Priority Issues

Lead on Job Creation
We need to take short, medium, and long-term approaches to job creation in order to finally heal the damage caused by the Bush Recession.  

For the short term:

• Extend unemployment benefits thereby putting put cash into the wallets of the unemployed. This will be spent immediately, giving a stimulative effect to the economy and spurring demand, which leads to jobs.
   
• Enact another payroll tax holiday, this time to the 16 states with unemployment above 10%.  This also injects money into the economy (by increasing the size of working folks' paychecks) and spurs demand, which leads to job growth.

For the medium term:  

• Begin transitioning to a clean energy economy.

By providing tax incentives to clean energy industries, we help create the job producing industries of the near future.  America's competitors have moved in the direction of using and manufacturing clean energy.  The U.S. Must be prepared to lead.  Failure to seize this moment will compromise America's economic recovery and hamper its ability to lead industrially in the future. Responsible leaders will not let this happen.  

• Immediately modify existing tax policies to eliminate the incentives that reward corporations for moving jobs overseas.  

The companies that should be rewarded are those that keep and create jobs in the United States of America.

For the long term:

• Align policies with the recognition that education is the key to America's long-term employment strength and overall prosperity.

• Dramatically improve early childhood education.  

Maximizing learning opportunities during early childhood establishes a solid foundation for a child's future.  America must also substantially increase the options for its post-secondary students.  

College – for those who are prepared for and desire to obtain a degree – must be much more accessible.  This means providing greater access to grants and no-interest student loans, and more trained high school counselors to help guide students to the schools and programs right for them.  

For those who wish to study a trade, the same principle applies:  help students find the right program, and help them afford to attend.  Education has been a powerful force for change in my life and, for most Americans, it's still the fastest, most effective means of upward mobility.

Strengthen Economic Security
The 2008 Recession has proven that “too big to fail” is just plain too big. The recent passage of financial reform legislation is an important 1st step in preventing a similar future calamity but more safety measures are required.  The newly created (and much needed) Consumer Financial Protection Agency should have the power to break up banks and other financial institutions whose huge size presents an undue threat to the overall economy.  President Theodore Roosevelt was right when he broke up the big monopolies that had formed prior to his administration, and we need that attitude in Washington now.

Perhaps the biggest lesson from the Bush years is that it is absolutely unwise to trust that industries will self-regulate.  The socioeconomic costs of the BP oil disaster are  incalculable and will extend far into the future.  It underscores the folly of a two-term administration's constant efforts to hand the regulation of the oil industry over to the industry itself.  

A cornerstone of total free-market capitalism is that industries will do what's best for their bottom line, not for the nation.  America cannot let the oil industry continue to operate in this way.  

I support the implementation of strong regulations for drilling, including drilling bans on the sensitive areas like the Great Lakes. I also advocate working vigorously to swiftly move the United States from its dependence on fossil fuels to clean energy sources and a clean energy grid and economy. I will support national energy reform legislation designed to deal with this problem.


Fix the Housing Market
Any economic progress must address the housing crisis.   We need to deal with two problems:  re-opening the credit market, so that buyers can get the financing they need, and, reducing foreclosures, which drive prices down and create so much misery for the victims.  

I support two important ideas to fix the housing market:  1) Require the big banks, which are getting interest free money from the Federal Reserve, to prove they are making loans to home buyers and small businesses, as a condition of their continued access to interest-free capital, and 2) require banks that took TARP money to actively restructure mortgages for the folks who were victims of deceptive lending practices, driven by the need to write more and more mortgages for the Collateralized Debt Obligations market. Selling mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, just to satisfy demand in this obscure financial market, is criminal.  These institutions need to clean up the mess they created.

Plan for Deficit Reduction
The deficit is too high, and needs to be eliminated (as President Clinton achieved).  I will study the results of the President's  bi-partisan Commission on Deficit Reduction and consider its recommendations.  I favor a plan that includes the following:
 

• A 10 year plan to eliminate the deficit.  This is a big problem which requires a strong plan, not a quick fix.  However, if the Commission's plan gets quicker results, then great.

• Across the board cuts. We need every program to be on the table, including defense spending.  I won't support a plan that balances the budget on the backs of working families, firefighters, teachers, and peace officers.

• Tax Reform.  We need a plan that adequately addresses our long-term revenue needs.  This should include allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire. We also need to address the Estate Tax, so that regular folks aren't being taxed on the inheritance that is every American's right, but that also recognizes that the super-rich need to do more to help the country that has provided their families such bountiful opportunity.  I support starting the Estate Tax at $1 million, and graduating it upward.

• No immediate “meat ax” approach.  We are mired in a deep recession.  Now is not the time to shut off the one consistent form of economic demand.  I prefer an approach that begins with “stopping the bleeding”, and then transitions gradually into deficit reduction mode in another year or two.

Improve Veterans' Services
“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterward.”  -  Teddy Roosevelt

With thousands of veteran returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans' services must be improved dramatically.  Minnesota Senator Debbie Klobuchar has introduced legislation to start a pilot program to explore better ways of making VA services available in rural areas.  I support this legislation.  

We must also make job retraining and college affordability a higher priority for veterans of ALL wars.  Most importantly, reconsideration has to be given to how cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are handled, especially since this is a common affliction in returning troops.  Recent developments have eliminated the requirement for veterans to prove the specific incident which caused their PTSD.  However, access to treatment, and funding for specialized centers remains vastly inadequate.  As a prior Marine Corps officer, rest assured that I'll fight every day, and in every way, to ensure that our returning troops get all the help they need.

Protect Our Natural Resources
While biologic threats to the Great Lakes exist from the invasion of non-native species like the Asian Carp and Sea Lamprey, those are not the only dangers to this precious natural resource. Some officials have proposed piping Lake Michigan water to other parts of the country and Pennsylvania US Senate candidate Pat Toomey has proposed drilling for oil in the Great Lakes. The environmental damage caused by  BP in the Gulf of Mexico is apparently not enough of a catastrophe for candidate Toomey.

I will work with Michigan and Congressional colleagues from the Great Lakes states to craft legislation that will do four things:  ban oil drilling, take bold, effective measures to stop the Asian Carp (including closure of the canals in Illinois), quickly implement eradication programs for non-native species already in the lakes, and establish strong protections against water diversion and/or big bottling projects.  

For those who want to enjoy great natural water resources, I'd encourage them to locate their businesses HERE!   I'll work with colleagues in state government to restore our parks system to its former glory.  

Michigan has one of the greatest park systems in the country. This can be a major boost for tourism, but it needs strong support from legislators.  I will provide such leadership and support.


Foreign Policy
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”  - President Eisenhower

America needs to follow the Powell Doctrine: use military force only when faced with an immediate and direct threat to our national security, and, after all political, diplomatic, and economic means have been exhausted.  
This doctrine also calls for a full costs/benefits analysis of proposed actions and demands a detailed plan for an exit strategy once victory is achieved.  This must be the cornerstone of all future foreign involvements.  

As a veteran Marine Corps Officer, I'm fully aware of the burdens we place on military personnel and their families when we deploy overseas for combat operations. I will always keep the welfare of our troops as a front and center commitment when considering foreign policy options.  

Regarding our current operations in Iraq, I support a gradual, responsible “draw-down” of force levels in Iraq, with a full exit by 2011.  The Iraq War from the start failed the minimum criteria for engaging in combat operations as outlined in the Powell Doctrine. Enough young lives have been lost, and enough of our budget spent, on a war of dubious need.

As for Afghanistan, I have strong reservations about the current course of actions in that theater of operations, but I nevertheless support, for the moment, the President's plan.

My reservations about Afghanistan are rooted in concerns about the ability - or even desire - of the government in Kabul to fully support American military personnel and take genuine steps to assume full control of their internal security. Both are required so that conditions can be achieved to start the American troop “draw-down”.

America's policy for Central Asia must emphasize placing more responsibility onto the “shoulders” of regional actors for establishing and maintaining stability and security. This includes their remaining vigilant in maintaining the fight against any elements of al Qaeda and fully cooperating with American diplomatic, intelligence, and military personnel to neutralize the purveyors of terror.

I will continue scrutinizing the progress of the President's strategy. The Afghan government must clearly comprehend that America's commitment to that nation is not indefinite and open-ended.

More vigorous action has to be applied in pursuing America's international anti-terror strategy. America's ports, rail, shipping, and airport facilities need greater protection.  Nuclear materials worldwide need a more security, and the military needs to implement greater safeguards against the “lone gunman” scenario which occurred at Fort Bragg last year.  

Funding for these programs can come from reassessing America's allocation of military resources around the world. Better prioritization, strategic re-location, and adapting force structures for the global war on terror can produce costs savings to meet America's global obligations.

Reform Immigration Policy
Recent events in Arizona show the irresponsible and extreme lengths to which states will go in order to deal with an admitted failure of federal immigration policy.  Reforming our national immigration laws will be among my highest priorities.  Reform needs to include the following:

• A fair, responsible system to deal with the undocumented workers present in our country now.  Requirements need to be put in place to require that fines be paid, English and civics are learned, and applicants who have been here without documentation go the back of the line.
• Funding and training for increased border patrols.  No system can eliminate illegal immigration, but we can greatly reduce it with proper staffing and resources.
• For undocumented workers who wish only to work seasonally, we need a clear, unambiguous policy of documentation, including a picture identification for temporary workers.
• For new immigrants, a streamlined and simplified immigration process. In the 19th Century, immigrants at Ellis Island were simply required to identify themselves, and give some indication of their planned places of residence and work.  Modern times require more, but not the huge, complicated process currently in use. Implementing a system that a normal working person can manage will greatly increase the rate at which immigrants choose a legal path of entry.
• Tougher laws concerning criminals.  We must implement a better process to expedite the deportation of minor offenders.  Serious offenders should be prosecuted and penalized within our system, to avoid any chance of getting off from a deserved sentence, and deported following sentence completion.
• I support the D.R.E.A.M. (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act which encourages the educational aspirations of American born sons and daughters of immigrants.  America is a country of immigrants, and the dream of immigrants is to educate their children so they can enjoy our freedoms and ensure their personal career development.  Additionally, families must be kept together.  It is immoral and irresponsible to separate children from their parents.

These are the issues I feel are most pressing right now.  For answers to your questions on other issues, please email me at fred@fredjohnsonforcongress.com.  I would also encourage you to join our Facebook page, Fred Johnson for Congress, where you can also submit questions and receive a quick answer from me.  We've already had some good discussions on Facebook and I look forward to more.   I also look forward to meeting you on the campaign trail, discussing the issues of the day, and working hard to earn your support on Election Day.