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About Doug LaMalfa

Background

Doug LaMalfa is a fourth generation rice farmer and businessman. He and his family made their home in Northern California and have lived here all of their lives. Doug attended local schools and grew up learning the value of hard work and community service.

Doug earned his degree in Ag/Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He now manages the family farming business originally founded by his great-grandfather in 1931.

Conservative Leadership

Doug is a strong voice for the North State’s agriculture and resources based economy and for the First District’s farms and businesses. A conservative leader, Doug LaMalfa has opposed increasing taxes and is a stalwart defender of Proposition 13. With a proven record of fighting on behalf of working families, Doug believes that taxpayers know better than bureaucrats and politicians how to spend and invest their own hard-earned money. He opposed the giant spending packages in Washington and cut taxes.

Water Rights and Resources

Water is the North State’s most precious natural resource and Doug LaMalfa believes in protecting our water rights and developing more water storage. He has continually advocated for increasing California’s water supply, and passed legislation authorizing construction of Sites Reservoir. He also wrote and passed language to protect North State water from Southern California water grabs.

Agriculture and Forestry

Agriculture and Forestry have been the backbone of northern California’s economy for generations and Doug LaMalfa has made it a priority to educate his fellow legislators on the importance of resource industries and the beneficial stewardship they provide. In Congress, Doug successfully co-wrote and passed legislation to thin overgrown forests and protect our rural communities from catastrophic wildfires.

Core Principles

Doug LaMalfa’s firm beliefs are that government should do no harm and that limited government means government should do only what people cannot do for themselves, in the most efficient manner possible.

Issues and Policy Positions

Spending

Spending is out of control, in the past years our nation has added over $10 trillion in new debt. This is not a one party spending problem, both have been complicit in increasing spending dramatically. Today, America faces $31 trillion in debt, and much of it belongs to foreign countries hostile to our freedom and way of life. Now is the time – we must face these challenges. To simply put off dealing with this debt only makes it worse.

One way to deal with our debt is to scale back the federal government and return to the private sector any job done by the federal government that is duplicated by a business. Another is to reduce the duplicative regulations by dueling agencies, such as in Siskiyou County where US Fish and Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US EPA all try to regulate water use. These agencies cannot agree on the regulations and disagree with the state while the rancher is stuck in the middle. Disputes such as this costs jobs and money is wasted attempting to maintain overlapping agencies.

Taxes

It is not the taxpayers fault that government overspends. Increasing tax rates or creating new types of taxes will harm our economy and cause more local businesses to cut jobs or close entirely. America needs to promote growth in our economy and that means keeping taxes low. We do not need more tax rate increases – we need more taxpayers.

I am proud to have consistently fought against higher taxes and I pledge to you, the citizens of Northern California, to not increase your taxes. I am proud to have helped craft and pass tax cuts that mean an additional $2,000 in the pocket for the typical North State Family.

The Constitution

America’s founding fathers created a balance, one of individual rights, states rights and limited federal government. Our Constitution sets forth that government is designed to protect our individual rights and that all power belongs to the people rather than bestowed by Government.

I view my role as that of a representative of the people, someone who fights for them against the overreach of government or those who would violate their rights endowed by our creator and the constitution.

The Second Amendment

I am an ardent defender of our Second Amendment rights. I believe firmly in the individual right to keep and bear arms. I will fight any attempt to water down or weaken our rights, while pushing to ensure our rights to hunt and defend ourselves are expanded.

I am proud to have earned an A rating and the endorsements of the NRA and Gun Owners of America.

Foreign Aid

America should not fund our enemies. I find it unconscionable that Americans should sacrifice from their families as well as our courageous military members to support those who oppose our way of life and freedom. If a country cannot stand with America publicly, defend our embassies, oppose terrorists, and be a partner on the world stage we should not give financial or military aid. Given recent attacks against American interests around the world we need to cut off all foreign aid to those countries.

I support humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine to those in need when and where appropriate.

Immigration

America needs a clear and enforceable policy that promotes legal immigration and does not reward illegal immigration. Amnesty is not an acceptable option. Everyone who enters the country needs to have legal documentation.

The existing policy does not work and America sends a mixed message when it says to those who come here illegally: “don’t come but if you do we’ll provide drivers licenses and in-state tuition or a sanctuary city to live in.” We need to build a permanent physical structure to prevent illegal border crossings, while also creating a legal process that works for legal immigration and an efficient guest worker program for agriculture workers.

Veterans

America’s Veterans deserve our respect and our commitment to them needs to be unwavering. These men and women have fought, sacrificed and died to keep our country free and safe. I will fight to ensure they receive the care and treatments they were promised in a prompt and timely manner as well as proper equipment on the front lines.

Social Security & Medicare

We must keep our promise to America’s seniors. Older Americans have spent their lives contributing to the system and expect a guarantee of Social Security and Medicare in retirement. In Washington I will work to ensure that Social Security and Medicare continue to be viable programs that are stable and self-sufficient.

In 2010 for the first time in history Social Security spent more in payments than it received in receipts. Doing nothing in the long term will lead to a total collapse of the system and is completely unacceptable. Congress should work to preserve the benefits that those at or near retirement have anticipated, while also guaranteeing that future generations have the ability to control and plan for their eventual retirements.

In repealing Obamacare we will immediately overturn the $718 billion cut made to Medicare. Cutting the cost of doing business is critical, such as addressing defensive medicine, malpractice reform, and increasing competition. Additionally allowing more consumer choice and competition across state lines will help to lower medical costs for all Americans.

Energy Policy

America needs a coherent energy policy that promotes the domestic production of energy. The last administration did everything in its power to prevent new domestic oil and natural gas from coming to market especially on our public lands where vast reserves are known. As a result our state has seen ridiculously high gas prices.

Five-dollar gas is a direct result of failed government policies that must change now and these outrageous prices affect everyone in our state and drive up the cost of business as well as break the family budget. In Washington I will fight for the wise use of our domestic resources so that Americans have the benefit of lower prices at the pump and lower power bills at home. There are simple common sense solutions that will help our economy while keeping our environment clean.

Common Sense Solutions

Support Increasing Production in an Environmentally-Safe Way

  • Expand exploration of natural gas, oil, and coal by removing restrictions and opening new land
  • Promote clean coal-to-liquid and remove outdated regulations restricting our vast oil shale reserves
  • Use new domestic production to reduce foreign imports (often from those unfriendly to America) and reduce the price at the pump, including new pipelines to prevent spills

Develop New, Clean, and Reliable Sources of Power

  • Clean-burning natural gas is a good option
  • Hydroelectric power is the cheapest, most reliable and cleanest power available and I support protecting existing facilities and building more
  • Biomass is an important solution to help clean our forests of overgrowth and produce the stable base-load power we need
  • I support wind, solar, and geothermal power where and when cost effective

Cut Red Tape and Increase Supply

  • Expedite the energy production permitting process
  • Expand our nuclear energy capabilities
  • Improve environmental review so it is not a roadblock