Eckersley

Long	Craig
Primary: I am running for Congress and ask for your vote in the Republican primary because I want your children and mine to have the same opportunities I had. I want our nation to sustain its position of strength and remain a beacon of light to the world. If elected, I will fight Nancy Pelosi and her left-wing followers to lower taxes and slash wasteful spending, ensure we have a strong military, and to promote our values. Learn More About Billy Learn About the Issues end primary:
In Congress, you can expect Billy Long to stand up for the issues that matter to you. He shares the values of the Seventh District and will stand up for your rights. Like you, he is concerned about the damage that career politicians have done to our great country, and he will fight against the policies of entrenched legislators, corrupt pork-barrel politicians, and all others who are more concerned about their legislative career than doing the right thing for southwest Missouri. Billy is not afraid to make tough decisions, which makes him the best choice to be your Congressman.
Billy is also concerned about the direction that some Republicans have taken in abandoning solid conservative principles to appease the Democratic establishment. Billy is not the type of Republican who will say one thing to constituents and another to liberal lobbyists and legislators; he sticks to his guns and will not retreat from conservative ideals. He believes the best way to reinvigorate our party and regain the trust of the citizens is to return to the roots of conservative ideology. Billy will serve as a strong voice for conservative policies in Congress.

End Wasteful Spending With an increasing national debt and growing federal budget deficits, southwest Missouri needs someone in office who will not engage in the pork barrel politics that have been allowed to run Washington. In ten years, the national debt is projected to be $16 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This puts a tremendous debt on every American—more than $37,000 per person at the current level and projected to be much more in the future. This is a debt that will burden future generations if we do not stop the destructive economic policies that have been allowed to run amok in Washington. Our nation cannot afford to stay on this destructive path. The government cannot keep committing future taxpayers to pay for today’s frivolous projects, political patronage, and pork barrel spending. As the only businessperson running, Billy knows how hard it can be to meet payroll and make ends meet, and he will fight to reign in harmful spending and heavy taxes that threaten the viability of families and small businesses. Billy is completely opposed to all earmarks and other frivolous uses of taxpayer money. He knows that runaway spending will lead to higher inflation, which will cause the recession to linger even longer. Click here to view Billy's Earmark Pledge Part 1 Click here to view Billy's Earmark Pledge Part 2
Energy Independence Like Congressman Roy Blunt says, we are the only nation that treats our natural resources as a hazard. We have enough coal to supply our nation for more than 100 years, yet liberals are hesitant to find ways to use it to increase our energy independence safely, cleanly, and affordably. Billy supports research efforts to make clean coal technology economical and supports the construction of additional nuclear power plants to reduce our dependency on fuel from nations who hate America. He also supports increasing our nation’s energy independence by tapping into our own energy reserves by drilling for oil offshore and in ANWR. Access to affordable energy is vital for our country to continue to grow and prosper.
Constitutional Amendment Putting a “LID ON TAXES” In 1974 an initiative petition campaign in California, backed by then Gov. Ronald Reagan, proposed a constitutional limit on the amount of taxes the legislature could take from the taxpayers. In 1980 Missouri’s “Hancock Amendment” was a part of this principal. [sic] It is daily becoming more painfully clear that a Constitutional Amendment limiting the spending and taxing power of the Federal government is the only way to give fiscally conservative Republican and Democrat members of Congress a tool to end the self-destructive cycle of over spending that has gripped Washington D.C. for over half a century. A balanced budget amendment alone, with continued increases in spending, will demand an increase in taxes. By limiting both taxes and spending to a specified percentage of personal income, the government will be forced to do only the constitutionally allowed functions of the Federal government. Taxes As a fiscal conservative, Billy believes that the current tax code stands in the way of economic growth. Our government takes too much, penalizes success, and has created a tax code that is too complex and too long, at nearly 17,000 pages, for the average person to manage. Billy will always support tax relief and will vigorously fight congressional liberals when they seek to increase taxes. Billy is open to either a flat tax or a fair tax as a way to fix our tax system. If elected, Billy will work to streamline the tax system and make sure hard-working Missourians are able to keep more of what they earn.
Combating Illegal Immigration Our nation is built upon laws. People cannot be allowed to come into our nation illegally and become a drain on taxpayer money by taking advantage of our social safety net. Billy opposes liberals’ amnesty efforts, which will do nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigration. Continuing to turn our back on illegal immigration is a national security issue that drains our economy and rewards people who knowingly violate our laws. We literally can no longer afford to ignore this problem.	Combating Unconstitutional Laws Our laws should be built upon the Constitution. Congress cannot be allowed to make things illegal unless the Constitution gives Congress that power. Programs which drain our economy and reward lawbreakers should be abolished. The federal government has no Constitutional authority to create a "social safety net."
Social Values Billy Long is 100% pro-life. If elected, he will oppose the Freedom of Choice Act, a liberal attempt to strengthen the Roe v. Wade decision through federal law. He will also work to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which blocks aid to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning. He believes marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman and will fight any attempts to define it otherwise. He also supports voluntary prayer in schools, as religion is an important part of life and a source for the morals that guide life in American society. Billy understands that our founding fathers established the United States as a country whose citizens enjoyed the freedom of religion not a freedom from religion. His family is built on a foundation of strong Christian values, and he will stand up to defend these values from liberals who wish to do away with the moral center of our nation.
Health Care Billy believes that we must reform healthcare to put patients and doctors in charge of medical decisions. The current health care bill signed by the President takes us in the opposite direction toward a complete government takeover of healthcare. The ultimate aim of this legislative push is to transition the United States to a purely socialist single payer health care system unlike anything the nation has ever experienced before. Billy has pledged to work to repeal the health care law enacted by President Obama and the Democrat Congress. There is a better way to reform health care. Billy supports former Senator Talent’s plan to allow small businesses to pool together to offer insurance. This would allow small business to tap into the economics of scale necessary to get lower cost insurance like that which is available to large business. Eliminating the restrictions on selling insurance across state lines would further reduce costs as a result of increased competition. Health savings accounts, which would allow people to save money tax free for health care use, is another tool that can help families afford medical care. Medical malpractice is out of control and needs to be reformed. Such legal reforms could save 10% on medical bills by tamping down excessive awards, reducing frivolous suits, and lowering the cost of malpractice insurance for doctors. Doctors would also be able to practice less defensive medicine which would realize substantial savings by eliminating unnecessary procedures done solely for the purpose of warding off lawsuits. Billy supports providing families with tax credits so they can purchase a health insurance plan which fits their family’s needs. Rural areas that lack access to certain specialists should have loan forgiveness programs to encourage the provision of care. Rather than expanding government, Billy thinks that we should be cutting down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the existing government programs like Medicare.	The federal government has no authority to regulate malpractice suits. The government should not orchestrate trials and tell juries what to do.
Second Amendment Billy Long believes that government should not impede upon the Second Amendment. The Constitution protects our right to keep and bear arms, whether for defense or sport, and Billy will oppose any effort to weaken this right. He will vigorously fight any attempts to reinstate the assault weapons ban or any other legislation that would limit the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns.
Opposing “Card Check” Legislation The Employee Free Choice Act poses a threat to businesses here in Southwest Missouri. By taking a worker’s right to a secret ballot away, union thugs can pressure their fellow workers. EFCA would also set up a federal mediation board which could be used to cut off negotiations and force arbitration in labor disputes. Instead of business people working out differences with employees, there would be a federal bureaucrat to do it for them. If EFCA becomes law, businesses will pack up and leave for other countries in record numbers. Billy will stand against union bosses and EFCA to protect our economy and our workers.
Protecting Your Property Rights Philosophers and theorists from Adam Smith to John Locke have realized that property rights are the foundation of a market economy and a just society. Too often, government chooses to disregard property rights, taking land and money for questionable projects and giving little to taxpayers in return. Billy will fight to ensure that your rights are respected.
Supporting Free Trade to Open New Markets for Missouri Goods Billy supports free trade, which opens new markets for goods from southwest Missouri, drives the price of goods lower by creating competition, and creates new opportunities for economic growth. Free trade agreements are essential to keeping our nation competitive in the global economy, and Billy will fight to make sure that our government does not obstruct the free operation of the market.