CNOWAK

CNOWAK



Out of the Oklahoman congressional representatives, I find myself agreeing on many issues with [|Dan Boren], who, like myself, is a Democrat.

In my mind, the three most important issues are the economy, foreign policy, and immigration. I believe that in order to turn the **economy** around, the government cannot give bailout money to companies. The government is already in debt and is only putting themselves in a bigger hole. Also, when given the money, the companies have used it unwisely. They can only be given so many chances. I aslo feel that it would be wise for American based companies to lower their prices in an effort to support American manufacturing. By doing this they may take a hit in the short-term, but this would help our economy, as would giving tax cuts to people who need them. Although, I do not believe that we should give the wealthier higher taxes. Why should they have to pay for making money?

The next thing is **foreign policy**. I believe that America should always help our allies, or countries that are at war with major enemies. In addition, I see nothing wrong with keeping troops in the Middle East. If we pull out, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda would run rampid with no resistence, making them even more dangerous. Iraq would simply not be able to hold its own without us. This is important because eventually we will have defeated an enemy, and helped to strengthen an ally.

My third most important issue is **immigration**. I believe that it should be harder for foreigners to gain passage into our country. My first reason is because now, more than ever, the United States is a major terrorist target, and we could lessen our vulnerability by making it harder to get into the country. Also, illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens because they are willing to work for less, while there are many Americans who are unable to find work because of this. Those are my three main issues.

Here are some facts about Oklahoma that I believe will be important in my voting in Mock Congress:
 * 1) Oklahoma has the second highest Native-American population in the United States, so I am representing a fairly diverse state
 * 2) Agriculture is one of Oklahoma's main resources of income
 * 3) In addition to agriculture, Oklahoma relies on enegy production as a major source of income, as they are the nation's second leading provider of natural gas, and since the cost of gas has risen, this will result in a stronger base economy for Oklahoma
 * 4) Oklahoman representatives were not in favor of the auto-maker bailout to begin with
 * 5) Some jobs are being driven out of Oklahoma due to Immigration

My Bill: I am currently working on a bill (SB 47 )with Angelo Guastella and Sidd Mandava that will help both the economy and environment. Our bill proposes that any U.S. automakers must produce cars that have a regualted minimum of miles per gallon. By doing this it will:
 * 1) Reduce the demand of oil in the U.S. and help keep the protect the fuel reserves
 * 2) Reduce the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere
 * 3) Keep money in the American's pocket because they will not have to pay as much for gas

"The Democratic Party: Agenda- Economic Stewardship" 6 May, 2009 ([|www.democrats.org] ) "The Democratic Party: Agenda- Environment & Climate Change" 7 May, 2009 ([|www.democrats.org] ) "Wikipedia- Oklahoma" 6 May 2009 ([|www.wikipedia.org] ) "Congressman Dan Boren: Biography" 5 May, 2009([|www.house.gov/boren] ) "CNN: Election Center 2008" ([|cnn.com] ) 6 May 2009 "ABC-CLIO: American Government- Issues- Immigration in America" 6 May 2009 ([|www.abc-clio.com] ) "Oklahoma Department of Commerce: Site Selection- Target Industries" 9 May 2009 ([|www.okcommerce.gov] ) "ABC-CLIO: American Government- Issues- Work in America" 9 May 2009 ([|abc-clio.com] ) "ABC-CLIO: American Government- Issues- Ozone Depletion" 9 May 2009 ([|abc-clio.com] ) "The Democratic Party: Agenda- Immigration Reform" 9 MAy 2009 ([|www.democrats.org] ) "Google: Oklahoma's Main Issues- Tulsa World: Top Ten Issues for Oklahoma's economy in 2008" 9 May 2009 ([|www.tulsaworld.com] ) **
 * __MY SOURCES:__