On the Issues

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, submitted for the third time in October, is under consideration by the Department of Transportation. Chris is expecting a decision any day. He believes he has made a strong case against the plan and he is optimisitic the proposal will be rejected. He has met regularly with officials from the Department of Transportation and the Obama administration in recent weeks and expressed his strong opposition to the proposal.

Chris has three priorities when it comes to addressing our nation's health insurance system. First and foremost, no one should be denied coverage or kicked off their health insurance because of preexisting conditions such as diabetes, asthma or cancer. He also strongly supports enabling employees to take their health insurance with them when they change jobs. And with health costs ballooning every year, affordability is an issue that must be addressed. He supported the House health care bill because it addressed these and other issues, and while not perfect, the measure was a step forward for our health insurance system. He opposes the Senate bill, however, saying, "I won’t support any bill that, for example, gives exemptions to one state over another just to win over a senator’s vote. Americans want real health reform that ensures affordability, coverage for preexisting conditions and transportability of insurance from job to job.”

Chris also supports increased health coverage for children and believes that children's health care should be a national priority. Carney supported bipartisan legislation to provide health insurance to 10 million children, including 312,807 in Pennsylvania. When the President vetoed this legislation, Chris voted to override the veto, saying "Insuring kids is morally and fiscally responsible. Healthy children are more likely to succeed in education and life. This is an investment in our nation's future."

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.