Jeff Flake

Jeff Flake

Flake, Jeff (Republican)

Phone: (480) 654-1553

Email: flakeforcongress@gmail.com

(mail: PO Box 21447, Mesa, AZ 85277)

Age: 47 (born:12/31/62, Snowflake, AZ)

Arizona since: Birth

Occupation: U.S. Representative (AZ CD-6) since 2001; executive director, Goldwater Institute, 1992-1999.

Marital: Married (Cheryl, homemaker)

Children: 5

Religious preference: LDS

Education: M.A., 1987, B.A., 1986, BYU.

Memberships have included: Did not respond.

Interests: Did not respond.

Issues

Political influence: Former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater had a profound impact on the development of my political philosophy. Senator Goldwater was able to articulate the case for limited government and personal freedom in a way that shaped my ideology and moved me to action. As a member of Congress, he demonstrated that it is just as important to block bad bills as pass good ones.

Top priority: Immigration reform remains a top priority for me. Arizona bears the brunt of the federal government’s failure to secure the border. Congress needs to enact comprehensive immigration reform that increases border and interior enforcement, creates a temporary worker program, and deals with the millions of illegal immigrants presently in the country without giving them amnesty. I’ve authored such legislation in the past and will continue to champion the issue until Congress passes it.

Respected opponent: Congressman Ron Kind of Wisconsin is a Democrat who I respect a great deal. He represents a congressional district with a lot of agricultural interests, yet that hasn’t dissuaded him from working to eliminate wasteful federal farm subsidies. It may make his reelection campaigns more difficult than they would be otherwise, but he knows it’s the right thing to do.

Wall St bailout: I voted against the Bush Administration’s bailout of Wall Street, as well as subsequent bailouts of various industries by the Obama Administration, because I believe that federal intervention into the private sector creates more problems than it solves. Shielding banks, or automakers, or any other industry from market forces simply prolongs economic uncertainty. There are several tax and regulatory policies that the federal government could enact to aid these industries, but a bailout does little to help them in the long-run.

Stimulus Act: I voted against the so-called stimulus bill because I believed that the bill would have little effect in terms of stimulating the economy. Nearly a year and a half later, it’s difficult to argue that the stimulus bill has done anything but add over a trillion dollars to the national debt.

Health care overhaul: I voted against the Democratic healthcare bill because the bill increased taxes, mandates, and regulations but did little to increase competition or control costs. The country desperately needs healthcare reform, but that need will be even more desperate after this bill is implemented. The country would have been better served if Congress had passed a bill that uses market-based reforms, such as allowing the purchase of health care across state lines and allowing individuals to purchase insurance with pre-tax dollars, to increase competition and bring down costs.