the “strategic” reserve role and moving them out of the “operational” force they have been serving; addressing the military’s overall lack of sufficient manpower and shoring up active duty forces; giving volunteers the equipment they need; expanding the National Guard and Reserve by broadening opportunities for Americans to volunteer; and ensuring that the nation provides the proper care and benefits for its veterans.

4. Improve Veterans’ Benefits and Healthcare

■ Increase funding for the U.S. Veterans Administration

Our country has a duty to honor the sacrifices of our troops, their families and veterans by making sure we take care of them when they come home. Last year the Democratic-majority in Congress passed the largest ever funding increase in the 77-year history of the Veterans’ Administration. It is still not enough. The toll of the War on Terror on our military has been large. I will seek even more increases in funding for veterans benefits as Congressman, particularly for healthcare and education.

■ Make certain that Congress funds the new GI Bill

I will keep close watch on Congressional budgets to make certain everything promised in the new GI Bill is carried out.

■ Ensure new and old VA Clinics in South Georgia have proper funding, staff and equipment

■ Institute a federal healthcare card for veterans

I propose all veterans get a healthcare card that allows them to seek care outside the VA system at whatever facility they prefer. This will improve the quality and timeliness of vet care.

5. Protect Social Security from Privatization

■ Say no to throwing retirement funds into the Stock Market
I will fight hard to prohibit the federal government from throwing retirement savings into the Stock Market. My opponent has been a leader in pushing for the privatization of Social Security. It is wrong to gamble with peoples’ retirement saving. The stock market can go up and down, as we have seen in recent weeks.

■ Start a real discussion on how to preserve Social Security

No doubt action must be taken to shore up Social Security as the baby-boomer generation retires. It's time to have a real discussion on alternatives aimed at not just stabilizing the current system but guaranteeing its future health. Bottom line: I will never put our seniors financial well-being in risk.