Save jobs, save social security

In my August 24th post, explain why I'm running for congress. I explained that I'm want to increase the supply of energy we need today while encouraging renewable energy. Today I want to expand on that.
In my last post talked about policies effecting drivers when I advocated more drilling. Today I want to talk about people who use public transportation. A lot of people use public transportation because they can't afford a car or can't drive because of their disability. Cuts in public transportation could cause people to lose their jobs. I'm willing to support an increase in federal funding for public transportation to prevent cuts in public transportation. Another economic concern is social security.
It is time to start now to save social security from going bankrupt. I'm in support of allowing young workers to take their money and put in a private account, similar to and Individual Retirement Account (IRA). At the same time, we must protect low incomes seniors today. So any plan that allow private accounts must include funding for support low income seniors.
I'm a Moderate Republican. While I align my self with the party, I don't always agree with the party. I'm prochoice. I disagree with the party about women's choice, I'm hoping to find common ground in policies that prevent unplanned pregnancies in the first place. That is why I urge you to signed the put prevention first pledge.

I'm running for Congress

I'm running for congress.
That is right me, Damien Johnson, is running for House of Representative of the first congressional district. As your congressional leader, I want to advocate for a comprehensive energy plan. I'm a big advocate for the environment. On a personal level, I conserve energy and I urge other to do the same. For example, I ride my bike as my main way of transportation and recycle. I think we all can recycle, but I can't expect a head of house hold to a family of 4 on the handle bars. So I'm an advocate of more drilling to increase the supply of oil and I urge you to sign the Drill here, Drill Now petition. Alone with my support of more drilling, I believe the government should encourage the use of alternative energy. I support the renew of the green tax credits. Since the passage in 2005, these tax credits wind and solar power industries have seen a growth. Without the tax credits, America could fall behind in renewable energy.

The auto industries believe that they can produce viable plug in hybrids by the year 2010. To help them along the way, tax credits should be offered to them.
We need both tax credits and increase supply of oil and we need green tax credits so Americans won't have to soli depend on oil. Green tax credits is the governments way of encouraging environmental friendly energy.
So this November when you vote for McCain, write me in.
Type Damien Johnson if you are using the computer voting machines

get mad at 10 or be practical? That is the question

Recently I blogged about House Republicans protesting the adjournment before getting a chance to vote on Republican bills to increase the supply of oil. On the Senate side, it appears to be a bipartisan compromise on this issue. In his August 1st press release, Senator Chambliss announced that joined with 4 other Republicans, Ben Nelsen and 4 other Democrats to form and Gang of 10 to come up with a compromised proposal. The bill will:

• increase production for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The the consent of the States, increase production in Virgina, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
• decrease tax breaks for companies investing in renewable energy.
• and increase nuclear energy.
  

However; some Republicans don't like this proposal. In Bobby Eberie's "Just Say No to the 'Gang of 10'",
he argues that the bill will increase government control, taxes, and put more barriers against drilling. This lead to Chambliss releasing his response to The Hill. Chambliss argues that the Republicans who oppose the compromise must not have read the proposal.
Currently there is nothing in writing on this proposal. I know because I just called Chambliss office. Since there is nothing in writing, I would like to know what are the opponents complaining about? Wouldn't it be good idea to wait to read the whole proposal until one makes a decision to support or oppose something. Currently the summaries look good to me. I like the idea that energy production would increase as well as more tax credits would be available, but I'll wait until the full proposal to come out before I support or oppose it. Finally keep this in mind, compromise is part of the game.

What Eric Said

By Damien Johnson

Question: Between Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof, who do you prefer?

Answer: It looks like Kenny Hulshof will be the winner tonight and he
will do an outstanding job. As Republicans, we need to be out there
talking with folks about what our vision is for the future and how we
intend to bring people together.

Question: There is nothing much the state government can do in terms of
gas prices, but what can the state do in terms of the economy?

Answer: The two are connected. I think because of our geographic location we can be a big part of the solution nationally and for the people of our state. I think we need to find ways to put money in the pockets of Missouri farmers and businesses and hardworking families instead of Middle East dictators. We need to look at every option out there, nuclear, wind and biodiesel technologies and grow our economy out of those "Missouri" resources.

Question: What would you as a state senator propose to improve the state healthcare system?

Answer: For me this is big issue. One of the things we talk about on the campaign is meaningful health care reform. In the senate I want to be part of the dialogue. We have too many folks with out insurance in
Missouri. We need to find free market solutions that get the people the health insurance they need. There is a better way and we need to be creative and bold enough to make changes. We owe it to those without insurance and to those whose premiums are too high to take action. We need to make health care more affordable, available, and portable. Doing this also allows people who have insurance to carry it from one job to another. People will have the comfort of knowing that they will be able to take their insurance with them to their next job.

Question: What do you think about expanding the Medicaid system?

Answer: We need to focus on how to move forward. The fact of the matter is that there are people currently without health insurance. The question is what is the best way to make healthcare more available and more affordable. We need to be focused on wellness with prevention.
Let's talk about where we are going.

Question: Do you know that the Democrats are talking about restoring the Blunt cuts?

Answer: Yes, that is one of the proposals. We can all agree that there are too many people without health insurance. We need to talk about how we are going to work towards the goal of everyone in this state having
affordable health insurance so people can live healthier lives.



In other news, New Gingrich was on Capitol Hill to support the Republican protest against the congressional adjournment without debating expanding oil drilling. With $4 gas prices, the Republicans are proposing bills that would allow for more drilling. Instead of an up and down vote, the Democratic leadership decided to dodge the issue out of fear that congress, in spite of the Democrat majority.