Bill Gillespie

As Congressman for the First District, Bill Gillespie's top five priorities will be: Bring New Economic Development to South Georgia and America; Lower Taxes for Small Businesses, Families and Students; Win Peace in Iraq and Destroy Terrorism Around the World; Improve Veterans' Benefits and Healthcare; and Protect Social Security from Privatization.

* Bring New Economic Development to South Georgia and America

Aggressively recruit new jobs to our region; Grow South Georgia's economy by securing more federal funds for our region's ports, agriculture, technology, manufacturing, transportation and most importantly education; Support South Georgia's tourism industry; Create the South Georgia Alternative Energy Alliance making our region a national leader in research and production of agri-fuel, solar, wind and other alternative energies; Invest in technology and infrastructure for a national clean energy grid; Develop a network of university-based venture capital funds for start-up businesses; Cultivate America's next generation of scientists and innovators; Secure funding to upgrade/expand mass transit in South Georgia; Work to open international markets and better enforce trade agreements

* Lower Taxes for Small Businesses, Families and Individuals

Eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses; Provide small business owners with a $1000 "Making Work Pay" tax credit to reduce the impact of paying both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax; Make the current Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (RETC) permanent and also double it from 20 percent to 40 percent of all Research & Development expenditures; Give all homeowners tax relief with a 10 percent Universal Mortgage Credit; Expand the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to help recent victims of foreclosure; Offer a single $3,000 college tuition tax credit instead of the many separate and often confusing credits in place now; Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit by softening the EITC's marriage penalty and raising the qualifying income thresholds for two-earner couples

* Win Peace in Iraq and Destroy Terrorism Around the World

Empower the Iraqi people by withdrawing from their country (The military defeated Saddam Hussein's regime and has trained hundreds of thousands of Iraqi troops. It's time for the Iraqi people to stand up for their own liberty. The situation in Iraq will not be solved with bullets; the country and its people need independence, economic development and a broad base of international partners who want Iraq and the Middle East to succeed.) Maintain a military presence in the Middle East in ally countries to ensure regional stabilization; Keep the heat up on terrorists worldwide using all elements of national power: diplomatic, economic, legal and military; Institute a Federal Terrorism Court; Reform the Department of Homeland Security focusing it on border and infrastructure protection and the integration of intelligence with federal, state and local agencies; Protect our nation's ports, nuclear and chemical plants, and other sensitive facilities; Attract the nation's most talented cyber-security personnel to guard America; Rebuild America's active-duty military forces and infrastructure as well as America's overstretched National Guard and Reserves

* Improve Veterans' Benefits and Healthcare

Increase funding for the U.S. Veterans Administration (The toll of the War on Terror on our military has been large. I will seek more increases in funding for the VA); Make certain that Congress funds all the programs in the new GI Bill; Ensure new and old VA Clinics in South Georgia have proper funding, staff and equipment; Institute a federal healthcare card for veterans that allows them to seek care outside the VA system at whatever facility they prefer; Help veterans groups in the region get the memorials they want, such as the Veterans Council of Chatham County's World War II Memorial.

* Protect Social Security from Privatization

I will fight hard to prohibit the federal government from throwing retirement savings into the Stock Market. My opponent has been a leader in pushing for the privatization of Social Security. It is wrong to gamble with peoples' retirement saving. The stock market can go up and down, as we have seen in recent weeks. No doubt action must be taken to shore up Social Security as the baby-boomer generation retires. I support alternatives aimed at stabilizing the current system, such as adjustments to the income tax threshold, which will guarantee the system's health.