{"id":111,"date":"2014-03-26T18:26:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T00:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.bizingenuity.com\/bost\/?page_id=111"},"modified":"2022-02-01T14:43:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T20:43:30","slug":"issues","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/?page_id=111","title":{"rendered":"Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Improving Agriculture<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Agriculture.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-232 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Agriculture.jpg\" alt=\"Haymaking in Sotland\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" \/><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Protecting our agricultural economy is vital to the sustainability of Southern Illinois.\u00a0 That&#8217;s why Mike has fought to\u00a0reduce regulatory burdens that strangle our farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s also worked to provide\u00a0our producers with the tools they need to help mitigate against risk in a fiscally responsible way through the Farm Bill.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Mike has sponsored critical legislation to help beginning farmers and ranchers access credit. He&#8217;s also voted to make major investments in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">rural broadband<\/span> that would benefit under-served areas like Southern Illinois.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Moving Toward Energy Independence <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Southern Illinois has a proud heritage of coal mining and contains significant coal deposits.\u00a0 Recently, new technologies have developed to more efficiently produce energy from this coal <a href=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/issues\/oil-rig\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-671\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-671 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Oil-Rig.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a>with less pollution. Unfortunately, there remain those opposed to any use of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p>Mike has consistently supported an all-of-the above energy policy that makes use of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">all<\/span> our nation\u2019s resources.\u00a0 As Southern Illinois families struggle with higher energy bills, Mike believes it&#8217;s common sense to use the resources that are proven and affordable.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Moving Our Economy Forward<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Mike has fought for policies that allow working families to keep more of their hard-earned money and\u00a0 promote economic growth.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/issues\/economy\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-672\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-672\" src=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Economy-300x212.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"156\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Economy-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Economy-600x424.png 600w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Economy-768x542.png 768w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Economy.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 156px) 100vw, 156px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mike voted for Tax Reform legislation, which gives an average <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>tax cut of over $2,200<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>to Southern Illinois families. He&#8217;s also voted to roll back job-killing regulations left over by the Obama Administration and and is a staunch opponent of the Biden-Pelosi socialist tax and spending plan.<\/p>\n<p>Mike supports President Trump\u2019s historic trade deals to protect our economy and American workers.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Accessible &amp; Affordable\u00a0Healthcare<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/healthcare.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-240 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/healthcare.jpg\" alt=\"healthcare\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mike believes that Southern Illinoisans should have the right to make their own health care choices.\u00a0 That&#8217;s why he\u00a0supports allowing businesses and associations to pull together their health plans to obtain larger health care premium discounts from major health insurers.<\/p>\n<p>He wants to encourage more, not less competition, in the Medicare system by expanding, not shrinking, the popular Medicare Advantage program. We need to support measures that reduce costs, which will ultimately affect the price of premiums and the number of people who can afford insurance.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><br \/><strong>Reining in Government Spending<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Money doesn&#8217;t grow on trees, but those in Washington often think it does. For too long, legislators went to\u00a0Washington with a focus of &#8220;how much to spend&#8221; instead of &#8220;what to cut.&#8221; Because of that mindset, federal spending is out-of-control with growing deficits that place the burden on future generations.<\/p>\n<p>Just as Americans must balance their own household budgets, Congress should be held to the same standards. Congress must make decisions that balance our federal budget in a reasonable, responsible way that leaves a country to our children and grandchildren better than the one we inherited.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Defending the Life of the Unborn<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Mike is unapologetically pro-life. He believes that life begins at conception and has been fighting for pro-life principles his entire adult life.<\/p>\n<h2><b><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><br \/>Providing\u00a0for Our National Defense<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-235 size-full alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Defense-e1399766635241.jpg\" alt=\"Defense\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" \/>As a U.S. Marine, Mike is committed to a strong national defense. With growing threats to U.S. interests around the world, he knows we must ensure our military is the best-trained and most advanced in the\u00a0world so we meet the challenges of today and prepare for threats of tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>Mike is a strong supporter of a robust defense budget and a proud advocate for\u00a0 Scott Air Force Base &#8211; a vital economic engine to Southern Illinois.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b><br \/>Protecting\u00a0Social Security &amp; Medicare<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/socialsecuritymedicare.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-236 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/socialsecuritymedicare.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" \/><\/a>Those counting on Social Security and Medicare\u00a0should not have to worry about the promises that were made to them are kept.\u00a0Mike opposes\u00a0efforts to privatize, raise the retirement age or increase the payroll tax.<\/p>\n<p>Congress must work together to prevent the financial collapse of these programs by promoting bipartisan efforts to address systemic problems and ensure its longevity for current and future generations.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Guaranteeing 2nd Amendment Rights<a href=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/?attachment_id=853\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-853\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-853\" src=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Untitled-design-7-1-300x206.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Untitled-design-7-1-300x206.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Untitled-design-7-1-600x412.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Untitled-design-7-1-768x527.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Untitled-design-7-1.jpeg 936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We have a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms and it must be preserved and defended at all levels of government. Period.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Securing our Southern Border<a href=\"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/?attachment_id=854\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-854\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-854\" src=\"http:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_3396-1-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_3396-1-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_3396-1-600x440.jpg 600w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_3396-1-768x564.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_3396-1.jpg 939w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Mike supports building a wall along our southern border and supports enforcing President Trump\u2019s Remain in Mexico Policy.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Improving Agriculture Protecting our agricultural economy is vital to the sustainability of Southern Illinois.\u00a0 That&#8217;s why Mike has fought to\u00a0reduce regulatory burdens that strangle our farmers and ranchers. He&#8217;s also worked to provide\u00a0our producers with the tools they need to help mitigate against risk in a fiscally responsible way through the Farm Bill. Additionally, Mike [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":124,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostforcongress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}