Name: Tom Feeney

 

Age: 50

 

Contact Address: P.O. Box 622345, Oviedo, FL  32762-2345

 

Contact Phone # - 407-366-2212

 

Contact E-Mail address:  Carissa@tomfeeney.com

 

Website:  www.tomfeeney.com

 

Office Sought:  U.S. House of Representatives, District # 24

 

Educational Background:  1980- Penn State University – BA in Political Science

                                              1983- Law Degree from University of Pittsburgh

 

Occupation, training & experience: Tom Feeney made Central Florida home 24 years ago and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives where he served 4 years before being chosen as Governor Jeb Bush’s running mate. In a special election in 1996, Feeney was returned to the Florida House of Representatives where he became one of the state’s leading legislators on tort reform and welfare reform.

 

On November 21, 2000, Tom Feeney was sworn in as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and in 2001 was ranked among the most effective legislators of the year by the Miami herald.

 

In Washington, Tom serves on the powerful Financial Services and Judiciary committees as well as the Science committee which oversees NASA and he serves as an Assistant Whip.

 

Regarding the office you are seeking, name the two most important issues that you believe are of concern to your district and how would you address each.

 

TWO MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES:

 

#1.  COST OF GASOLINE – It is devastating our economy. We absolutely must act now. The solution must be long-term and it must encompass more than one bold change. Here is what I support:

 

1. Remove Our Dependence on Foreign Oil by Opening Up Readily Available Domestic Energy Sources

By refusing to develop America's energy sources, we are handing power directly to dangerous leaders like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These terrorists are using American dollars to hurt American interests and our allies.

2. Open up ANWR

2,000 of the 19,600,000 acres of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge need to be opened to oil exploration. This is the size of a stamp on a football field.

3. Develop Oil Shale and Tar Sands for their 1-6 Trillion Barrels of Oil Reserves

In all of human history, we have only used 1 trillion barrels of oil. Americans are potentially sitting on 5 more trillion barrels. We must allow environmentally responsible development of oil shale and tar sands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming so those alternative oil sources can be brought online like the Canadians have developed their tar sands in Alberta.

4. Nuclear Energy

America crippled our own nuclear technology 35 years ago and France became the world's leader. France now reaps the rewards and generates 78% of its electricity from clean, efficient and affordable nuclear energy.

5. Coal

Encourage the greater use of coal to produce the electricity needed to air condition our homes and power our high technology economy. Coal is cleaner than ever and America has 26 percent of the world's coal supply.

6. Natural Gas

Allow environmentally responsible exploration of domestic natural gas reserves that are now off-limits.

7. Construct and Expand Refineries

America has not developed a new refinery in 32 years. We are shooting ourselves in the foot by limiting refining capacity. Streamline the permitting process for refinery construction and expansion so more gasoline and diesel fuel refining capacity can be brought online.

8. Responsible and Safe Offshore Drilling

We need to allow environmentally responsible offshore drilling in which states control waters in the immediate vicinity of their coastlines.

The last oil spill from a domestic offshore drilling accident was in the Santa Barbara Channel in 1969. We now have incredibly transformed offshore drilling technology.

9. Encourage Efficiency
Encourage improved energy efficiency by offering energy conservation tax incentives.

 

10. Reduce and Waive Old Regulations
Reduce the number of gasoline blends required under local air quality rules so gasoline can be readily sent to areas of shortage. Waive environmental rules, as needed, regarding the formulation of gasoline and diesel fuels. These rules provide limited improvements to air pollution but increase production costs and hamper efforts to use readily available heavy crude oil. 



# 2.  REDUCE THE SHUTTLE GAP AND PROMOTE VIGOROUS SPACE RESEARCH. – Hopefully we’ve learned something from the termination of the Apollo program in 1972.  Our first shuttle flight didn’t occur until 1981. The failure to plan was devastating to our Space Coast.  We lost our best and our brightest employee to other ventures across the U.S, and the local economy was devastated.  This time we have warning.  We know ahead of time that the retirement of the Space Shuttle heralds in yet another new era for the Space Coast and we must be prepared.

 

To that end I Cosponsored H.R. 6063 NASA Authorization Act of 2008 which:

1.     Authorizes an additional $1 billion to shrink the gap between the Space Shuttle's retirement and operational flights of the Orion spacecraft - the Shuttle's replacement.

2.     Affirms that America's post-Shuttle spaceflight program will expand human exploration beyond low earth orbit with the Moon as the first destination.

3.     Confirms that human exploration will then reach beyond the Moon to several possible solar system locations including Mars.

4.     Authorizes additional funding to ensure a viable International Space Station program after its assembly is completed in 2010. Support is provided for the purchase of American-based commercial cargo and crew transportation services to the Station.

5.      States that the Shuttle will be retired after flying out its current manifest that will now include one additional mission to transport the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station.

 

 

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON OFF-SHORE DRILLING?  PLEASE DEFEND YOUR POSITION.

 

  •  We should move forward with environmentally sensible development of the Outer Continental Shelf.  I support legislation to grant individual states the authority to control energy development up to 100 miles from their coastlines and share in the resulting royalties.

 

  •  43 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are leased for oil and natural gas development.  These sites produce 15% of America’s domestic natural gas production and 27% of domestic oil production.

 

  • Now that President Bush has lifted his moratoria on development of the OCS, related Congressional moratoria prohibit the leasing of 85% (574 million acres) of the OCS off the continental United States.

 

  • These moratoria have roots in a 1969 drilling accident in California’s Santa Barbara Channel.  But almost 40 years have passed and vast improvements have been made in offshore drilling technologies.  No major offshore drilling accident has occurred in U.S. waters since 1969.  Other nations like Great Britain, Norway, and Brazil permit extensive offshore drilling.

 

  •  Due to the moratoria, most of the OCS has not been surveyed with modern seismic and imaging technologies.  So while the OCS is estimated to contain 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, a new modern survey could uncover additional reserves.

 

  • We should use best available techniques to update estimates of untapped oil and natural gas reserves.

 

 

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR PROVIDING HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR ALL CITIZENS IN THE UNITED STATES?

1.     Providing a health insurance tax credit for Americans who do not have employer-Based health insurance;

2.     Creating Association Health Plans to give small businesses better access to health insurance;

3.     Allow individuals the option to purchase health care across state lines (competition in the market reduces costs);

4.     Build Health Savings Accounts to give individuals the ability to control their own health care purchases; and

5.     Stop lawsuit abuses which are driving up the cost of health care.

WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE FOR STEMMING THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW WOULD YOU ACCOMPLISH THESE IDEAS?

While climate change specifics and causes are still being debated in the scientific community, as a ranking member of the Science Committee, I have been a leader in fighting for expanded research and development of clean and reliable energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear as well as safe drilling.

NAME A SPECIFIC ISSUE THAT WE HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THAT YOU FEEL IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS.

In 2007, the House passed many Democratic proposals to raise taxes on hardworking American families. Under Charlie Rangel's Mother of All Tax Hikes bill that came to the floor in late 2007, Florida bears the brunt of the burden, third in line to receive the shaft and face a $2.3 billion tax increase. 

 

Tax-and-spend liberals continue to propose plans that insult American families, particularly Florida's families.   Hardworking Florida families will finance the $1.4 billion tax cut that Speaker Pelosi's home state of California will receive.

 

The $82 billion increase is just the tip of the iceberg.  Courtesy of Speaker Pelosi and New York City liberal Charlie Rangel, literally every hardworking American taxpayer will eventually face a $3.5 trillion tax increase, even after they die. 

 

As families face rising gas prices and interest rates, now is hardly the time to pin a trillion dollar tax increase on them.  Every American from middle-class families, investors, large families, smokers, small businesses, and even dead Americans will feel the burn from this tax inferno.

 

Examples: How the House Democrats’ tax hikes would affect real people:

 

More than 6 million individuals and families who previously owed no taxes would become subject to the individual income tax in 2011 if Democrats succeed in raising the 10-percent bracket to 15 percent, and reducing or eliminating other low-income tax benefits.

 

·           Re-imposing the Marriage Penalty.

Roughly 23 million taxpayers would see their taxes increase, on average, by $466       in 2011, because they are married.

 

·          Tax Increase of $500 per Child.

Approximately 31 million taxpayers would see their taxes increase -- the Democratic budget would cut the $1,000-per-child tax credit in half.

 

·          Elderly Couple with $40,000 in Income.

This couple’s tax bill would rise by 156 percent in 2011 – from $583 to $1,489.

 

·            Family of Four Earning $60,000.

They would face a 70-percent tax hike, with their income tax bill rising from $2,733 to $4,634 in 2011 – an increase of $1,900.

 

·           Single Parent with Two Children and $30,000 in Earnings

The single parent would sustain a 67-percent reduction in benefits provided through the tax code (principally from the refundable child tax credit and earned income tax credit). Benefits would plunge from $2,414 now to $799 under the Democratic tax plan.

 

Every Working American would be affected by Democrats’ Tax Hike:

 

  •      Roughly 116 million taxpayers would see their taxes increase, on average, by $1,833 in 2011.
  •     An estimated 84 million women would sustain, on average, a tax increase of $2,121.
  •     Approximately 48 million married couples would incur average tax increases of more than $3,000.
  •     Taxes would increase by an average of $2,323 for 43 million families with children.
  •      Some 12 million single women with children would see their taxes increase, on average, by $1,091.
  •      For 18 million elderly individuals, taxes would increase by an average of $2,181.
  •      Tax bills for 27 million small-business owners would rise, on average, by more than $4,000.
  •     More than 6 million taxpayers who previously owed no taxes would become subject to the individual income tax as a consequence of the sunset.