Campaign Kickoff Event, April 29, 2008
I’m here today to announce that I’m running unopposed for the Republican nomination for the United States Congress.
Now why would I take on a career politician like Steve Rothman who’s been in Washington for 12 years? All of you who know me know that I love my country and Public Service is something I feel very strongly about.
RESOLVE IN IRAQ & GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
You know that I was a Sergeant in the United States Army who served a yearlong deployment to Iraq as a Counterintelligence Agent. When I got home from Iraq in 2004 I received an Army Commendation Medal and an Honorable Discharge for serving nine years- a year longer than my eight-year enlistment contract.
Recently I signed up for another six years in the Army Reserves and renewed the security clearance that I’ll need to go back into Intelligence Operations.
Why?…. Because my Country’s at war…. and Because I’m a Soldier.
Steve Rothman voted to authorize to send me to Iraq in 2003. You see, he was for the war, before he was against it. Sound Familiar?
That’s OK,…….I know how politicians feel about public opinion polls…….I just don’t think you make National Security decisions based on opinion polls. More importantly, if a politician has the stomach to authorize troops to go into harm’s way, then he ought to have the stomach to fully fund those troops with everything they need to succeed regardless of which way the political breeze is blowing.
In this Global War on Terror we need leaders that will rally the American people to summon the courage to win. We have the greatest military on the face of the earth, but we cannot win if our political leaders on either side of the aisle lack "Resolve".
| It’s the absence of U.S political Resolve that left accounts unsettled, after the Marine Barracks were bombed in Lebanon in 1983. |
| It’s the absence of Resolve that dismissed the first attempt to bomb the World Trade Center in 1993, as merely a criminal matter. |
| It’s the absence of Resolve that inadequately addressed the bombings of our U.S. Embassies in Africa and the U.S.S. Cole, which painted the perception that America is a "Paper Tiger" to our adversaries in the Muslim World. |
Well even against the most entrenched politicians who wish to legislate Defeat and Surrender,….. Ladies and Gentlemen, …..my resolve is unshakeable.
Given the success of the surge, and the unacceptable consequences of failure, every fellow Iraq War Veteran that I keep in touch with says that in Iraq, and every front of the Global War on Terror,,… the only acceptable outcome is Victory.
I am guided by my first hand experiences and interactions with so many Iraqi children that I met on convoys and in the neighborhoods in Iraq where my duties brought me.
These little children look up to American Soldiers like we’re rock stars. All of us who’ve served in Iraq have heart-warming stories and memories with those kids. In 10, 15 years when they’re old enough to run their country, that’s when we’ll begin to see huge dividends on our investment.
We’ll have a functioning democracy in the Middle East, which is a horrible prospect to our sworn enemies in the region.
One day their children will study the history of great Western powers and read the awesome words of President John F. Kennedy who said,
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
God willing, that’s the moral clarity that I will take with me to the United States Congress- if you send me.
MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS
You all know that I’m married with four boys. My wife and I both work full time jobs to pay our mortgage and our taxes.
I’m a Mortgage Advisor with a small, local community bank and I originate conservative loans that require borrowers to demonstrate good credit, and sufficient income and assets to pay back the mortgage. As a result I’ve never had a borrower of mine go into default or foreclosure. I have qualified thousands of borrowers throughout New Jersey who often work two-jobs and do without a lot of frills to live the American Dream of Home Ownership.
I am now observing the U.S. Housing market going through what most of us in the industry has been expecting for 10 years, a long overdue correction.
For years, the combination of cheap mortgage money and liberal underwriting standards heated up the housing market to unsustainable levels. The introduction of new mortgage products like interest-only loans, short-term adjustable rate mortgages tied to volatile indices, with negative amortization kept the housing market booming. When these products started being offered with little money down, no money down and at loan to values of up to 125% of the value of the collateral to people with lower credit scores, and on a no-income verification basis, a train wreck seemed not a matter of "If" but "When".
Now people need urgent relief from a monthly mortgage payment that’s literally bankrupting them. In Washington, members of both Parties seem like they’re in a race to see who can throw the most money at the problem quickest.
But in their haste I do not want to see New Jersey’s homeowners, in Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties, most of whom work hard to pay their mortgage on time and already live in the most overtaxed, expensive area of the country, have to bail out reckless consumers from other states who borrowed much more than they could afford, or bought a property to flip with a risky ARM, that subsequently wouldn’t appraise, or falsified their income on the mortgage application. That would be wrong and that’s what I want to protect New Jersey’s taxpayers against.
Most distressed homeowners facing default or foreclosure want to pay, but cannot. Most lenders do not want to foreclose on a home, which is very expensive and time consuming, and would much rather work with borrowers.
Lenders can do their part by temporarily modifying these loans to forty or fifty year amortization, or by offering an interest-only option for up to 36 months. The foregone principal payments would not be lost, as would be the case with Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank’s proposal, it would simply be added to the principal balance. This way the borrower averts foreclosure and the lender still gets paid. The Federal Government could offer tax incentives for lenders to make these modifications and borrowers could salvage their home and their credit rating. In the meantime, when market conditions settle, borrowers could refinance out of the original volatile mortgage product into a more fixed, stable, conforming or government-insured loan through the Federal Housing Administration, known as the FHA.
I am a huge fan of FHA mortgages, which help working class families buy a home, without having to come up with a large down-payment. FHA mortgages have flexible guidelines and are insured against default by the Federal Government by charging a mortgage insurance premium to the borrower. The FHA is actually a profitable agency of the Federal Government that generates revenue.
As Congressman I want to expand the FHA to allow forty and fifty year amortization mortgages to lower income borrowers, which is a much cheaper alternative than forcing towns and developers to build Affordable Housing Units.
TAX RELIEF & RESTRAINING FEDERAL SPENDING
It has become so expensive to live in Bergen County, Hudson county and Passaic county that I know I speak for everyone here when I say "We could sure use some Tax Relief."
Do you know that New Jersey still lags at the bottom of our 50 states when you compare the Tax money our hard-working families send to Washington DC, to the money we get back?
Steve Rothman’s been there for 12 years! Do you want to rehire him for another term?
If you send me to Congress I intend to....
Vote to require a minimum 2/3rds majority of Congress to take any more of your hard-earned money in new revenue
These are ways we can protect New Jersey’s economy and stop all of these jobs and workers from leaving our state.
PROTECTING JOBS & SMALL BUSINESSES
Across the train tracks in Rutherford, I’m President of the Chamber of Commerce and I serve on the Board of Directors in my Regional Chamber.
I appreciate and identify with small business owners who need relief from taxation and burdensome regulation which only kill jobs and drive businesses out of New Jersey.
We need to lower the cost of health care for small businesses and working families through Associated Health Plans, Tax-free Health Savings Accounts, Medical Liability Reform, and Health Information Technology.
We need to have Free, Fair and Open Trade with other Democracies, and protect American jobs against our adversaries who engage in unfair trading practices.
BORDER SECURITY
We need to protect our Borders against Illegal Immigration.
To me, as a soldier who has served in the Global War on Terror, it’s not about immigration. In a post 9/11 era, it’s a matter of National Security. We must secure our borders once and for all.
In his 12 year career in Congress, Steve Rothman has failed time after time to vote to fund measures that would secure our border.
Last year, just six months after the Democrats took majority control of Congress, they had an opportunity to vote on a proposal to provide the funds necessary to construct at least two layers of reinforced fencing ~ Physical barriers, Roads, Lighting, Cameras, and Sensors along the border and guess how they voted? No!
Guess how Steve Rothman voted? No!
Well When Steve Rothman asks us to re-elect him this November how are WE going to vote? …..NO!
REAL CHANGE
Not because I dislike my opponent- I don’t. I’ve met the Congressman and I respect him. I’m running against him because on all these issues I’ve raised, I believe Steve Rothman is wrong, and is out of step after 12 years in Washington.
I’m running because it’s time for a change.
Change isn’t easy. It requires more than "The Audacity of Hope".
Whether in Iraq or in Washington DC- Change requires Resolve and Perseverance.
If I didn’t believe in Resolve and Perseverance I wouldn’t be challenging the incumbent again.
One of my favorite quotations - that I keep on my desktop in my office - is from President Calvin Coolidge who said:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; un-rewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are Omnipotent."
So in closing my friends, I’m guided by these principles and am stepping up to confront these challenges now, while they’re still manageable, rather than leaving them to my four young children to overcome because I’d shirked from my duty.
I am responding to what I see as the great call of my generation- to protect our American jobs, our economy, our national security and our homeland.
Thank you very much.
