(Nancy Dallas) – This is the third in our week-long series of interviews with Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate in Nevada this year. Today’s interview features Bill Parson.
1. Please write a brief summary of your professional and political history.
I am a lifelong Conservative Republican who has pursued a life committed to service to my country. I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps, 10 years enlisted and 13 years as an Officer. During that time, I had numerous overseas assignments including a tour with the Department of State. I retired from military service in 1998, at which time my wife Linda and I returned to northern Nevada where we owned a home. We subsequently relocated to Moapa Nevada when I took a position with the Prime Contractor for the Department of Energy. Beginning in 1998, I managed numerous high-profile organizations and projects in Las Vegas and at the Nevada Test Site until April of 2009 when I resigned to announce my registration with the Federal Election Commission as a Candidate for the United States Senate. This is my first effort ever to seek public office. I hold a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, graduating Magna-Cum-Laude, and a Master of Science degree, graduating Summa-Cum-Laude. Since April of 2009, I have been traveling across the State campaigning to be the successful Republican Primary Candidate to replace Harry Reid in the Senate.
Additional in-depth detail covering 35 years of my military and business background can be found at:
http://www.parsonforsenate2010.com/background/
2. What past experiences do you think best qualify you to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate? Why should voters support you over your Primary opponents?
Our next U.S. Senator will be called upon to exhibit leadership and strength of character while representing citizens of Nevada in Washington D.C. as we address a federal government that has grown out of control and become unresponsive to its citizens. Nevada’s next Senator will be called upon to: vote on appointment of federal judges and Supreme Court Justices, review and vote on the confirmation of Administration Secretaries and other key staff members, review and vote on confirmation of U.S. Military Officers, review and vote on confirming treaties with foreign countries, and potentially to review and vote on declarations of war. No other candidate in the primary has addressed these core Senatorial areas of responsibility in their writings or speeches. These duties require a person of high moral character, deliberative personality, and a commitment to the original intent of the founding fathers and the U.S. Constitution. I possess these critical traits.
I am the only candidate in the Nevada Senatorial race with personal first-hand military, intelligence, and counter terrorism experience, a critical area for our nation given the global threats we face. Unlike my competitors, I have traveled extensively overseas and developed a practical knowledge of foreign cultures and a perspective on just how dramatically their view of the world and interaction with others differs from our own. Most of the Senatorial Candidates have only recently become advocates for strict compliance with Constitutional principles, reduction in the size of our federal government, and the need to dramatically curtail federal spending and reduce the national debt. These have been personal values for my entire adult life and are not recent developments.
Throughout my life, I have been called upon to accept difficult challenges, to correct the problems that others have created. Our next Senator must possess exactly these skills and a willingness to take on challenges that others have avoided for many years.
3. Should individuals be allowed to contribute unlimited amounts of money to Federal candidates? Would you support a law requiring immediate disclosure of large contributions via the internet?
Our Republic was established with a guarantee of individual freedom and recognition of property rights for each citizen. Campaign contributions are inherently a question of the freedom of each citizen to express their desires for future governance by advancing the cause of those they believe in. Contributions represent a person’s property (wealth), freely transferred to another for a cause they believe in and support. Controlling donations through campaign finance laws inherently violates the freedom of each citizen in both the areas of free speech and property rights. I am opposed to any limits on a citizen’s contributions to a candidate.
I do believe that our elections must be open and transparent. If a candidate is receiving significant contributions, it is useful for citizens to know where that money originates from; who is supporting the candidate can have significant impact on a voting decision by individual citizens. I support open disclosure of campaign donations totaling more than $1,000.00.
4. Understanding the proposed Congressional health plans are under scrutiny and changes will be made to the original proposals, what are your greatest concerns with the current proposals? What specific alternatives would you propose?
I believe that the variety of current federal health care initiatives are unconstitutional, no matter which political party advocates for or crafts them. The Enumerated Powers for the federal government identified in Article I, Section 8, or other places within the Constitution, do not allow the federal government to be involved. Minor exceptions to this position can be made for Native Americans based on U.S. treaties with Indian Nations, or the U.S military based on federal responsibilities to care for and feed service members. The federal government does have the ability and responsibility under the Commerce Clause to work with the individual sovereign states to break down barriers precluding Insurance companies or medical service corporations from selling across state lines. The founding fathers’ intent with the “Commerce Clause” in the Constitution was to correct the problem under the Articles of Confederation where states were inhibiting free trade across state borders, or enacting large tariffs for goods and services crossing state lines. The Commerce Clause was never envisioned as a tool for the federal government to engage in day-to-day control and regulation of commerce across state lines.
5. Our national debt is growing at an astronomical rate (to $1.4 trillion this past year). Do you support a ‘balanced budget’ amendment to the Constitution? If so, specify your plan to create an annual balanced budget?
As a point of correction, our national debt is $12.4 trillion as of March 2010. Our national debt continues to grow out of control because of continued federal deficit spending which is forecast to be between $1.4 trillion and $1.9 trillion during 2010.
I do not support a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. I do advocate for a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits upon our House and Senate members (Senate: two terms for a maximum of 12 years, and House: four terms for a maximum of eight years). This, coupled with citizens electing sound constitutional conservatives, will allow us to address the problem of elected officials perpetuating their stay in office, and using the national treasury to dispense favor.
Five-year baseline budgeting formulas contain bias towards budget expansion and are used to falsely claim that there will be a balanced budget in future years or to falsely claim spending cuts are being implemented even though total dollars spent are actually increasing. I advocate the federal budget should begin each year with a “zero-baseline” that will allow Congress to revisit the validity and effectiveness of all budget items each and every year. If the previous year’s budget resulted in a deficit, then all federal budgets and programs must begin the following year’s appropriation process frozen at the exact level of the previous year’s outlay and no increase in the budget should be allowed.
I advocate that the federal budget must include and present all future federal obligations and promised benefits, with payments set aside each year in order to plan for any and all future obligations and promised benefits when they come due. The federal budget must be contained on one and only one set of books. All items that are currently “off budget,” such as Social Security and Medicare, must be returned as part of the “on budget” set of books.
Annual budgets must responsibly plan better for emergencies, and eliminate recurring “un-funded liabilities”, by requiring the inclusion of a projected “Emergency Spending Reserve” into the current budget process that equals a minimum of 110% of the average annual amount of “emergency spending” over the previous five years.
All budget rules and processes established to cap spending and deficit limits should only be set aside in times of national emergency, and only if approved by a 2/3 supermajority of both houses of Congress, and with the “setting aside” expiring at the end of the current budget year. Additionally, a mandatory “Sunset Clause’ in all spending legislation must be included that provides for its expiration on a specified date unless it is deliberately renewed, and in no case should the period be for greater than four years.
6. Do you support the current U. S. military’s rules of engagement in Afghanistan? Explain.
No. We have repeated this mistake continually in recent decades. For example, in Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Iraq, and Afghanistan, we have created environments where our military service members are placed into a “no win” situation due to engagement rules. We literally create a condition where our service members are targets in a foreign “shooting gallery”. Very detailed information on my positions concerning Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Germany, Korea, Japan, and other military issues can be found at:
http://www.parsonforsenate2010.com/elko-county-republican-party-senate-questionnaire/
These positions also call for significant numbers of our deployed U.S forces from World War II and Korea returning to the United States, and having bases created in Tonopah, Hawthorne, and Stead to house them.
7. Nevada’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation. What, if any, steps should be taken by the Federal government to specifically address Nevada’s unemployment concerns?
Our employment dilemmas are created because the federal government “Is the Problem”. We need to diminish the size and influence of the federal government, not increase its presence and control over our business environment. Many advocate the reduction of taxes as an incentive to allow business to grow, but this continues to perpetuate our federal government control. A better solution is repeal of the 16th Amendment, abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, and implementation of a “Consumption Tax” similar to the Fair Tax. This removes undue federal influence on the business community via the Internal Revenue Tax Code and continual interference from the federal legislative and administrative processes.
8. How would you propose the Federal government address the issues related to the number of illegal aliens currently in the United States?
I emphatically stated my position on this question in the PACT-sponsored Senatorial debates held in Carson City several months ago (the 8 sections of video tapes, including my position on illegal immigration can be found at: http://www.parsonforsenate2010.com/videos/ )
As a synopsis, my position on illegal immigration is:
• Complete the border fences along the Southern Border immediately.
• Should the President and administration refuse to execute, de-fund their electric and heat, travel (i.e., Air Force One and limousines), per diem, etc., until they get the message
• Address other border security deficiencies along the Canadian border and coastlines, and along the U.S. islands and territories (e.g. Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, etc.). Most terrorists have entered the U.S. from the Northern border.
• Issue a 90-day notice for all illegal immigrants to self deport or they will be located, incarcerated, and deported .
• All “Anchor Babies” to be deported along with the parents.
o Amendment 14 – Citizenship Rights was ratified 7/9/1868. It states, in part:
“1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. ….”
o Illegal Aliens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; thus their children born on U.S. soil are not citizens by virtue of birth. They are to be deported with the parents. To ensure no mistakes are made, finger prints, foot prints, and retina scans would be taken on all persons being deported as illegal alien minors (claiming potential for citizenship by birth).
• Call up the National Guard to assist Immigration agents, as well as federal and state law enforcement agencies, with arresting and deporting illegal immigrants. Train National Guard members and swear them in as law enforcement officers to address the Posse Comitatus Act issues. The federal government would pay for any such National Guard call up – not the states
• Enforce the E-Verify program with employers to validate illegal aliens are not employed
• Conduct an in-depth analysis and dialogue to establish the U.S. policy on immigration. We currently have about as many “Green Card” high-tech guest workers as we do unemployed high-tech citizen workers in the U.S. This appears to be an immediate area for consideration and determination.
• Evaluate and reduce the numbers of “foreign visa students” here in the U.S. The program has merit, but not at the level of foreign nationals attending our universities now.
9. What would be your priorities in resolving the concerns related to the increasing dependency of the United States on foreign oil? What measures you would propose at the Federal level to help alleviate Nevada’s high energy costs? Do you support Nuclear energy? How do you propose we resolve the dilemma of dealing with nuclear waste?
Energy Independence for the United States is an immediate critical national policy issue. We as a country have made no progress in this area since the creation of the Department of Energy in October of 1977, but we instead are even more dependent upon foreign energy 33 years later. As a U.S. Senator, I will work to:
• Remove obstacles placed by Harry Reid on construction of the coal-fired power plants in Elko and White Pine Counties. Additionally, the same issues are being created for a proposed coal power plant in the Mesquite area that must be addressed.
• Put forward legislation to release all federal western lands to each of the western states in order to allow each of the sovereign states to shape and control their future. This will allow each state to determine if they wish to utilize the natural resources within their state. This would particularly address release of vast oil reserves identified in Alaska, North & South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah that are currently off limits due to federal political issues and excessive environmental control issues. States such as California and Florida that have untapped reserves can either decide to remove obstacles or suffer the economic impacts locally of not utilizing existing oil resources.
• I have personally followed solar energy since the mid-1970’s and have desired to see this Holy Grail of energy prove out, unsuccessfully for over 35 years. I am opposed to taxpayer subsidies from the federal government to advance solar energy production. Currently, the cost of solar electrical production is three to four times the cost of coal-fired electrical power production when government subsidies are removed. I look forward to the day when solar energy makes good business sense; but we have not reached that date yet. My wife and I each year for the last 12 years have done an analysis of “pay-back” on converting our home to the solar electrical generation and the “break even” point is 27–30 years when the cost of money is considered (without government subsidies, and with me providing all labor). I advocate that industry make the decisions in this area based on sound economic and business case conditions, without federal mandates and manipulations.
• I advocate that the Yucca Mountain area should be transferred to Nevada, construction of a repository there should completed, and the citizens and state of Nevada should profit from allowing the site to be in Nevada. Yucca Mountain should be operated by private industry, with lease and impact fees being paid to the state and citizens.
• I advocate that a reprocessing facility should be located to the east of Yucca Mountain on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) with this land being transferred to the State of Nevada. There are existing roads, power, water, and other infrastructure in this area that can be leveraged for the facility. The citizens and state of Nevada should profit from allowing the site to be in Nevada. The reprocessing center should be operated by private industry, with lease and impact fees being paid to the state and citizens. Building a reprocessing facility dramatically reduces the volume and toxicity of the waste stream to be stored in Yucca Mountain.
• I advocate the building of nuclear power plants in Nevada. The use of pebble bed reactors can address water concerns. There are 40 to 45 nuclear power plant projects pending NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) review and approval. The federal government and misdirected environmental concerns are holding these up approvals. I advocate removing these obstacles.
• I advocate a partnership between Arizona, California, and Nevada to build combined use nuclear power plants along the California coast to not only produce electrical power, but to also produce water for California’s use in the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. This will create a Win-Win-Win for all three states.
• I advocate developing the geo-thermal capacity along I-80 and US 50 in Nevada. The use of government subsidies to accomplish this is once again something I oppose. I do advocate the lands associated with these areas should be surrendered to the State of Nevada at no cost, not retained by the federal government. Leases and other fees would be paid to the State of Nevada.
10. Is there a Federal department/cabinet position you would support eliminating? Explain.
Yes. I advocate dramatic reduction in the size of our federal government. I envision a 60% reduction in size and cost over a ten-year period of time. We have grown our federal government astronomically beyond the bounds of the enumerated powers identified in our Constitution and returning back to those bounds established in the enumerated powers must be accomplished in a planned and deliberate manner if we wish to avoid the total collapse of American society. There are approximately 26 pages of federal departments, bureaus, agencies, etc. found at the following website, most of which are ripe for elimination or dismantling:
http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
The ultimate goal is to eliminate ALL areas where the federal government is operating out of bounds. Some of the areas we can eliminate that are not supported in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution using a deliberate and scheduled dismantling basis include:
• Department of Health and Human Services (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States)
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States)
• Department of Labor (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States)
• Department of Education (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States)
• Department of Veterans Affairs (Retain)
• Department of Agriculture (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States)
• Department of State (Reduce by 50% – Particularly Foreign Aid Budgets)
• Department of Justice (Reduce by 50% – Particularly Grants to States)
• Department of Transportation (Reduce by 20%)
• Department of Defense (Reduce by 20% – Study to “Right Size” non Uniformed DOD Employees)
• Department of Homeland Security (Eliminate by returning organizations back to original Dept’s)
• Department of Energy (Eliminate – Functions to Sovereign States, except NNSA moves to DOD)
• Department of Treasury (Reduce by 20% – Study to “Right Size” )
• Department of Commerce (Reduce by 20% – Study to “Right Size” )
• Department of the Interior (Reduce by 40% – “Right Size” – All Federal Western Lands to be surrendered to the Sovereign States at no cost)
11. Should the Federal government be involved in the regulation of our nation’s public school education system? If so, to what degree? Are you satisfied with the “No Child Left Behind” law? Explain.
No. Eliminate the Department of Education and have each State determine how they will run their education systems.
12. The inclusion of apparently wasteful, foolish “pork” and “earmarks” in federal legislation is an historical practice – the public and many elected officials decry this practice, but, with no one wanting to be left off of the gravy train, it seems it is impossible to curtail. As U.S. Senator, what will you do in regards to this issue?
I will honor my oath of office and only support those items that are contained within Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. As a U.S. Senator, I will view myself not only as a representative, but as a steward of the citizens of Nevada’s tax dollars.
13. Should the United States support Israel in their efforts to protect their nation’s security and safety of its citizens?
Yes, within the mutual defense treaties that we have with Israel. We need to cease financial aid provided to Israel, but retain military weapons and systems joint programs and sales (provided they are bought at cost or at a profit – no subsidies). Israel should fund their own defense. These philosophies apply to all other countries we have allied ourselves with as well.
14. How would you propose to reform the Social Security program?
The unfortunate truth is that the Social Security program is a federal government ponzi scheme that makes the Madoff scandal look like child’s play. It was doomed to fail from its inception, and when funds collected were transferred to the federal government’s general fund the money was spent before it was ever received, and those funds replaced with worthless IOU’s.
If we do nothing, Social Security will collapse and the U.S. economy will fall with it. I advocate phasing Social Security out, with those currently receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits continuing under the existing program. A sliding scale of benefits must be created through Congressional legislation that allows the middle-aged population to receive a percentage of the Social Security benefit at retirement and affords individual citizens the opportunity to plan for and invest in personal individual retirement accounts. New workers entering the work force would no longer qualify for the Social Security Program.
This will not be popular, but the truth must be told. The pain experienced by the American public as a result of these changes will not be pleasant, but it is far preferable to the tragedy that a total collapse will cause.
15. Senator Harry Reid has a long history of using dubious Congressional rules and procedures to skirt normally accepted procedures in order to promote/pass his personal/party’s agenda. What would be your position in regards to skirting the normal process in this manner in order to gain approval of your agenda?
I am a Constitutional Conservative, and am seeking to be a citizen legislator representing Nevadans. Personal agendas and power are not my goals. I will work within the Senate Rules, and in an open manner to represent the people of Nevada. Honoring my oath to protect the Constitution and in meeting my objective of returning the federal government to strict adherence to the enumerated powers, I will use any constitutional means available to do so.
16. Is there any issue I have failed to address that you would like to comment on?
Thank you for the opportunity to share my ideas on governance. Your questions were straightforward and I have attempted to answer them in as direct a manner as possible. The Primary election on June 8th represents an opportunity for Nevadans to have a real choice and determine if they seek the same tired old leadership that has taken us towards socialism and a large national debt, or if they seek to take a more challenging path where we return to sound Constitutional governance of the Republic and true individual and national prosperity.
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