Many topics were covered, the first of which was about adding more civility to our political dialogue. I believe we must set the bar higher, while still debating the issues without shouting each other down.

We discussed Second Amendment rights. I believe there are many things we can do to solve gun violence without infringing on the Second Amendment rights of Americans who are law abiding citizens. I support having armed safety officers in schools. Recently in Maryland the safety officer responded, quickly protecting students from further violence. I also believe we need to allow our retired law enforcement to be held to the same standards, instead of the currently higher, for concealed carry and crack down on illegal “straw” purchases.

The future of social security and Medicare was on the minds of many as social security will become insolvent in 17 years, and will result in terrible hardships for many senior citizens if we don’t start fixing it now.

I also work to help our veterans and protect them from government overreach. My district office has been instrumental in ensuring this case by case, and I support the Choice Act giving veterans the decision in where they get their healthcare.

I recognize that our budget has been increasing and with it, the federal deficit. At $20 trillion with 3% interest we are paying $600 billion to finance our debt alone, which is completely unacceptable. The House has passed a 10-year plan to balance our budget, and I also favor a balanced budget amendment. The budget recently passed was a compromise; the trend of using continuing resolutions to fund our government has proved devastating to our military readiness. To get our troops the training and equipment they need a compromise had to be reached with Democrats in the Senate, resulting in the budget that was passed.

On the topic of immigration, I believe it is a national security issue. In last week’s public hearing the Secretary of Homeland Security mentioned that 15 terrorists a day attempt to enter the U.S. I support stronger security for all our borders. I was also one of six Republicans to write our President saying I support immigration reform, but ensure that DACA recipients, TPS families, and H-4 visa holders do not have to fear deportation.

Opportunities for small businesses must be increased, which is why I cosponsored and helped write the SCORE act and other similar legislation supporting micro loans. I also believe we need to focus on technical training in high schools to help solve the worker deficiency we are facing in many of the trades. We also need to re-evaluate criminal sentencing and ensure those who are serving their time are afforded training to help them re-enter society so we can stop the cycle of repeat offenses.