ISSUES

Jobs

I have voted for reducing burdensome regulations, cutting red tape, eliminating, and reducing taxes and supported key reforms regarding lawsuit/tort reform and workers compensation. Conservative leadership has made Tennessee one of the most business-friendly states in America. Since my election, I have supported policies that have helped to create over 340,000 new private sector jobs.

We consistently perform better than the national average economically. In fact, Tennessee’s economy has been thriving under more than a decade of conservative Republican leadership.

We have seen historically low unemployment, and Tennessee is also the lowest debt state per capita, median household incomes are increasing at the second fastest rate in the entire southeast, and we are the most fiscally stable state in the entire country.

I have pushed for the expansion of broadband access to Tennessee’s rural and undeveloped areas. The Republican controlled legislature has allocated over $200 million towards broadband expansion.

Taxes & Regulations

I have voted to not just cut taxes but eliminate billions in taxes. I voted to eliminate the Hall income tax, repealed the gym tax, slashed the food tax, exempted the sales tax on fiber optic cable and water for farming operations, made multiple reductions to the Franchise and Excise tax to attract new business to our state, and sponsored legislation to slash taxes on Tennesseans impacted by the professional privilege tax.

Hold Government Accountable

From the State Capitol to the Court House, I have fought unjustified tax and fee increases and excessive regulations. I believe the conservative approach to government…never raise taxes until government waste and mismanagement have been addressed. We must continue to restrain government spending and leave more money in the hands of the people who earn it. You and I must live within our means…I feel government should have to do the same!

1st Amendment

I believe religious freedom must be honored and defended. The foundation of this nation and the central reason for the first settlers coming to America was religious liberty.  I sponsored legislation that protects faith-based organizations from being sued for upholding their religious beliefs.

Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration has reached epidemic levels. Millions of unskilled, uneducated illegal aliens and illegal migrants are crossing our Southern border not only unimpeded but aided by liberal/progressive/socialist politicians. Most illegal aliens do not understand what this great country is about and are not assimilating into our society. To continue being a strong nation we must enforce the laws that protect our country and defend our borders. I have voted to do just that at every opportunity.

Education

Tennessee has invested billions in K-12 education, and we have made the largest combined investment in teacher salaries than at any other point in our history. We invested billions more of tax dollars in Higher Education and into our vocational schools (Colleges of Applied Technologies (TCAT)).

These focused investments have resulted in transformative results. Now, our children have become among the fastest improving in the entire nation across math, reading, and science, but this is just the beginning. We have fully funded the Response to Intervention (RTI) to address deficits in student learning. We cannot accept that 2/3 of our students aren’t reading proficiently by the 4th grade. If someone cannot read – how can they write or achieve success in math, science, or social studies? Our primary focus must be on improving early childhood literacy rates across this state.

I have supported the creation of Charter Schools and support the concept of money following with the student. Charter schools are independently run public schools and their student success rates can be amazing. The average ACT scores are higher than the state average. Our goal must be to ensure that every student has the same opportunity for success in all public schools across our state.

I have also strived to support both private schools and home-schooling options. Regardless of the method a parent and student select, it is our obligation to ensure that their education torch shines bright for our current and future generations of leaders.

I sponsored legislation that protects both teachers and school employees from frivolous lawsuits. I also sponsored legislation that ended excessive failed testing and stopped those questionable scores from being used against our students and school systems.

I continue to support bringing the National Motto, “In God We Trust” back into prominent locations in every K-12 school in Tennessee. I also support allowing voluntary prayer in our public schools.

I voted to remove adult materials and “woke” policies from our schools and libraries. I voted to stop boys from participating in girls’ sports and robbing them of their championships and scholarships.

I sponsored legislation to allow retired law enforcement and qualified Veterans to be hired as SRO (School Resource Officers). Supported spending hundreds of millions to harden schools and for school safety…both public and private schools.

Transportation

Tennessee has seen steady growth as a manufacturing state. Our location is ideal for receiving and shipping both raw materials and finished products. That is why it is so important to maintain our infrastructure.

I voted against the 2017 gas tax increase because we had a billion-dollar surplus at the time and did not need a tax increase to fund highway improvements. In 2023, I voted for a $3 billion dollar highway improvement plan…without a tax increase. In fact, we also voted to cut taxes at the same time. That is called genuine conservative leadership.