Candidates for the 6th Congressional District

A: I would co-sponsor a bill to secure the border. Over 2000 Marylanders are dying each year as a result of fentanyl overdoses. Fentanyl comes into our country freely from an unsecured border and this must stop for the safety of our citizens, In addition, human trafficking and exploitation is exploding in this country as a result of the unsecured border. This is uncivil, illegal, and must be stopped. Securing the border is a must first step.

A: Yes. I have taken the tax-payer protection pledge as I did when I ran and then served in the Maryland House of Delegates. In the House, I consistently fought for lower taxes and lower fees for 12 years. I would vote to renew, and make permanent, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The 2017 tax cuts reduced federal income tax rates, increased the standard deduction, doubled the child tax credit, repealed the personal and dependent exemptions, and capped the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, among many other important and needed reforms. In 2018, because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, households saved an average of $1,400 in taxes, and married couples with two children saved an average of $2,900. Taxes should be low, simple and transparent.

A: Yes, changes are needed to the Affordable Care Act, which has proven anything but affordable. Since passing, health insurance, health care, prescription drug costs skyrocketed, and deductibles have increased. The quality of care has also degraded; when did you last see a real doctor instead of a PA? However, I would not vote to significantly alter the Affordable Care Act or repeal it unless there is workable alternative legislation ready to go that would improve outcomes and lower costs for working families. I would only vote for alternative legislation (or major changes to the ACA) that expands access, lowers costs, and protects patients with preexisting conditions. There are so many ways we can improve Americans’ health care right now. We have the world’s best medical care, but excessive and inefficient government interventions have fueled a healthcare system that is needlessly expensive and complex. We should give states more flexibility to offer health plans that will bring down costs for [the candidate’s response stopped here].

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Yes.

A: Our broken immigration system and the Biden-Harris administration’s open-border policies are our number one national emergency. The number of illegal immigrants entering this country under Biden-Harris exceeds the population of Maryland. The invasion this administration has facilitated on radical ideological grounds is illegal, unconstitutional and gravely immoral. Our communities have suffered gravely from these policies which have allowed fentanyl to flood our streets, and which have allowed criminal gangs and terrorists into our country. These policies have overwhelmed schools, hospitals, shelters and public services nationwide. Existing immigration laws need to be enforced. Sanctuary cities need to be defunded. The border wall needs to be constructed and completed, along with electronic surveillance above and below the wall. We need to pass legislation resuming the Remain in Mexico program and changing asylum standards, which are too often used for abuse and fraud. We must increase ICE’s ability to locate, detain, and remove illegal aliens, as well as to heavily fine companies that employ illegal aliens. Congress ought to close the Flores unaccompanied minors loophole, and give immigration judges summary judgment and contempt powers, so they can reduce their overwhelming caseloads. The Biden-Harris-Delaney administration have allowed more illegal aliens to enter the U.S. than we’ve welcomed actual refugees in 42 years. The Biden-Harris administration has expanded the scope of “refugee” so far beyond its original meaning that it is effectively a blank check for anyone from anyone to illegally immigrate here for any reason. This absurd situation hurts every American citizen. We need a complete overhaul of our rules on asylum, refugee resettlement, and immigration parole, ideally after we’ve secured the border and reduced illegal immigration to a fraction of what it is now.

A: No. That bill would allow 5000 illegal aliens per day to cross into our country, 1.8 million/year. We need to enforce our laws and help people to follow the laws. That proposed bill violates the rule of law, rewards illegal crossings, and does not secure the border.

A: The 1974 Budget Act provides a timeline to guide completion of the congressional budget process and lays out clear deadlines. However, Congress has little incentive to follow the budget process. The last time Congress completed each required step on time was in 1996. The rules intended to keep the process running smoothly are weak and largely ignored by both parties. This has led to damaging cycles of continuing resolutions and enormous omnibus bills that no one can read before the vote. The budget and appropriations process has morphed from what was intended to be an orderly exercise into a continuing series of funding standoffs as Congress fumbles through crisis after crisis. Any incentive for fiscal restraint has been lost in this chaotic mess of a process. I would encourage all members of Congress to return to the transparent budget process as laid out in law. This would be a crucial step toward ending these shutdowns and budget crises. No new legislation is needed, just follow existing law. We have had decades of dysfunctional last-minute budget deals at this point. The federal government should not operate this way. Continuing resolutions that fund the government for a few months on the brisk of various fiscal crises are not sustainable forever. Even with reasonable budget practices, without a commitment to spending less, reducing the debt, and shrinking the federal government, these crises will continue. Only a government that spends within its means can budget properly.

A: The US should let Israel fight its own wars the way they see fit. When Israel was attacked on October 7th 2023, it was the biggest unprovoked mass murder of Jewish people since the holocaust. Hamas still has Israeli and US hostages that they refuse to release. Gazan leadership has shown that they do not plan to live at peace with Israel, but want Israel annihilated. I believe in a non-interventionist foreign policy whenever possible. I believe in foreign policy realism, and I believe that President Trump made some of the most serious progress towards peace in the region in a generation with the Abraham accords. The Biden-Harris administration projecting weakness worldwide and talking out both sides of its mouth on middle east issues, sending mixed signals to Saudi Arabia and Iran, has undone some of that important progress. Steady leadership, foreign policy realism, and a commitment to peace, not ideology, in the region from our next administration can bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The establishment of an independent state in the next two years seems unlikely, but after Israel defeats Hamas, and a new administration is inaugurated, anything is possible. I hope and pray for peace among Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Middle East.

A: No. Such a ban would be plainly unconstitutional. “Military style” is an aesthetic description, not a functional one, and these types of small arms are exactly the type of firearm the Supreme Court has ruled is protected for civilian use repeatedly through the years. Despite purposeful attempts by gun control advocates and the media to conflate these guns in the public mind with machine guns and select-fire assault rifles, semi-automatic rifles with pistol grips and barrel shrouds are functionally identical to all other semi-automatic rifles. They are useful tools against criminal threats that commonly arise in civilian self-defense contexts. Additionally, there’s no plausible explanation for how such a ban would lead to fewer gun crimes given how rarely rifles of any kind are actually used in crime and how easily “non-assault weapon” versions of the same firearm could be used just as effectively by criminals in the vast majority of cases.

A: The answers to questions 6-8 are that those questions don’t matter for this seat. Rather than focus on an issue that divides our country, I am focused on issues that can actually get done. The Dobbs decision returned the abortion issue to the states where it belongs. I agree with Niki Haley where she indicated she said that, “No one has been honest” about moving an abortion bill either way. She indicated that, “It would take a majority of the House, 60 senators and a president to sign it.” She went on to say that, “We haven’t had 60 Republican senators in 100 years.” In affect saying, that neither side will have 60 votes in the US Senate to move an abortion bill either way. Voters should vote for someone who has legislative experience and who can start work on day one. The high cost of living, inflation, surging crime, and the open border crisis are hurting American families. I want to work to reverse course on these and help families across the district. I’m a professional engineer and small-business owner who likes solving problems. It was my privilege to solve problems for constituents for 12 years in the House of Delegates. I am running for Congress so that I can help more people directly. I have lived in our district for many years. I raised my family here, own a small business here, coach swimming here, and served for 12 years in the House of Delegates, where I fought for people in this district. I sued the state of Maryland over the unfair and illegal gerrymandered congressional maps, and won, thus creating the competitive district six we have today. I worked across the aisle with Democrats to solve problems, but never once voted for a tax or fee increase. I was never afraid to be the only vote against a bill if I thought it would negatively impact my constituents. By contrast, my opponent does not even live in the district she wants to represent. She has no record of meaningful involvement in our communities, no record of service in our district, and no accomplishments on behalf of the people of Maryland.