Bill Lee for Governor

Veterans Affairs As a former Marine Corps officer no issue affects me more personally than Veterans Affairs. The current administration's utter disregard for the men and women who have served our country is appalling. Today the needs of Delaware veterans are virtually ignored. Healthcare, education, transportation assistance for the disabled, affordable housing, preference in state business and hiring; name an issue and you will see it being completely ignored by this administration. Under my administration I will honor our heroic men and women by providing them the services they so desperately need, and deserve. Just as important as those who have served, are the families of those currently serving. Husbands, wives, and children of our active duty troops are hurting. From an economic stand point they are disproportionately affected by the current economic crisis. Having to suddenly make ends meet on one less income is a hardship many active duty families cannot bear, on top of the constant anxiety of having a loved one so far away and in constant peril. We need to help these families as well. As Governor I will work to assist the men and women who proudly serve our nation by giving them a hand up.

Education Delaware's school children need a Governor who has the political independence to say that we will pour no more money into a broken education system until we've fixed it, until teachers and administrators are held accountable, not just our children. Then we'll spend what it takes to attract and retain our nation's best teachers because quality teachers are the key to quality education. Then we'll give them the authority and tools they need to do their job. One thing that we can do immediately is increase the percentage of our education dollars spent in the classroom, which means more resources for our students and teachers and a forced reduction in administrative costs. We will also protect and preserve a parent's right to choose their child's school. That right is under heavy attack from the special interests who thrive in our broken, status-quo, bureaucracy-driven education system. School choice and charter schools are a necessity for parents and children who have been failed by our current system and must be protected.

Jobs Every Delawarean deserves the opportunity to have a good, high-paying, stable job. Under the current administration, those opportunities have evaporated due to a lack of real effort. Economic development under Ruth Ann Minner and John Carney has been an unmitigated failure, and the people of this state have suffered long enough. To restart our economy, it will take investment in the right areas; a driven, focused effort and a full overhaul of our state government. Our focus must first be on small businesses, our leading employers, and particularly those struggling to survive in today's economy. I look forward to rolling out a detailed plan to do those things in the fall campaign.

Health Care Delawareans do not want the state government making their healthcare decisions. They want to make those decisions themselves with the counsel of their doctor. A move to greater state control of health care is a disaster in waiting. The principles that should drive our effort to improve healthcare in Delaware are personal ownership, choice and competition. Combining those principles will drive costs down, options up and more people onto the rolls of the insured.

Government Reform Our state government is broken, and the guilty are those entrenched, status-quo Dover politicians who focus only on the next election and not on the long-term. As a result, our budget has exploded beyond anyone's definition of acceptable, yet we still can not afford to build schools or roads. It is shameful and the people of Delaware deserve better. My first act as your next Governor will be an Executive Order to put all state spending online effective upon the launch of the state's new accounting software in 2009. People deserve to see where their tax dollars are being spent. Next, we will order outside performance audits of our state government, starting with the Departments of Transportation, Education, Natural Resources and Health & Human Services. It's time to rid ourselves of the bloat and waste. My administration will bring the change that others only talk about.

Clean Air and Water When I ran in 2004, I stated that our air and water were at risk. Now, as we see more definite proof of cancer clusters, there can be no doubt. Delawareans deserve better than a Governor who lets the big corporations run wild and pollute our air and water with no consequences. In my administration, there will be consequences. In addition, we will release specific data on cancer clusters back five years, including specific cancers. This is a life-or-death issue. We will also double the number of air quality monitoring stations around the state within my first year in office.

Immigration Enact Sen. Copeland's bill to deny state contracts to those who hire illegal immigrants. Require companies to use an employer verification system. Employer sanctions: If you are found hiring illegal immigrants, you must put up a bond to ensure that the employee leaves the country within 12 months. If the employee does not leave, the bond is revoked and the money remands to the state. Encourage the federal government to issue more H1B visas to retain highly-educated, highly-skilled legal immigrants. Encourage increased use of the H2A visa program for temporary agricultural workers, with DHS/DOL recommended changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate and mandatory bonds to ensure exit. Deputize state police to enforce federal immigration law by participating in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement ACCESS program in Charleston, SC, authorized through Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Public Safety As with other areas of government, Public Safety in Delaware is in crisis. From daily shootings in Wilmington and rising crime rates statewide; to a correction system where officers continue to work without a contract in understaffed and overworked conditions; to prison health care failing to meet federal, court-imposed mandates; to state reduction in funds provided to the counties for paramedics; to a failing highway system which impedes first responders, mismanagement and indifference are undermining the safety of our citizens. Our courts and volunteer firefighters continue to excel, but the rest of our public safety system is in a state of turmoil created by a lack of leadership and commitment. In Wilmington, we must find a way to dramatically increase the number of police to retake areas of the city largely abandoned, especially at night. Whether by designating independent revenue sources dedicated to the city or by multi-jurisdictional intervention, we must make out largest city safe for all its citizens. Crime, generally, is on the rise, and police and other first responders must be strengthened and increased in number. This means renewed recruitment, training and retention efforts. Corrections still remains a critical problem and no progress in staffing, pay or work conditions have occurred since this was a major issue four years ago. The Federal Courts are monitoring inmate health care, but our experiences with the Delaware Psychiatric Center are proof that the State should get out of the institutional health care business. This administration can't even seem to oversee independent health care providers. Again, there is a lack of leadership, competence and commitment. I continue to believe, as does at least one of the Democratic contenders, that performance audits will allow us to make state government more efficient and produce substantive revenues to attack the problems caused by a lack of leadership. We must establish priorities for applying part of those savings to public safety needs.

2nd Amendment Rights I support our right to bear arms, as established by the 2^nd Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and upheld by this year's decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Family Values I am Pro-Life, Pro-Family and Pro-Traditional Marriage.