Peggy Wardlaw

Peggy Wardlaw

FOR CONGRESS. COMMONSENSE. COMMONGROUND.

I am Peggy Wardlaw, and I am running for the Texas Congressional District 21 seat because I believe Washington needs somebody that will focus on solving problems not raising more money or getting reelected.

My roots in Central Texas go deep.  I was born on a farm just north of Austin that has been in our family since 1852.  My Aunt Madge told me what she was told by her Grandma Maggie “You can eat dirt and go naked but never sell this land.” I never saw my kinfolks actually eat dirt or go naked but set a goal and we will accomplish it!

As the oldest of six children, I was taught the values of hard work, personal responsibility and kindness. I married Malcolm, the boy I met at Travis High School in Austin and we have 6 wonderful children and have started and run 3 successful businesses. I’ve worn many hats in my life. I know how to solve problems and how to fix things. I want to take these deeply held family values to Washington.

  • I believe Texas voters are smarter than most politicians give them credit for.
  • I believe you can’t be bought by a catchy slogan, a simplistic solution.
  • I believe you have commonsense.
  • I respect you too much to just tell you what I think should be done in Washington, so I’ve spent years asking my fellow Texans “What is important to you?” and really listening to the answers. What I have heard, over and over, is that that despite all our different backgrounds, political beliefs, and heritage, we have similar values.
Peggy Wardlaw

Education

Political Career

Healthcare

We want quality, affordable healthcare.  The parents of a child who gets cancer or an adult with a life threatening illness should be focusing on getting well and not worrying about falling into bankruptcy. The United States pays almost twice as much as any developed country in the world for healthcare and yet ranks near the bottom among developed nations in life expectancy and infant mortality.

I propose doing a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis of the following proposals:

Medicare

Lowering the Medicare age to 55.

Competition

Increasing competition between insurance companies across state lines.

Choice

Giving people a greater choice in the type of insurance they want to purchase, minimal or comprehensive.

Clarity

Insurance benefits should be easy to understand and easy to compare policies to each other.

Tax Benefits

The cost of an insurance policy should be deductible to the individual the same as if an employer purchased it.

Portability

Making insurance portable between jobs. Your insurance policy should belong to you not your employer.

Radical Transparency

A hospital is the one place you go in without the slightest idea of how much anything costs.  I favor requiring healthcare providers and pharmacies to publically provide a comprehensive list of charges for common procedures, medicines and supplies.

Small Business

Small Businesses are the seeds of our economy.  They need nurturing to grow.  As the founder of three businesses, I know that what we need is less regulation and greater access to capital.  Small Businesses account for 64% of net new employment in our country.

Regulation

We want regulations that reasonably protect us but don’t unduly burden those trying to start a small business.

Banking

We want reasonable access to capital for small businesses to grow. Necessary banking regulations for big banks, often make it difficult for local banks to loan money in their community.  I will work for reasonable regulatory policies for local banks.

Net Neutrality

Tomorrow’s jobs involve technology beyond our wildest dreams. We need equality of internet speeds to allow the Amazon or Facebook of tomorrow to have access to the, fast internet speeds that it needs to succeed.

Internet

Access to high speed internet in rural areas is a necessity.  The Connect America Fund is a vital part of that important initiative. But our tax dollars need to be spent wisely by using procurement auctions to allocate broadband stimulus grants as over 70 economists have advocated.

Immigration Policy

We are a nation of immigrants.  We may say we are Irish, Chinese, Mexican, Jamaican or some other ethnic group.  We even have companies to test our DNA and tell us all about it.

What makes us American is not our skin color or religion but our Core Values of Self-Responsibility, Honesty, Equality, Liberty, Kindness, and the Opportunity to become the person God intended us to be.

Border Security

We need to use 21st century technology with increased personnel to secure all of our borders including our airports and seaports.  Listen to the landowners in South Texas and ask them what works.

DACA

I am in favor of DACA because it has clear requirements for young people who have resided in the US for over 10 years, came as children and have not had access to legal immigration status under other laws. I want them working and paying taxes!

Immigration Reform

The current immigration laws are broken. We need a comprehensive immigration policy that recognizes that we need hard-working immigrants in farming, construction, technology, healthcare and many other fields. I propose a policy where the fees from legal immigration are used for rigorous, rapid background checks of a sufficiently large pool of applicants to meet the needs of employers.

While the wait time for legal family immigration from most countries is 5 to 10 years, for Mexican citizens it is over 20 years.  Together, we can design a Commonsense policy that provides  legal immigration and strengthens our nation’s workforce.

Veterans

Acceptance of service-related training in civilian careers and the best healthcare services should be guaranteed for all veterans.

Jobs

While serving in the military, our Veterans learn invaluable technical and job skills. They are disciplined and hard working but sometimes have difficulties transitioning to a civilian job after their service is complete. Skills and certifications earned in the military should be easily transferrable to civilian jobs. Career and job training should be readily available to all Veterans.

Healthcare

We’ve all seen the headlines about the long wait times veterans often face for VA heathcare. .It’s a travesty. Veterans who have served our country should be provided prompt access to civilian doctors if the VA system cannot help them within a short and defined period of time.  When a family member cares for a wounded veteran, that caregiver should be provided a salary to help support the family. Caring for a wounded hero should never place a family in a financial hardship.

Gun Control

I’ve struggled with what a Commonsense Gun Policy for the United States would look like.  Here it is.

  • I believe that we all want to feel safe in our schools, homes and communities.
  • I believe that the Second Amendment, as upheld by the Supreme Court, guarantees individuals the right to own firearms.
  • I believe that responsible gun owners want to keep criminals from having guns.

Fact:  Most mass shootings are committed with Assault Style Weapons purchased legally.
Fact:  Most homicides are committed with handguns obtained illegally.

I propose the following changes:

  • Outlaw Clips Larger than 10 Bullets.  Hunters have one target, mass murderers have multiple targets. Sports shooters have time to reload clips, mass shooters do not.
  • A Tiered System for Gun Purchases. 
    • Tier 1: could be simple, single-shot rifles and shotguns which could be purchased with a simple background check at a younger age.
    • Tiers 2 & 3: Types of guns and regulations to be decided.
    • Tier 4: Assault Style Weapons and Semi automatic Handguns which would have higher vetting requirements including criminal and mental illness background checks, longer waiting periods and older age requirements.
  • Safe Storage Laws.  Less than 10% of guns used in crimes are purchased legally.  Require that guns must be stored in a gun safe or disabled with a gun lock when not in use. These laws prevent firearm theft, and reduce firearm suicides, accidents, and homicides by unauthorized users.
  • Better Communication between law enforcement agencies about threats.

Vote for me so I can go work for you!

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