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Ben Quayle
Quayle, Ben (Republican)
Phone: (602) 492-4236
Email: bquayle@quayleforcongress.com
4247 N 44th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018
Age: 33 (born:11/05/76, Ft. Wayne, IN)
Arizona since: 1996-2002, 2006
Occupation: Managing director, Tynwald Capital; associate, Snell & Wilmer, LLP; associate, Schulte, Roth & Zabel, LLP.
Marital: Married (Tiffany)
Religious preference: Christian
Education: J.D., Vanderbilt University School of Law, 2002; B.A., history, Duke University, 1998.
Political experience: None.
Memberships have included: Executive Council of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix; Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation Bd.
Interests: Hiking, running, reading, outdoor activities.
Issues
Political influence: My parents.
Top priority: The immediate priority for Arizona in the next Congress should be border security. We need a stand-alone bill that creates a continuous barrier, physical and electronic, from the Pacific to the Gulf. We need to hire and train enough Border Patrol agents to guard the border. In the meantime, we need the National Guard to defend the border, prevent the drug war in Mexico from spilling over into Arizona and stop illegal immigration. The top priority for the country in the longer term is restoring the finances and economy of the United States. We have to cut spending and that includes entitlement reform. While we need to keep the programs as they are for those in retirement or near it, we need to make changes for my generation. We need to raise the retirement and benefits age. We need to change the defined benefits programs to defined contribution programs. We need to supplement the government programs with incentives for private health savings accounts.
Respected opponent: Former Senator Sam Nunn. While I do not agree with many of his positions, Senator Nunn often put country and principle before his own interests and the interests of his party. Senator Nunn was often a voice of reason in the Democratic Party on national security issues.
Wall St bailout: The bailout of Wall Street went too far. Failure is an integral part of our economic system. It is a great incentive to make prudent decisions and to succeed. Government intervention in the market place, bad risk management on the part of lenders and investors, misplaced incentives and simple greed all contributed to the financial crisis. We need legislation that allows for the orderly dissolution of large banks and businesses that have failed, not more government intervention, bailouts or crony capitalism.
Stimulus Act: The so-called stimulus has not worked. Government does not create jobs very well. Instead of earmarking funds for supporters back in their districts, Congress ought to lower taxes and reduce the burdens on small business to get the economy growing again and let the private sector create jobs.
Health care overhaul: I am opposed to Obamacare. The federal health care package is an enormous burden on small business that is already stifling growth and job creation. It adds billions to our liabilities. It does nothing to control soaring health care costs. We constantly find out about more destructive federal mandates and regulations buried in this law. We need to repeal Obamacare and vote for real reform including expanded health care saving accounts, tort reform, allowing citizens to buy out of state insurance and increasing competition between insurers.