Issues & Topics

Drug addiction particularly prescription drug abuse is a uniquely American crisis that is not limited to demography or geography. The United States accounts for less than 5% of the world’s population yet consumes more than 80% of the world’s opioids and 99% of its hydrocodone. 

Addiction is the #1 epidemic facing our country and our communities. Two counties in our district – Bristol, and Barnstable – have the highest per capita overdose rates in Massachusetts, respectively.
 

As a medical-surgical nurse in an acute care community hospital, Dan observes the devastation of substance abuse to addicts, their families, our communities and our country. 

Dan supports a common-sense approach to the addiction epidemic by bringing the drug dealers and traffickers to justice for crimes against humanity while extending mercy to the addicts and their families with interdiction, intervention, and treatment programs.  

The four basic elements of a country, or nation-state, are population, territory, government, and sovereignty. Territory is defined by borders. You cease to have a sovereign country when you cease to enforce and defend your territorial borders.

Illegal migration particularly across our southern border is a national emergency and a humanitarian and public health crisis. Over 95% of all the fentanyl that floods our communities and country comes from China via Mexico into the United States and ultimately into our neighborhoods, communities, and country causing pain and suffering, death and misery.

Dan supports a common-sense approach to illegal migration and drug/human/sex trafficking by securing our borders, enforcing established international immigration laws and enabling legal immigration with priority consideration to immigrants with applied science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills/talents. Dan supports prosecuting drug/human/sex traffickers for crimes against humanity. 

Over the past 10 years, tax-exempt charities in the U.S. have almost doubled and one feature that they all seem to have in common is that they act as a tax shelter and their creators get wealthier.  Although many of these tax-exempt charities may be bona fide, there are others that appear to be bogus functioning as tax shelters, personal piggy banks, and private slush funds. 

With the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Nurse Dan believes that these agents should investigate tax-exempt charities to ensure they are serving their missions, rather than the 99% of ordinary taxpayers who don't have exotic tax shelters.

The two biggest issues that concern Nurse Dan with regard to tax-exempt charities are: 1) where does the money come from and, 2) how is the money spent?  

This is especially alarming when you consider that many tax-exempt charities receive their funding from government sources funded by you the taxpayer. Nurse Dan believes that any charity funded substantially with taxpayer money needs to be asterisked as a Taxpayer-Funded Tax-Exempt Charity with more stringent disclosure requirements regarding the use of the funds.  

Charities are an essential and important part of what makes America great. But, as a taxpayer, voter, and candidate for United States Congress, Nurse Dan believes that tax-exempt charities should largely subsist on the voluntary charitable contributions of those who believe in the missions they want to support, and not mostly from taxpayer-funded government welfare.

Historic inflation particularly with soaring gas and food prices caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats' reckless spending (printing money), bailouts, and handouts are draining the earnings and savings of our working and middle classes and our seniors. Rising interest rates due to the historic inflation rate coupled with declining stock markets and shrinking retirement savings foreshadow imminent recession.

Dan supports a common-sense approach to stop the historic inflation by ending the liberal democrats’ bailouts, handouts, and giveaways. Spending should be commensurate with our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and not by Joe Biden and the democrats recklessly printing paper money and pumping it into the pockets of bankrupt liberal big cities, over-extended/under-funded government pension funds, Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and a myriad of bogus non-profits/not-for-profits that peddle wokeism, political correctness, and cancel-culture.

Dan supports affordable home ownership by providing tax incentives to owner-occupied residential homes particularly first-time buyers and tax disincentives to private equity, venture capital, and foreign national takeover of our residential markets.

Dan supports the conservation, preservation, and reservation (CPR) of mother nature and our natural resources—land, water, and air. Disrupting and destroying our nature in the name of clean energy or climate change is not environmentally friendly. 

Dan supports a common-sense approach to stop soaring fuel/gas prices by creating energy independence by leveraging the synergies of clean coal, natural gas, next-gen nuclear power, and renewable/green energies.

Dan supports eco-friendly renewable/green energy projects and sensible and reasonable reduction of carbon emissions.  But, Joe Biden and the so-called Progressives' push for decarbonization is unattainable and unsustainable if we want a thriving modern economy and society wherein the have-nots become the haves.  Civilization would be reduced to deprivation.  Equality would devolve into depravity.  Hope would turn to despair.  

In our own district, well-intended and highly publicized projects like Vineyard Wind off Martha's Vineyard, and Mayflower Wind off Falmouth, may not be as eco-friendly as they are promoted by Joe Biden and the so-called Progressives.

Dan supports first responders serving on the frontlines of public safety. 

Dan backs the Blue and supports the qualified immunity doctrine except in cognizable instances of the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate established law. 

Our federal government’s first obligation is the welfare and protection of the American people and their sovereign right to rule themselves without deference to any foreign entity or international body. 

Dan believes in peace through strength which requires a strong national defense. 

Dan opposes funding or waging useless/endless foreign wars. Dan opposes the warrantless invasion of privacy of American citizens in the name of national security, domestic extremism or public health.

Dan supports terms limits and mandatory retirement ages for all members of the U.S. Congress. Dan supports a ban on insider stock trading and preferential bank loans for all members of Congress and their families. 

Dan also supports a ban on the revolving door of bureaucrats and special interests at the CDC, NIH, FDA, IRS, SEC, and the Pentagon and a ban on 3rd party payments to government bureaucrats. 

Dan also supports a ban on the politically-correct, cancel-culture social credit scoring scheme (ESG). 

Dan supports the Second Amendment. Dan supports common-sense gun safety for lawful gun owners.  Dan opposes the conflation of lawful gun ownership with gun violence. The majority of gun deaths are suicides which speaks to issues of mental health and substance abuse. 

The majority of gun violence and mass shootings are related to gang violence which speaks to matters of law and order, cultural/societal decline, and recent criminal justice reform initiatives that amount to get-out-of-jail-free passes and no cash-bails that lead to surging crime waves/sprees. 

Healthcare and medicine are basic human rights. Dan supports a common-sense blend of private and public (government) health insurance options. Dan believes in medical freedom and opposes one-size-fits-all healthcare and medical mandates. Dan believes that patients and their families in consultation with their healthcare providers should make individual medical choices.

Politicians and bureaucrats should not be making unilateral medical decisions for us.   

Dan believes in the unalienable rights of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the concepts of self-government and sovereignty. Dan believes that equal rights are human rights. 

Dan believes in the primacy of the Bill of Rights, particularly individual liberty and states’ rights. Dan believes in the application of the law based on the rule of law, due process, equal protection under the law, and justice (truth) tempered with mercy. 

Dan opposes court packing. 

Dan supports the equality of opportunity as opposed to the equity of outcomes. 

Dan opposes the erosion of individual liberties in the name of national security, domestic terrorism, or public health.   

Dan believes in America First and Made-in America, Buy in America. Dan believes in free and fair competitive trade. As a dues-paying labor union member, Dan supports American labor and American manufacturing. 

Dan opposes outsourcing and selling out of jobs, incomes, and industries to China.

Dan supports 100% exemption of social security benefits from individual taxes.  Dan also supports the elimination of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) that penalize our seniors from independently managing their own retirement savings after the federal retirement age. 

Dan believes that the free enterprise system is the best means for Americans to achieve their hopes and dreams. The free market is the most efficient and least costly system to deliver the highest quality goods and services at the lowest price to the consumer. 

Dan supports the free enterprise system through legislation to reduce or eliminate intrusive or obstructionist government regulation in the marketplace. Dan supports buy-small, buy-locally.

Dan believes in the preferential treatment of veterans and their families, particularly in matters of healthcare, addiction, mental health, and homelessness. Dan supports reservists and national guards receiving full VA benefits.  

Dan supports national Voter I.D. and a national federal election holiday to ensure election integrity and prevent election/voter fraud.  Make it easy to vote but hard to cheat.