Ann Kirkpatrick - for Arizona

Issues

Economy
Education
Energy
Health Care
Iraq

Economy

Economy

Where are we now?

• The middle class is having a hard time making ends meet and many of you worry that your children will not be better off.


• More and more people need jobs in Arizona. Over 130,000 Arizonans, 4.3% of the workers, were without work in January 2008 – a jump of more than 15,000 from a year earlier.


• Poverty is a major problem. 910,000 Arizona residents have been living in poverty over the last two years, including those most at risk: 21 percent of Arizona’s children are living below the poverty line.


• More and more people are losing their homes. The number of home foreclosures in Arizona increased by 150% in 2007, a year in which Arizona had the eighth highest foreclosure rate in the nation. All told, at least 1.2 million homes in Arizona have dropped in value – adding up to an $8.7 billion decrease in the state’s overall housing values and tax base.


• Are you better off than you were when President Bush took office? The price of gasoline has doubled, nine million more Americans do not have health insurance, college tuition costs have gone up $2,000 annually and our $500 billion budget surplus has become a $400 billion deficit – all during Bush’s watch.

What I Believe and How We Can Change Washington I have worked hard in the legislature to increase jobs and pay in rural Arizona to make new jobs for us.

• Rural Arizona has been left out of the growth picture for too long. While people continue to move to our towns, our roads and bridges have been neglected. Thousands of people have no running water and drive on dangerously crowded roads. We need to build and pave roads, repair bridges and bring running water and electric lights to homes.


• I grew up in Indian country and have seen the hardships of poverty and lack of infrastructure, and have worked hard to help improve basic conditions there, including basic economic necessities like health care, schools, clean water, roads, and electricity.


• Too many Arizonans have to work several low-paying jobs just to make ends meet. Policies that create better jobs will be my highest priority.


• This is a problem too big for counties and the state to handle on their own; Arizona’s first congressional district needs federal dollars to meet these needs, and I plan on bringing them home.


• I know that small businesses are critical in creating jobs and supporting families and will work to support small business growth.


• I will fight to get rid of tax breaks for big companies that ship American jobs overseas instead of hiring people here.


• We need energy from wind, solar and geothermal sources, and we need to use less gasoline so that our country will not have to keep buying foreign oil. We also need new jobs, trained workers and "green" business.

Education

Education

Where are we now?

• Our children deserve good schools.


• Tuition costs keep going up. A college education costs 40 percent more than it did five years ago. In Arizona, college students graduate with an average debt of $18,026.


• Every year, 200,000 qualified students who are accepted into college decide not to go because of the cost.


• The No Child Left Behind Act made promises that were not kept. Since the No Child Left Behind Act was created, over $70 billion in money to schools has been left out of President Bush’s budget which means thousands of under-funded schools do not have the money they need.


• In 2005, 540,382 public school students dropped out of high school. Arizona saw almost 20,000 students fail to graduate.

What I Believe and How We Can Change Washington

• As a teacher at Coconino Community College, I understood the value of education for the future of Arizona. That’s why in the state legislature, I worked with Governor Napolitano to raise teacher pay statewide, and to make voluntary full-day Kindergarten possible. So all of our kids get a good start and are ready to learn.


• Our children deserve far better than what they are getting out of Washington and the Bush Administration. No Child Left Behind is a cute slogan - but it's an ugly policy that has not helped our children learn.


• We need to give our schools and teachers the support they need to be their best. We have to help schools create smaller class sizes, increase all teachers’ pay and bring internet that isn’t constantly breaking down to students in every school. We also have to make college something working families can afford.


• I'll make education a priority - just like I did as a legislator. Instead of snappy slogans I'll work for real change - providing our teachers and schools the support they need to make sure that our children get the best education America can provide.

Energy

Energy

Where are we now?

• The national energy policy we have now is a disaster on many levels, designed to maximize profits for oil companies, giving them billions in taxpayer dollars, while we have to use foreign oil and pay skyrocketing prices at the gas pump and to heat and cool our homes.


• Not only do we pay a lot for oil, the fumes from burning it are bad for the environment. Our dependence on foreign oil is putting America in a precarious position both economically and in terns of national security. America uses 21 million barrels of oil every day.


• Oil and energy companies have a self interest in keeping our energy policy, high fuel prices, and their huge profits. They have used their lobbyists and political money to fight fuel efficient cars and the development of renewable energy.


• Global climate change is a serious threat and we need to act now to protect future generations.

What I Believe and How We Can Change Washington

• I grew up in rural Arizona and have a deep understanding of Arizona’s land and natural wonders. That’s why I have worked hard in the legislature to make our air and water clean, as well as to increase the use of clean renewable energy, like solar power, that can create thousands of good, high paying jobs in a skilled and innovative new "green" economy in Arizona.


• We need a new, smarter national energy policy that uses less foreign oil, and places more emphasis on conservation and developing clean, renewable sources of energy like solar where Arizona can be a world leader.


• Encourage the development of renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biofuels as well as other ways to consume less oil. These efforts will make our country stronger by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Health Care

Health Care

Health Care Where are we now?

• Health care is an issue of survival.


• There are 47 million Americans without health insurance, and 9 million of them are children. Nearly 200,000 Arizona children don’t have health insurance and Arizona has the highest rate of uninsured children in the country who have never been to a doctor or nurse.


• People without insurance work just as hard as everyone else. Over 80 percent of them have jobs.


• Increasing health care costs have also been hard on our small businesses. Over 60 percent of workers without insurance have jobs in small businesses.


• Even for those with health insurance, medical costs can still be more than they can pay. Half of all U.S. bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses, even though two-thirds of bankruptcy filers were covered by a health plan. Health care costs are rising three times faster than wages, and families simply can’t afford it.

What I Believe and How We Can Change Washington

• The health care system in America is in crisis. All of us – those with insurance and without – are suffering from the skyrocketing cost for prescription drugs, doctors and hospitals. In Congress, I will fight for affordable, quality health care for all Americans. We can start by making sure that every child in our district can be seen by a doctor.


• I will work hard to make sure insurance companies stop the practice of denying medical coverage in the name of “pre-existing condition.” This is simple, if someone pays for health insurance then the insurance companies needs to live up to their end of the deal and pay for the cost of care.


• I will allow the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for Medicare.


• Medical care in rural areas cannot be neglected. In the small towns of the 1st Congressional District, health insurance is hard to come by, as is access to doctors, emergency services, and specialized care facilities. We have to find a solution to this crisis of health care that is leaving so many at risk.

Iraq

Iraq

Where are we now?

• Our brave military men and women and their families have made major sacrifices to fight this war in Iraq. Now it is time to honor them and the hardships they have endured and find a responsible end to this war as quickly as possible.
• Ninety brave Arizona troops have died in Iraq and 653 have been wounded. Overall, more than 4,000 troops have been killed and over 29,000 seriously wounded.
• The costs of the war in Iraq have been staggering. Through 2007, taxpayers in the 1st district have paid $729.5 million to pay for the war effort.
• Nearly 1.6 million men and women have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Of those, about a third have been asked to serve multiple deployments.

What I Believe and How We Can Change Washington

• We need to get our troops out of Iraq safely and as soon as possible. We also must look after them once they return and honor them by making sure they can get the best care there is.


• The Arizona National Guard has made great sacrifices to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, the federal government must honor its obligation to retrain, rebuild and re-supply our National Guard to its pre-war capacity.


• My uncles and cousins were veterans who received treatment at V.A. facilities in Arizona, so I understand the importance of doing what we say we will do when soldiers return from fighting for us. That’s why I worked to provide tax credits to the families of all military personnel, fund an Arizona Veterans' home, provide Navajo veterans with housing assistance, and create a Navajo veterans’ memorial park.


• It is time for America to start using the $280 million we're spending every day in Iraq in our own country to improve veteran's benefits once they are home, provide them health care they can afford and build a strong economy and nation, Now is the time to make a change in Iraq. Now is time for America to refocus our efforts in Afghanistan and capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden and deliver a serious blow to the al Qaeda terrorist network.