The Real Issues

"My message is one of hope and positive change. Change can only come by making the hard decisions that the other candidates would rather ignore. I cannot ignore the dire situation the country, our senior citizens, and our veterans are in. How can we continue to spend and spend while our government is about to collapse under bankruptcy, as the Soviet Union did in the 1980s? We can get back on track, but we must act now!" -Steven Vasquez

- Voting Principles - Save Senior Citizen and Veteran Benefits -
- Reduce Wasteful Spending Overseas -
- Scale Back Our Military Presence Overseas - Iraq War -

Voting Principles

Steven will take on these issues and vote on all bills by following these guidelines:

1) Will this bill benefit American taxpayer?

2) Can the American taxpayer afford this bill?

And most importantly:

3) Does this bill uphold to the Constitution of the United States of America?

Save Our Senior Citizens and Veterans from Congress Act

My proposed "Save Our Senior Citizens and Veterans from Congress Act" will force Congress to reduce spending and move towards a balanced budget by barring Congress from stealing funds from Social Security, Medicare, Veteran, and other "Trust Fund" programs. My bill will keep the programs most important to our seniors and veterans afloat while preventing the federal government from going bankrupt and endangering our national security.

Currently, both Democrats and Republicans misappropriate funds from Social Security, Medicare, Veteran, and other "Trust Funds" to pay for their out-of-control spending. Wasteful spending has resulted in a $53.3 Trillion deficit in those programs most important to seniors and veterans. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO), within 20 years, the federal government will not have the money to write the monthly checks to the seniors and veterans who have paid into the programs for nearly their entire lives.

If this problem is not addressed now, the federal government will go bankrupt within the next couple decades, leaving America unable to afford a strong national defense. Every household's liability will total roughly $500,000, which will be paid by you, your children, your grandchildren, and their children for the rest of their lives.

Reduce Wasteful Spending Overseas

The federal government sends over $300 billion overseas in foreign aid each year. Many people are helped by our foreign aid and the good will earned by it is priceless. However, too much of that foreign aid never gets to the people we intend to help because it is intercepted by tyrants, warlords, and corrupt governments. Congress needs to reign in the wasteful spending and redirect that money back home.

Senator Obama recently introduced the Global Poverty Act in the budget, seeking $845 billion in aid to Africa. Unfortunately, this act will bring the whole world to poverty as the only way to pay for this aid is to grossly debase the currency causing worldwide inflation, bringing a large portion of the middle class into poverty levels. Over 46 million American seniors will be denied Social Security due to this act alone.

Scale Back Our Military Presence Overseas

While the US has lost the majority of its manufacturing and industry jobs, it still excels at having the strongest and finest Armed Forces in the world, making it our biggest export. Our troops are brave, loyal, and honorable: the best of the best. We now have over half a million soldiers in over 700 bases in over 130 countries around the world. Our soldiers spend into those foreign economies, essentially subsidizing the economies of those countries through the American taxpayer. Many of those countries are the richest in the world, including Germany, Japan, and Korea. Its time we scale back our presence overseas so that we maintain our global military strategic advantage while staying economically strong at home. If we do not do something now, within 20 years, the US will not be able to keep any troops overseas.

Iraq War

Whether you were in favor or against the Iraq War, the self evident truth is that the American taxpayer cannot afford to pay roughly $15 billion each month. The war has a price tag of $3 Trillion and growing. Most of this money is being borrowed from Communist China and Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from. On our crusade to protect our national security and spread democracy, our administration has put the United States in financial jeopardy which is now the greatest threat to our national security. The risk of economic collapse at home far outweighs the chaos that the current administration proclaims will occur in the Middle East if we return our troops sooner rather than later.