Candidates Running for U.S. House 2

Rep. Tim Griffin (R):
First and foremost, we need to stop the tide of illegal immigration coming over the border. The federal government has a constitutional obligation to secure the border. We hear a lot of talk about securing the border. We hear that more and more resources are put down there, but the truth is if this country really wanted to secure the border, we could secure the border. We have the ability to do that. We have the technology to do it. We have the resources to do it. Secondly, whatever we agree upon in terms of immigration policy, what we cannot do is adopt amnesty. Amnesty, the idea that you reward people who are already violating the law with a special status, is the wrong approach. Finally, we need to make sure that the people who are following our immigration laws--people going through the steps--are not put behind those who are violating our nation's laws.

Rep. Tim Griffin (R):
I support a balanced buget amendment to the Constitution and I am proud to have co-sponsored and voted for the "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan. We in Congress need to cut spending, and we need to cap future spending. We need to move the federal government towards a balanced budget where the money that it brings in equals the money that is spent-just like the rest of us. We cannot fix our debt problem unless we deal with the mandatory spending in the federal budget that many people refer to as "entitlements." Entitlements are written into the law, which means their growth does not have to be approved year to year through the appropriations process-they grow automatically because the law mandates it. If we do not reform entitlements-the major drivers of our debt-we cannot deal with the budget because even if you eliminated all of the discretionary (non-entitlement) spending, our budget would still be out of balance. I have voted for budgets that reform our entitlement programs and ensure their continued existence for future beneficiaries. However, the Senate continues to fail in its duty, having gone over 1,000 days without passing a federal budget.

Rep. Tim Griffin (R):
National security is a constitutionally based obligation of the federal government. Like many federal agencies, there is an enormous amount of money wasted in the Department of Defense, but we cannot cut defense spending blindly without risking harm to our national security. Congress should not rest until we have ferreted out every dollar of waste that we can, but it must act smartly and specifically. How do we do that? We do that through vigorous oversight. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have argued repeatedly that we should be aggressively holding the Department of Defense accountable to ensure that the money we give them is spent wisely. Every defense dollar wasted is a dollar that does not go toward a service member or to a piece of equipment. Some programs should be given more money and some should be cut. But any cuts to the defense need to be based on congressional oversight and research. We can then take that money and either put it toward additional investments in national security or pay down the debt. Cutting defense without smart research could weaken our nation's security.

Rep. Tim Griffin (R):
The practical reality is that with the way the current government is constituted with the President and Senate we have, we aren't able to make the bold changes we need to make. But we shouldn't wait. We should look for ways to continue eliminating duplicate programs within agencies. The Government Accountability Office recently published a study of the federal government and found that there were 32 areas where multiple government programs that preform duplicate or overlapping work at the cost of tens of billions of dollars. Congress should go through agency budgets--line-by-line--and look for ways to consolidate. We should be looking to use a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer and identify the specific programs that need to be cut today so we can begin fixing things now.