Avery Kerman
akerman@uwyo.edu
Jason Senteney is running to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Wyoming.
Current Rep. Cynthia Lummis will not be seeking re-election. Although his last campaign against Lummis was unsuccessful, the circumstances have changed and he will be running in attempt to fill her seat. Tim Stubson, Leland Christensen, Liz Cheney, Charlie Tyrrel and Mike Konsmo will all be running against Senteney in the primary. Senteney answered several questions for the Branding Iron Thursday morning.
Q: Why do you want to be a member of Congress?
A: I look at the condition and direction of the country right now, and we are not on the right track. I believe as a member of Congress I can actually help write legislation as well as get it passed which will bring us toward the right direction. This will help the middle class grow and bring our jobs back from China, Mexico, and other countries. It will make us a prosperous nation again. When we have trade deficits from countries like China and Mexico, there is a problem because we are lacking in jobs while running up the deficit that is over $19 trillion. It’s on track to be over $21 trillion by 2020. They keep kicking the can down the road and no one is coming up with viable options. I believe most of the issues and proposals I have been talking about is a blueprint for fixing our country.
Q: Who is your biggest influence?
A: This may sound similar to other people, but I look to my faith. I look at what God wants us to do, which is how I live my life and make decisions. As far as role models go, I look back at former presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and Dwight D. Eisenhower. I consider myself more of an Eisenhower republican because he worked our most down trodden by teaching them skills and getting them into the workforce, but not by just giving them everything.
Q: In your opinion, what is the purpose of the federal government?
A: The federal government has two main responsibilities. One is national defense and the other is inter-state trade and international trade. They are only supposed to oversee those two things because under the 10th amendment of the Constitution, the states have the right to make laws that are beneficial to their own state. They reflect what is going on in their communities. What is necessary in Wyoming may not be what is necessary for Georgia, New York, or California. They all have different political attitudes.
Q: What do you bring to the table that other candidates might not?
A: I know what it is like to live paycheck-to-paycheck. I have been right there in the trenches of life with most of the middle class and most of the working class. I know that there are some candidates in this race that do not know what it is like to need something. They basically never had to want anything in their life. If you are coming to the table like I am, with a working class mentality and common sense solutions, I believe that is what sets me apart from the vast majority of the people I am running against. I also believe that my military background will help me see things in a light that most of them will not. There is only one other veteran running and I do not believe he has ever seen combat. So he will not have the same perspectives that I will.
Q: If you were elected, what would be your top priority?
A: Our tax system is broken. I believe we have been trying the federal income tax for over 100 years now, since 1913, and we have to make a drastic change. When you have over 74,000 pages of tax code that is riddled with loopholes that only benefits large corporations and the upper one percent, you have a problem. The rest of us our paying our fair share while they get off scotch free. There are some corporations that pay no taxes at all due to corporate subsidies by the federal government. If we change the tax system to a national sales tax at the final point of sale, I believe it is a lot fairer to our society as a whole. Everybody is paying his or her fair share. It will also bring in money from people such as illegals that are illegally working in the country and tourists who are coming to America just for vacation. In doing so, my plan generates over $5 trillion. Then we can start paying down the national debt, revitalize our infrastructure, and seal the center of work. With the $5 trillion we also need to be responsible and do some spending cuts, but it will allow us to not put it on the next generation.
Q: One of the issues you cover is to “stop the war on coal.” How do you plan to stop it?
A: I believe that the EPA has gone way too far with their regulatory authority. What I am proposing is cutting their funding by 75 percent. There will no longer be a regulatory agency; they will just be an advisory agency to the states because all 50 states currently have their own environmental protection agencies under different names. I believe the EPA set the foundation for what we need to do to keep the environment clean, but the states basically take the ball and run with it. Now, if two states like Wyoming and Nebraska have a disagreement over something like emissions drift, then the EPA steps in and mediates between the two states. Overall they no longer have a regulatory authority. I think in doing so it will revitalize coal. Plus with the new technologies coming out, like liquefying coal for instance, that will continue to grow it will help keep coal or primary energy source and materials in building.
Q: Wyoming is currently facing a fiscal crisis that will result in budget cuts. How would you keep UW a strong fixture?
A: Education is important. With UW being our only four-year university, it is important that we continue offering those opportunities to kids coming out of high school. It is also important to continue funding the university, not just through academics but also athletics because it is a selling point for UW. It will help diversify the student body and bring more talent to the state of Wyoming. Not only out of state, but it will help grow the talent that we have in the state. Offering opportunities to our kids is one of my main priorities because without that we are not growing as a nation. We will run out of finding solutions to the things that ail us.
Q: People who identify as LGBTQ can still be fired based on sexual orientation in Wyoming. How do you plan to address the lack of LGBTQ non-discrimination bills?
A: I believe that is a state’s rights issue. I do not believe in discriminating against somebody because of his or her lifestyle or choices they make. When it comes down to it that is between them and God. The government should not be involved in the bedroom.
Q: With less experience in politics compared to other candidates running, do you think this will help or hurt you?
A: I think that my opponents would point to it as flaw, but I see it as a benefit. Not being baptized in the political environment, such as the culture in Washington, I believe I am bringing an outside perspective. I am somebody who doesn’t owe favors because I am starting with a clean state. The only people I am going to owe are the people that voted for me and for all of the people in Wyoming.
Q: Why should the people of Wyoming vote for you?
A: Growing up in Wyoming, I understand what our sense of community actually means. I have grown up with strong Wyoming values and I understand what the state needs. I have been through the good times and the bad times here in the state. I believe that it is those experiences that are going to help me bring a new perspective to the table and get some new blood circulating in Washington. I know what is right for Wyomingites. Unless you have lived here a while or grew up here, you do not understand what the Wyoming values are. I have also been a student of the Constitution for over 20 years and I think that helps. Also, my experience in the military as a marine will help me bring a perspective to Washington that is currently lacking. There have become less and less veterans that represent people.
