| GILCHREST ON THE ISSUES | |
| NATIONAL DEFENSE AND HOMELAND SECURITY | |
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Congressman
Gilchrest has stood shoulder to shoulder with President Bush on
improving our national homeland security and supports the President's
efforts. In fact, a full year before the September
11th attacks, Congressman Gilchrest introduced H.R. 525, a bill to
bolster and improve our nation's response to terrorist attacks against
our homeland.
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| AGRICULTURE AND LAND PRESERVATION | |
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Wayne recognizes that farmers are our nation’s first environmentalist, and that the best land preservation program is a profitable farming operation. He has worked closely with farmers to open up new markets for agriculture and to bring more resources to our region to market our local products and preserve our community’s rural lands.
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| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | |
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On the outer
limits of the Baltimore-Washington technological corridor, our region is
perfectly poised to continue to develop into a first-class high-tech
business region. Congressman Gilchrest also recognizes that most
of our private-industry jobs are derived from small businesses, and that
is why Gilchrest has worked in Congress to improve the climate for small
businesses by voting for measures to reduce the tax and regulatory
burden. Gilchrest has received consistently high ratings from the
National Federation for Independent Businesses (NFIB) and has been
endorsed in his re-election bid by the United States Chamber of
Commerce.
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| FISCAL MATTERS | |
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Wayne was an
outspoken advocate of the repeal of the death-tax, and voted to
eliminate the marriage penalty and reduce the overall tax burden on
working families. Gilchrest opposes raising federal income taxes,
and has stood by a pledge against doing so since he was first elected to
Congress. Wayne is a recognized fiscal conservative who gets top
marks from business and taxpayer groups.
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| ENVIRONMENT | |
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With so much
of our district's economy dependent on a clean, healthy and productive
Chesapeake Bay, Gilchrest has made environmental protection a
cornerstone of his work in Congress. With industries such as
fishing, tourism, recreational boating, agriculture, and real estate
dependent on clean air and clean water, environmental protection makes
economic sense. In addition, Gilchrest strongly believes that we
must protect our unique surroundings and way of life for future
generations, and that is why he has consistently been endorsed by the
Sierra Club and other major environmental organizations in his
re-election bid.
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| CAMPAIGN REFORM | |
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Congressman
Gilchrest believes that special-interest money has too great an
influence on our political system, and that to empower voters in the
political process, we must completely remove the corrupting influence of
money. That is why Gilchrest has introduced some of the most
far-reaching campaign reform legislation in Congress, and that is why he
has taken a national leadership role in his own campaigns by refusing to
accept campaign contributions from special interest PAC's and big-monied
interest from outside of Maryland. Gilchrest's low budget
re-election campaigns are funded solely by the contributions from
individual concerned citizens from his own state.
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| DEFENDING THE SECOND AMENDMENT | |
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Wayne is a Vietnam veteran, gun-owner, sportsman and long-time member of the NRA, and understands the key role of hunting in our local economy and tradition. He has fought for more open space for hunting and fishing. Wayne voted to arm airline pilots, and supports allowing off-duty law enforcement officers carry concealed firearms.
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| SENIORS AND RETIREMENT SECURITY | |
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Congressman
Gilchrest voted for tough legislation to crack down on corporate
scandals including jail time for CEO's who defraud stockholders to
protect Americans' retirement security and improve investor confidence
in the stock market.
Wayne also supports including a voluntary prescription drug benefit in order to modernize Medicare, and has supported legislation to strengthen Medicare and social security to make sure America fulfills its obligation to our seniors.
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| VETERANS | |
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As a Marine
wounded in Vietnam, Congressman Gilchrest is keenly aware of the
importance of living up to the commitment America made to our
veterans. He has supported increased federal resources for
veterans healthcare, and has fought to expand and improve our local VA
healthcare centers.
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