Healthcare
Malcolm opposes the Pelosi healthcare overhaul bill since it unfairly targets seniors and will do nothing to address the high cost of healthcare. Malcolm believes that medical decisions should be kept between you and your doctor, and that your healthcare choices should not be limited by a government bureaucrat. He also strongly believes that if you like the doctor you have, you should be able to stay with that doctor.
Sensible tort reform measures should be part of any healthcare legislation. Unfortunately, the healthcare bill that Chris Carney voted for does nothing to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits that continue to drive up costs while forcing doctors to give up their medical practice.
Seniors:
Malcolm will work hard to protect seniors from cuts to Medicare. Chris Carney voted to cut $500 billion from Medicare and voted to effectively end the Medicare Advantage program. Malcolm believes that Medicare Advantage is a worthy program that fits the needs of seniors
in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.
Malcolm also believes that more should be done to stop seniors from losing their prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D. This gap in coverage, which is more commonly known as the donut hole, affects one in four seniors. Many seniors who fall into the donut hole are forced to stop taking their medications since they simply can’t afford the high price of their prescription drugs.
Bailouts
Malcolm was strongly against the bailout of Wall Street and the automobile industry. Malcolm believes that while the government handout was great for those businesses that led us into the recession, it was not good for middle class families on Main Street.
As Commissioner, Malcolm opposed a multi-million dollar bailout of a private industry in Snyder County. Malcolm has made the tough choices required of this position. He feels strongly that local, state, and the federal government should not be bailing out private corporations with taxpayer money, be it Goldman Sachs, AIG, or General Motors. It is not the government’s role to choose winners and losers among private businesses.
Jobs and the Economy
Malcolm believes that Congress should be making it easier for small businesses to hire and keep their employees. Small businesses are the engines that, given the chance, will drive economic growth over the next 2 to 3 years, not Washington, DC. While Chris Carney thinks that the government should create jobs, Malcolm believes that businesses and entrepreneurs create jobs and the government should focus on creating an environment where businesses thrive.
As your Congressman, Malcolm will work to make it easier for businesses to hire more workers. Chris Carney and Nancy Pelosi have failed to stem the growing unemployment rate, and have failed to stop the thousands of jobs that are lost every month. Nancy Pelosi’s ideas just aren’t working, and we will be left to clean up the mess. The unemployment recently topped 10%, a 25-year high. The stimulus funds and bailouts have failed the American people.
National Debt
Malcolm is running for Congress to put a stop to the skyrocketing national debt. Under Chris Carney’s watch, the national debt climbed to over $12 trillion dollars, which amounts to $158,000 for a family of four in Pennsylvania. This increased by over $44,000 in the three years Carney held office.
Carney’s vote for the $800 billion stimulus bill, his vote for the $1.2 trillion dollar healthcare bill, and his vote to spend $154 billion dollars from the bailout funds shows that he cares more about following the lead of Nancy Pelosi than the interests of this district. These are not the votes of a fiscally responsible person. While all of us struggle to balance our budgets, Chris Carney and the rest of Congress continue to spend away with no end in sight. This level of spending is not sustainable. Our Country’s economy may fail, resulting in massive inflation or worse if we don’t move to reduce this level of spending.
As County Commissioner, Malcolm has had to balance a $15 million dollar budget in this tough economy. Things have been tight, but he has been able to balance the budget without raising taxes. As your Congressman, he will do everything he can to help balance our budget.
Foreign Policy
As your Congressman, Malcolm will always make sure that our military is provided with the tools it needs to protect our country. Malcolm will work to ensure that foreign policy decisions are carefully evaluated as each decision impacts the lives of our men and women in uniform.
Malcolm supports the President’s decision to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. However, he does not support the President’s decision to place artificial timelines on the US military’s mission in the country. Malcolm believes that the United States must prevent Afghanistan from becoming another base of terrorism. Protecting this country from Al-Qaeda and like minded terrorists must be the priority of the federal government.
