James T. Marter: Candidate profile

Bio

Party: Republican

City: Oswego

Office sought: Representative in Congress, 14th District

Age: 57

Family: Jill (wife), children: James II, Stephen (granddaughter Gemma), Matthew, Katie.

Occupation: Software consultant

Education: Purdue University Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management, minor in Computer Science. CPIM certified in 1995.

Civic involvement:

Illinois Conservatives Union Executive Committee and the Illinois Center Right Coalition - Steering Committee; Boy Scouts of American - ASM & Committee 17 years, middle school basketball coach 5 years, swimming coach 7 years.

Previous elected offices held: Republican GOP Party Chairman, Kendall County, precinct committeeman.

Incumbent? No.

Website: www.Marter4Congress.US

Facebook: @Marter4Congress

Twitter: @Marter4Congress

Questions and Answers

1. What have the past three years of Donald Trump's unconventional leadership taught us about politics in the United States? What is the best thing his presidency has done? What is the most significant criticism you have of it?

• The economy: Due to President Trump's pro-growth policies, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded 3 percent over the last four quarters. More than 5 million jobs have been created since President Trump's election and the unemployment rate remains below 4 percent. African-American and Hispanic-American poverty rates reached record lows.

Consumer confidence has soared under President Trump. President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, ushering in the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history.

• Rolling back red tape: President Trump is rolling back costly regulations that have burdened hardworking Americans and stifled innovation. President Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, which would have harmed America's economy and cost American workers millions of jobs.

• Negotiating better deals for the American people: President Trump is negotiating fair and balanced trade deals that protect American industries and workers, and withdrew the United States from the terrible Trans-Pacific Partnership, which incentivized outsourcing.

• Unleashing American energy: President Trump is rolling back costly and burdensome regulations to unleash America's incredible energy resources.

• His handling of the fake news.

I have no significant criticisms of President Trump, other than he doesn't tweet enough!

2. What needs to be done to get Congress to work constructively, whether that be senators and representatives of both parties working with each other or Congress itself working with the president?

Congress cannot work constructively with ideologue socialists controlled by outside special interests, we need to electorally defeat the socialist and elect conservative American patriots who understand that the federal government in Washington, D.C., is and rightfully should be limited and constrained by the enumerated powers granted to it in the U.S. Constitution and the amendments. Additionally we need to end the practice of omnibus bills and pork barrel spending, special grants/funds baked into bills and given to members with seniority or rank due to their own party affiliations. We need to ensure that each bill is voted within its own area and without riders and amendments for unrelated projects and items.

3. What do you see as the most important issues to address regarding immigration reform? If you oppose funding for a wall, what steps do you support to try to control illegal immigration?

I support building the wall, enforcing existing immigration law and implementing new, measurable steps to address the crisis. I support:

• Mandatory E-Verify, eliminating the illegal jobs market.

• Biometric entry/exit system (recommended by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission)

• End birthright citizenship for illegal aliens and foreign visitors.

• Require law enforcement to report noncitizens in criminal custody to ICE.

• Expand expedited removal of illegal aliens with criminal convictions.

• End catch-and-release, that wastes resources and puts communities at risk.

• Deny visas if a nation refuses to repatriate their citizens.

• Reform the judicial process in immigration courts.

• Restrict asylum to the internationally recognized definition.

• Allow Border Patrol access to all federal lands.

The steps outlined will re-establish the integrity of the Immigration System and would make great strides toward ending illegal immigration, while assisting struggling American workers, and making our communities safer.

4. Please define your position on health care reform, especially as it relates to the Affordable Care Act.

The unconstitutional Un-Affordable Care Act needs to be repealed. The formerly free private insurance market has been devastated by the PPACA. Prices have soared affecting millions of American families, like mine, now in excess of 300% since the passage of the PPACA. The individual mandate is/was unconstitutional. Constitutional and market-based reforms need to be enacted: a) restoring free markets (e.g. prescription drugs) b) portability of insurance across state lines; from employer plans to employee c) tort reform d) equalized tax free treatment of health care costs for individuals/all plans. e) allow all Americans to directly participate in tax-free Health Savings Accounts.

Medicare and Medicaid costs continue to spiral. Congress has granted benefits to people who were never intended to be covered, like immigrants legal and illegal, this practice must stop. Both programs should be limited to American citizens. Congress has repeatedly added benefits and services with any capability to pay for those services. Both programs need an independent financial and forensic audit, to determine the scope and scale of its insolvency.

Instead of creating an ever-increasing pool of people relying on the government to take care of them, we need to free up the health care market to allow most Americans to provide for themselves.

5. What is your position on federal funding for contraception, the Violence Against Women Act and reproductive rights?

I am confused exactly which enumerated power in the Constitution would justify funding the bedroom behaviors of certain Americans at the expense of others? We need to stop meddling in Americans' lives by taking the fruits of their labor, their hard-earned cash and giving it to others.

The so-called Violence Against Women Act does nothing to protect women from violence, well-meaning nicely named legislation does little to stop violence against women. Perhaps the act should promote and fund self-defense training including training on firearms use and concealed carry for women.

I believe that all unborn children should have the right to reproduce. I am pro-life, 100% pro-life and unapologetically pro-life. I will not rest until we have changed hearts and minds and have protections for ALL life, guaranteed. I believe that every human being is a unique and unrepeatable gift of God, made in His image and likeness, in order to know, love and serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. I believe that every human life begins at the moment of conception and lasts until natural death, and that all people are endowed by their Creator with the inalienable right to life. Without life, no other rights are possible. I believe abortion is nothing less than depriving an innocent child, a person, of their life, their most basic human right, and therefore, abortion is gravely evil and never permissible.

6. What do you consider America's role in world affairs? What are we doing correctly to fill that role? What else should we be doing?

America is the leader of Freedom and Liberty, is the economic engine of the world and is the also the foremost military power in the world.

We should aim to negotiate free and fair-trade deals that put American interest first and renegotiate and revisit bad past trade deals.

On the national security front, we should only be engaged where are interests are being protected and we should always cautiously engage our military, but when necessary act swiftly and decisively, with the appropriate congressional authorizations and oversight.

7. Do you believe climate change is caused by human activity? What steps should government be taking to address the issue?

There is not specific, concrete evidence that human activity has a significant impact on the "theory of man-made climate change," while in contrast there is direct evidence implicating those responsible for promoting that theory of fabrication and falsification of data and evidence to support their claims. There is much evidence to support that climate change occurs naturally and has been for ages, from one Ice Age to another, via a multitude of factors.

I learned long ago in public school that carbon dioxide is plant food. In a process called "photosynthesis," plants use the energy in sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water to sugar and oxygen. Science has yet to prove otherwise. The nonsense of the Obama EPA declaring carbon dioxide a toxic substance when it is a naturally occurring gas and exhaled by every living animal and that the federal government should tax and regulate it, as if it has the wisdom or knowledge to do so is ludicrous.

We need to get Washington out of the business to "save the planet" and start actually focusing on its limited federal roles and functions.