David Fallin
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Kyle Horton
What are your top three priorities if elected?
My top three priorities if elected are to keep us safe, save our health care and preserve our democracy.
As a doctor who’s worked in an emergency room during hurricanes, I understand the health risks in the wake of storms – but Florence was worse than it should’ve been. Our towns and homes were flooded with contaminated water. And our crumbling infrastructure, including basic water and sewer, did not withstand the storm to keep us safe. Recognizing this, my top priority is to invest in a major federal infrastructure bill to create good-paying jobs and ensure that our roads, bridges and dams can weather storms. In the wake of Florence, some people died from bloodstream infections after mucking out their homes in the contaminated water. The truth is that the current Congress has enabled big polluters to risk our health and contaminate our water. They’ve failed to invest in infrastructure or to put basic safety protections in place that are needed to clean our water and keep us safe from dirty polluters who put profit over people. I’ll prioritize policies that protect what should be our right to clean water coming out of our faucets so we can keep our families healthy.
It’s also critical that we ensure every American has the quality health care they deserve. We must expand Medicare and Medicaid to create a health care safety net that protects those with pre-existing conditions as well as those suffering from opiate addiction while in the midst of this crisis. I’ve worked in primary care and have seen how hardworking people struggle to pay for their prescription medications. The truth is that the current health care systems work really well for the biggest insurance and pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists but not for everyday Americans. We have the most expensive health care in the world with some of the worst outcomes. But while Congress plays partisan politics with our health, know that I will bring my expertise as a doctor with a business degree to expand Medicaid and Medicare to cover millions more Americans in a way that respects our budget, lowers costs and reins in drug companies – time to put people over profit.
Finally, we must end the kind of cronyism and corruption that’s been Washington politics as usual. I’m committed to campaign finance reform, unlike the career politicians who take dark money and put the wants of Washington elites over the needs of everyday North Carolinians. This is why I pledged not to accept corporate political action committee (PAC) money and big polluter money – because we need a new generation of leaders in Washington who will stand up to lobbyists and big money special interests.
Do you support the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports, or are you in favor of free trade? Why?
We need trade policies that respect American workers, the environment and the rule of law. Unfortunately, the current tide of tariffs risks devastating our economy in eastern North Carolina and leaving behind those who can least afford it – our farmers. Many in Washington have been silent about the impacts of the escalating trade war, which will cripple pork, soybeans, and tobacco – leading exports that depend on Canadian and Chinese markets. At this critical time, when many farmers are struggling, we need to end the reckless trade war and protect the relationships we’ve cultivated that created strong markets for eastern North Carolina’s agricultural products. In fact, Bladen County is anticipated to be in the top 5 hardest-hit counties in the entire country. In New Hanover County, tariffs will also risk jobs at the Port of Wilmington, which has been growing in recent years as exports were increasing with sensible trade policies. The tariffs and new trade policies will cost jobs, our economy, and our way of life in eastern North Carolina.
When it comes to previous trade agreements like NAFTA and, most recently, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, I did not agree with the Obama Administration and was deeply concerned about provisions that would allow big multinational corporations to circumvent the rule of law. Coming from a blue-collar family like I do, I will always stand up for hardworking Americans and will only support trade policies that protect American jobs, our health, quality of life and the rule of law.
How would you address problems with the U.S. immigration system?
I believe in strong borders and investing in border security to keep us safe. I understand that border security plays a vital role in preventing terrorism and catching drug and sex traffickers. This is why I believe part of comprehensive immigration reform should include making critical investments in strong borders to prevent illegal crossings by terrorists. But we have to be real about the fact that the current administration’s policy of separating families was inhumane, cruel and un-American. Many of those crossing our southern border are seeking asylum and fleeing violence and tyranny in their own country. This was the very circumstance on which our country was founded, and these principles are etched into the Statue of Liberty. We are mainly a nation of individuals that descended from immigrants fleeing tyranny and oppression, and we’re better than immoral immigration policies that will harm diplomatic relations and our economy.
Here in eastern North Carolina, we are fundamentally dependent on migrant worker and immigrant labor. In fact, during the recession, when there were over 400,000 unemployed North Carolinians and 6,500 available jobs in agriculture, only seven native-born citizens finished the agricultural growing season. We need common-sense immigration policies in order to protect agriculture in eastern North Carolina. Know that I will support strong borders and American jobs but that this means we need to use common sense to ensure we protect labor for farms and agriculture. I support comprehensive immigration reform that respects this balance between strong borders, protecting jobs and honoring our founding American values.
Rank in order of priority: Balanced budget, tax reduction, defense spending, domestic program spending, entitlements.
Domestic program spending, entitlements, defense spending, balanced budget, tax reduction
David Rouzer
What are your top three priorities if re-elected?
Ensure the state has the resources necessary for a successful long-term recovery from Hurricane Florence, including major infrastructure improvements and a disaster aid package for our farm families. Continue to help rebuild our military to meet today’s challenges abroad and keep our homeland safe from harm, as well as continue to improve the care of our veterans. Continue to pass legislation incentivizing economic growth, hard work and savings by streamlining the regulatory bureaucracies, deregulating and making more improvements to our tax code.
Do you support the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports, or are you in favor of free trade? Why?
The question ignores the very important third option of using the economic strength of America and tariffs to incentivize other countries to pursue freer and fairer trade. President Trump’s use of tariffs is not to promote a protectionist agenda. It is simply a tool to achieve freer and fairer trade with countries such as Communist China who steal, lie and cheat with every opportunity they get.
Many countries use tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers to protect their domestic industries from U.S. competition. They subsidize their producers and manufacturers and manipulate their currencies – all for their own advantage. American workers, businesses and our competitiveness suffer as a result. Simply pursuing a pure free trade agenda has not reversed the actions of Communist China or the European Union or any other bad actors over the years. The free trade philosophy sounds great in a textbook; in the real world, there is nothing free or fair about that approach if you don’t have willing partners. Consequently, in many cases, the results have been this: we give and they take.
Under the president’s leadership and approach to trade, we have a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada that enhances the good aspects of NAFTA while making major improvements in many other areas, especially for America’s workers.
Additionally, the historic American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as the many deregulatory actions taken by this administration and Congress, are providing businesses with more incentives to invest and relocate back to this country. These are two of the biggest reasons why the economy is growing at 3 to 4 percent GDP rather than the very stagnant 1 to 2 percent GDP of the past decade.
How would you address problems with the U.S. immigration system?
Unfortunately, our immigration laws are so complex that it is easier to come to this country illegally than it is to come here legally. As a result, I support the following immigration reforms: strong provisions to protect our border (including building a wall where it is necessary); terminate family chain migration and the visa lottery and replace them with a merit-based policy; make our agricultural guest worker program easier and less costly to use so that our farm families can get the labor they need in a timely manner; enhance other visa programs, enabling employers to get the labor they need easily while maintaining strong protections for American workers; and put in place a strong e-Verify program to ensure that those who are in our country have come here through the proper, legal channels.
For those who are here illegally and are contributing to our economy and society, I support a pathway to legal status but not citizenship. Those who came to our country illegally and are committing crimes should be deported to their home country without delay. Additionally, I support a reduction in the amount of foreign aid dollars sent to those respective countries every time one of their own is caught and returned in order to provide incentive for those countries to ensure their criminals do not return to the U.S.
Rank in order of priority: balanced budget, tax reduction, defense spending, domestic program spending, entitlements
Entitlement spending, including interest on the debt, is approximately 70 percent of the total federal budget. Consequently, it is entitlement spending that drives 85 percent of the increase in the national debt. Domestic spending programs, which includes defense spending, is approximately 30 percent of the total federal budget.
Because of the long-term consequences of a huge exponential increase in the debt, due to demographic trends and the fact that entitlement reform is the only way to get to a balanced budget, I rank entitlement reform first. Second is defense spending, considering the importance to our national security and the needs of our men and women in uniform.
I rank tax reductions third because you must have a growing economy in order to generate more revenue to the Treasury. Increased employment means more workers paying the payroll tax, which results in extra money going to help shore up the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
A balanced budget ranks fourth, but the only reason why I rank this so low is because entitlement reform is the only path to a balanced budget, given entitlements and interest on the debt make up 70 percent of the federal budget.
I rank domestic spending programs last because you could cut half of that dollar amount and never miss the programs they fund. Yet, doing so wouldn’t make a dent in the debt because entitlement programs eat up so much of the federal budget.