President John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country.” Along those lines, too many Americans today think that a primary goal of a Congressman is to see how much money they can bring to the home district. In the simple words of Congress this is called “Pork Barrel Spending.” This free spending idea adds billions of dollars of debt to our government every year. Well I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like paying taxes to build a bridge in some small town in Mississippi or repairing a community pool in some New England village. So why should they have to fund projects in my district. This view may not be that popular, but it is true to the foundational principles of our great Republic. With this stated, if elected I would set up what I call the “District 43 Fund.”

What is the District 43 Fund?
This would be a non-profit, tax-deductible fund that would be used to improve the quality of life for the people of the 43rd District and our society. The ways to do this are numerous, but let me share a few ideas. The fund could be used to sponsor youth sports teams, help homeless shelters and soup kitchens, fund literacy programs, sponsor community work projects (along the lines of “Make a Difference Days”), provide college scholarships, assist established organizations that are helping citizens, provide aid to area veterans, come along side of after school programs …. and the list goes on! In addition to this, money could be used to introduce programs to our elementary students teaching them to become compassionate citizens (Ronald McDonald House and VA hospitals come to mind) and bringing in motivational speakers to encourage our junior high and high school students to become productive members of society. In short, we could start to do for ourselves what we have allowed the government to do for us.

How would the District 43 Fund be funded?
To start off, I would donate a minimum of 10% of my congressional salary plus any pay raises during my time in the House of Representatives to the Fund. I would then encourage other local political and business leaders to follow my example at a level they feel comfortable with. We would also accept donations from the people of the 43rd district. I believe that if the cause is good and the results are real, then people would be willing to support the Fund. I would also use the influence of a Congressman to sponsor several fundraisers during the year to provide additional money. (I figure that if a Congressman can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to get re-elected, he should be able to raise money to help his constituents.) And finally, we would tap into the numerous corporations and foundations that donate millions of dollars each year to community improvement programs.

As a closing disclaimer, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The basis for my ideas behind the District 43 Fund comes from a classroom discussion that Elia Pirozzi had with my students several years ago. Since that time I’ve had trouble shaking the idea that this type of fund is what a Congressman should really be about.