On the Issues

Chris believes that small businesses offer the best opportunity for job growth and that we must put in place economic policies that spur innovation and job creation within those companies. He supports tax cuts for small businesses and working families. He introduced the Made in America Act to keep American companies their jobs and businesses in the America, instead of providing tax breaks to send them overseas. American companies and workers are the best in the world and Chris has no doubt that we are beginning to break through this recession. 

The Made in America Act reinstates the Research & Development tax credit that expired in December 2007, and makes it permanent.  This will encourage companies to keep their R&D divisions on American soil and prevent other countries from enticing our manufacturers with tax incentives.  It raises the amount of refundable expenses that can be claimed under the tax credit from 12% to 20% and eliminates a complicated calculation that previously made claiming the credit difficult. Any expenditures under a certain price cap may be claimed fully deductible for the year it was put into service.  The Made in America Act allows purchasers of capital equipment to expense the entire purchase up to $250,000, instead of $125,000, and increases the phase out threshold for total capital expenditures from $500,000 to $800,000. 

As an avid sportsman and firearms owner, Chris opposes the over-regulation of guns owned by responsible Americans. Firearm safety education is an essential aspect of gun ownership, helping create a culture that respects the rights of gun owners and acknowledges their responsibilities. Chris opposes any legislation that takes away the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Chris introduced legislation that recognized Pennsylvania's hunters for their continued commitment to safety and for setting a new state safety record in 2006. This legislation passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly with a vote of 385 to 0, on September 24, 2007

Chris will always fight for our veterans and military families. He knows we owe it to our troops. With Carney’s continuous support, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has received two record-breaking back-to-back funding bills.

By listening to the concerns of many veterans and military families from across our district, Chris knows the importance of getting another Veteran’s health care facility closer to home. This would be located somewhere in the Snyder-Northumberland area. After working on this for the past year, Carney announced that a VA CBOC is in its final stages.

One of Chris’s proudest moments as a Member of Congress was seeing education benefits for National Guard and Reservists become a reality. Because of his work, tens of thousands of Guardsmen and Reservists now have the opportunity to receive a college education. This will benefit more than 9,400 active duty and reserve troops from Pennsylvania who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and selflessly served our nation.

Serving our veterans and military families is a top priority to Chris.

Chris believes that we must secure our borders. In the war on terror, border security is national security. Chris opposes amnesty and believes that our nation's laws must be enforced. He supports legislation that adds 8,000 new border patrol agents, increases cooperation between law enforcement agencies, and strengthens requirements that businesses verify their employee's residence.

Chris has also introduced bipartisan legislation to help local law enforcement combat illegal immigration. Local law enforcement serves as our community's first responders. With training, they can better protect our nation's borders.

Chris supports the addition of troops to Afghanistan, believing that it is critical that we not back down from terrorists who threaten our long-term security. He believes that sending additional troops into Afghanistan will give us the military manpower to contain al-Qaeda and the Taliban while laying the groundwork for the Afghan military to step up and the Afghan government to implement long-needed reforms.

He disagrees with the idea that there should be a narrow timeframe for withdrawal, saying "While our commitment cannot be open-ended, the reality on the ground in Afghanistan must dictate the actual timeframe. It could take 18 months for our troops to be fully deployed and trained and equipped for battle. The president did an excellent job laying out the reasons for the overall policy, but I will reserve judgment until I see the full details of the plan."

Chris thinks that demonstrating a commitment to our efforts in Afghanistan will signal our resolve to the region and help Pakistan focus its attention on fighting terrorism on its side of the border.

Chris has opposed the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's proposal to toll I-80 since the beginning, believing that it would stifle economic development along the I-80 corridor, seriously hurt our region’s businesses and put an undue burden on our neighbors who use the highway on a daily basis. The proposal was denied for a third time in the spring by the Department of Transportation. Chris was a vocal opponent of the plan, having met regularly with officials from the Department of Transportation and the Obama administration.

Chris supported insurance reform because the cost of inaction is too great. For too long, women have often lacked insurance coverage that includes prenatal care and treats pregnancy as a preexisting condition. That care will now be covered by insurers. So too will screenings for cervical cancer and mammograms, among others, which until now insurers have not been required to cover, resulting in exorbitantly expensive out-of-pocket costs.

There will be help for businesses with workers who have been uninsured for months, or denied a policy based on “pre-existing” conditions. A high risk pool will offer insurance and assistance to help pay premiums to cover those workers. The legislation prevents insurance companies from charging more because of an employee’s health status, protecting our small businesses from unreasonable rate increases.

Many of those benefits will take place almost immediately. Also this year, seniors who have seen their prescription drug costs soar will receive a $250 rebate to begin closing the prescription drug “donut hole.” This loophole will eventually close completely.  Young adults who can’t find affordable insurance on their own can stay on their parents’ plan until the age of 26.  This bill also bars insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick and prevents insurers from placing lifetime limits on benefits. 

Seniors will see Medicare strengthened and protected. Insurers will be required to cover maternity care, a critical step to ensure the health of mothers and unborn children. This bill will also rightly continue the longstanding ban on public funding for abortion, a factor that weighed heavily on my mind in recent days.

All Americans will be able to have the same insurance choices enjoyed by Members of Congress and their families.

For those who cannot afford health insurance because costs have climbed too high, this bill provides tax credits that amount to the largest middle class tax cut for health care in American history.

Our nation has grappled with the effects of skyrocketing healthcare costs for decades. This reform deals with that in a fiscally responsible manner, reducing the deficit by $138 billion over the next 10 years and by an additional $1.2 trillion in the following decade. 

Chris believes the Marcellus Shale has presented our region with a tremendous economic opportunity, but we must be vigilant in protecting the drinking water in our communities. He believes that the state must set common sense, enforceable rules that ensure the safety of our waterways and guide the industry’s growth in Pennsylvania. And the General Assembly should give the state the tools it needs for proper oversight. It must allow for more inspectors to adequately monitor the well sites and respond to reports of contamination. It must also fund proper emergency measures to respond to spills.

Chris will fight to ensure that Social Security is guaranteed for future generations of workers and retirees.  It must not be jeopardized by market fluctuations and must be protected from inflation.  Workers should have opportunities and incentives to invest for their retirement, but not at the expense of the traditional Social Security system.  We have an obligation to our hardworking men and women to honor the promise our nation has made to them.  Chris will work hard to keep that pledge and to protect Social Security.

Small businesses are the growth engine of the American economy. Out of control healthcare costs are strangling the entrepreneurial spirit of American business. To protect our current small businesses and empower new growth, the healthcare crisis needs to be fixed. Chris will dedicate himself to easing the burden of healthcare costs for small business.

• Rural communities like ours are missing economic opportunities because of the state of our infrastructure. Chris will propose a Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, which will provide resources to improve our rural roads, bridges, and communications.
• In the 10th District, we have a great natural resource called Bluestone shale. Today, it is being mined, shipped away, processed somewhere else, and then sold for a big mark-up. We have a huge opportunity here. If we invest in our local roads and provide incentives for economic development in the area, we could start processing Bluestone here, creating jobs and keeping the profits of our resources here.
• Dairy price supports must be funded at levels that ensure stability and the prosperity of our family farms.
• Chris will aggressively target the local manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs.

As a parent of five kids in public schools, Chris doesn't just believe in public education, he is committed to it because it represents his children's future. As an educator, Chris knows the value of testing students, but he also knows the failures of No Child Left Behind.

"Teaching to the test" has led to the intellectual neutering of our academic programs rather than encouraging academic creativity and exploration. No Child Left Behind effectively means that no child gets ahead.

Additionally, unfunded mandates like No Child Left Behind have caused the higher property taxes that we see in our communities. This nonsense has to stop.

Instead, Chris believes that we need to invest in our educational infrastructure - teachers, schools, curriculum, and up-to-date technology. We need to ensure our children learn the fundamentals, while encouraging creativity and exploration so that they can compete with the best in the country and the best in the world.