I often hear from people that are frustrated by leaders in government that just don’t get it.  Too often, politicians are more interested in helping themselves than helping the people they represent and seem more interested in fighting than finding solutions to the serious issues facing our country. The status quo is not good enough; it must change.

When serving in the Army, I drew strength from working together with my fellow soldiers: it didn’t matter where somebody came from, how much money they had or who they voted for. The only thing that mattered was working toward our common goal of protecting the United States. In Congress, I strive to apply this same principle: I’m willing to work with anyone, regardless of political affiliation, if they are dedicated to disrupting the status quo and willing to do the hard problem solving needed to make the United States a better, stronger nation.

Washington, D.C. wastes too much money on programs that don’t work, too much time writing new regulations that are a burden on working Americans, and too much energy finding loopholes to benefit the select few. I pride myself on being a taxpayer watchdog to ensure that every bill passed by Congress benefits the people we are sworn to represent and that decisions are not made just because it’s the politically expedient thing to do.

At the end of the day, we need to restore power to the people, reduce government interference in people’s lives and increase transparency. In short, we need to put people before politics.