In an effort to give voters as much information as possible on each of the candidates running for the Republican nomination in Texas' CD-18, I am providing a forum for answers to various questions. These answers are verbatim from the candidates. No endorsement is either intended or implied for any candidate in the series.

In this installment, candidate John Faulk tells voters what his top three issues are in his quest unseat Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

The three most important issues for Texas 18th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ARE:

One and Two - Economy and Jobs

Sheila Jackson Lee’s first vote in the 111^th Session of Congress was to elect Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House.  Then, walking in step with the other liberals in Congress, Sheila supported Obama’s so-called stimulus plan, a massive government spending program that will prolong the recession, stifle job creation, create runaway inflation and raise your taxes to pay for trillions of dollars in new government commitments.  Sheila Jackson-Lee, Nancy Pelosi, and Obama are using taxpayer money to create a slush fund to bribe legislators for their votes in support of Obama’s economy-killing initiatives.

The United States has now been forced to borrow more money from China in order to keep our economy moving. A newborn baby currently inherits ~$150,000 in debt at birth.  As interest rates climb the debt will rise and jobs in the Texas 18^th Congressional District will continue to disappear.  Both your and my grandchildren will be paying for Sheila’s folly for their entire careers.

Sheila Jackson-Lee and her cronies want what they call a “level playing field” in America, which means all of us working stiffs will be on the bottom and liberal elitists like Sheila Jackson-Lee and her ACORN cronies will be on top.  The left wing liberals will destroy the self-reliance of the American people which has been the backbone of America’s greatness.  Instead they will make the middle class wards of the state by making them dependent upon the government for everything – that is what “health care reform” as it is now being proposed is all about.

Cap and Trade and “Health Care Reform”, which are both supported by Sheila Jackson-Lee , will continue to kill the economy and jobs in the Texas 18 Congressional District, the City of Houston, Harris County , the State of Texas, and the entire USA.  Sheila Jackson-Lee ran an op-ed piece in the Houston Chronicle clearly stating that Cap and Trade will result in job losses.  However, according to Jackson-Lee, we should not be concerned because these lost energy jobs will be off set by Green jobs.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee supports of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 – commonly known as the Cap and Tax - arguing that once enacted, the bill will be just the tonic needed to cure unemployment in the State of Texas and will bring many other benefits to the 18^th Congressional District.  Congresswoman Jackson-Lee touts that H.R. 2454 will create 1.7 million well-paying “green jobs” and new businesses in the energy sector, will generate energy efficiency savings for Houstonians, will reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, will “preserve our planet” and is so benevolent that the bill even has provisions to assist displaced petroleum workers to find some of these new green jobs.  Can you describe to me a “green” job that a formerly well paid upper middle class refinery worker will get after being laid off when the Cap and Tax legislation is passed?

Unfortunately, this 1,400-plus page monstrosity of a bill is in reality nothing more than a disguised, massive energy tax.  I do not know whether or not Congresswoman Jackson-Lee was among the few who took the time to read the legislation before voting to pass it this summer, but if she did, I am surprised at how out of step a member of Congress can be with her constituents.  Even a casual reading reveals that H.R. 2454 represents the largest single tax increase in American history.  Sheila Jackson-Lee and her Cap and Tax bill will have a devastating effect on Houston’s economy. ENERGY JOBS WILL BE LOST!

There is little doubt that the enormous redistribution of resources from industries heavily dependent on traditional forms of energy to those chosen by the government will aid in creating some new jobs within specialized industries such as wind and solar power.  However, any new jobs created will be dwarfed by those lost in other sectors of our economy, particularly industries related to energy production and transformation, energy-intensive manufacturing and consumer goods manufacturing.  In a recent study, the Heritage Foundation estimates that H.R. 2454 will reduce average employment in the United States by a net 1.14 million jobs every year from 2012 through 2035.  There is no doubt that a significant share of those job losses will be borne by Houston, home of the oil and gas industry and many of our nation’s refineries.

H.R. 2454 will also result in a substantial increase in the cost of electricity and gasoline.  There are numerous studies with wide ranging predictions of the additional burden that will be placed on American families from the increases in these basic necessities, but the consensus is unanimous – costs for Houstonians will go up.  Even President Obama stated that under his Cap and Trade plan, “electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket”.

It is also not clear how the bill can possibly reduce our dependence on foreign oil since H.R. 2454 does nothing to promote development of America’s fossil fuel resources and relies on energy coming from large-scale deployment of unproven and yet-to-be developed technologies and alternative energy sources.

I agree with Congresswoman Jackson-Lee that we need to get folks back to work and that we need to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.  However, I do not support legislation that increases the taxes of Houstonians while at the same time taking away their jobs.

Instead, I believe the right way to get more Houstonians, Texans and Americans working now while simultaneously increasing our national energy security is to do what we in Houston do best – greatly expand the exploration, development, production and delivery of all forms of our nation’s abundant energy resources.  Houston is the energy capital of America and our companies can lead the way to transform our country’s untapped oil, gas and coal reserves into more secure, stable and affordable supplies of energy to power our industries, heat and cool our homes and run our modes of transportation.

In addition, utilization of America’s natural resources is in no way a call to abandon or impede the continued development of new, cleaner, renewable forms of energy.  Traditional energy companies are already among the leaders in developing alternative energy and many are located right here in Houston.  Profits generated from proven business models will allow these firms to expand their alternative energy efforts, including adding “green” jobs.  Government has a role to play as well.  Federal revenue generated from the sale of new oil and gas leases (fees that energy firms will happily pay) can and should be used to directly support research into new, renewable energy technology.

Sheila Jackson Lee and the other incumbent members of Congress have ignored the devastating effects that will result from the enactment of H.R. 2454.  I hope you will join up as a volunteer on my campaign so that we can have a realistic discussion about America’s energy future.

Constituent Services - #3

Constituent Services is one of the major responsibilities of a US Representative and it is one of the easiest to manage.  Every executive department in the Administration has a Congressional Liaison Office that is charged with expediting congressional inquiries. If a constituent of the TEXAS 18 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT has a problem with Social Security, IRS, VA or any other governmental agency upon their inquiry all the congressional office needs to do is open a word template and fill in the material information and send the inquiry to the appropriate agency.  Each agency has established published time lines to respond to the Representative.  These inquiries can then be easily managed by entering it into a data base (there are several Constituents Management software on the market i.e. Aristotle (http://www.aristotle.com/content/view/91/116/ ).  I have managed large highly-sophisticated medical organizations from physician employee to orderlies.  This experience has provided me with the skills necessary to manage a Congressional Office.

“Since Sheila Jackson Lee has one of the highest staff turnover rates in Congress (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sheila_Jackson_Lee) and since she has shown a lack of embracing technology, constituent inquires routinely go unanswered.  Records acquired under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that Jackson Lee has done a fraction of the casework -- inquiries or intercessions with the federal government on behalf of residents -- done by other Houston-area lawmakers.

For example, Jackson Lee, who has been critical of the Social Security Administration for mishandling the appeals of Texans who have been denied disability insurance, wrote the agency on behalf of (only) 79 constituents since taking office in 1995.”

Between 1995, when Sheila Jackson-Lee took office, through 2001 she mismanaged about 125 full time staff employees.  That equates to about ~ 18 Full Time Equivalent turnovers each year. With a current staff of 21 including 3 part-timers/shared employee and 5 new hires in the 2009 3^rd quarter, we can assume that her full time staff is ~ 20 to 22.  Therefore an average staff dismissal of 18 per year out of a staff of 22, Sheila Jackson-Lee’s job turnover rate would be ~82%! (http://www.legistorm.com/member/297/Rep_Sheila_Jackson_Lee/64/staffer/asc.html)

How can anyone satisfy the needs and requests of their constituency when there is no institutional history in the office?

Visit John Faulk's Website: Faulk For Congress