Ideology
Helping unemployed Mississippians
Mississippi residents who lost their jobs used to collect $210 a week in unemployment benefits. During my first year in office, I sponsored a bill that raised the weekly unemployment benefit to $235 a week. That $25 weekly increase has helped ease the financial pain of thousands of Mississippians who have struggled to find work in the worst recession in decades. At the same time, I have worked with local and state economic development officials to lure new industry, attract new jobs and save existing jobs – including about 200 jobs we saved at Ayrshire, an electronics company with a plant in Corinth.
Strengthening drug laws
I was shocked in December when Tippah County Dep- uty DeWayne Crenshaw was killed in the line of duty
by a suspect high on “bath salts.” Deputy Crenshaw’s family, and the residents of Tippah County, suffered a senseless, tragic loss. After learning more about the dan- gers and increasing popularity of “bath salts,” I knew
we had to do something immediately to prevent similar problems in the future. I joined with other lawmakers and passed a bill this year to outlaw the synthetic drug. While we can’t change what happened that fateful night in December, we can use this new law – which we cal “The Crenshaw Act – to also honor the memory of a dedicated, fallen officer.
Supporting local firefighters
I’ve always been a big supporter of volunteer fire depart- ments, in which residents in rural communities band together to provide much-needed protection for their fellow residents against the threat of fires. Volunteer firefighters receive no compensation for their work. Yet they put their safety and lives on the line every day. I have secured funding to provide volunteer fire depart- ments with fire trucks and equipment they need. I continue to place their needs front-and-center.
Balancing our budget
This economic recession has been tough on you and our entire state. Yet, I and other lawmakers have funded
state government and state services at the highest possible level every year with a balanced budget. I am
immensely proud of that, especially as we watch the mounting debt and deficit problems that plague our
national government. That isn’t happening here. And I will continue to make sure it won’t happen here. We
have a balanced state budget. We live within our means. That won’t change.
Supporting state employees
I greatly respect the thousands of people who give their time and talent to work for our state. Our employees are loyal. They sometimes work under difficult, stressful circumstances. And because of that, I strongly support keeping them under the protec- tion of the State Personnel Board. I also support the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi. I oppose any and all efforts to change or close PERS. We must keep the commitment we made to our state employees that we will offer them a strong, sound retirement program.
Funding our schools
I always have supported public education in my dis- trict and across this state. We need to give our schools exactly what they need in order to be successful and prepare our children to be the leaders of tomorrow.
I even helped provide Corinth Elementary School $18,000 in state money for much-needed playground
equipment for their students. This year, I opposed efforts that would have cut millions of dollars in state funding for our public schools. K-12 public schools already have suffered a total of $300 million in cuts the past three years. They couldn’t survive any more cuts. So, I stood with other education supporters and said, “No more cuts.”
We won that battle. However, the fight is not over. We still have a lot to do to improve public education
at all levels in Mississippi. And I give you my word I am as dedicated to that issue as I have ever been. I will
do anything and everything within my power to make sure we offer our children a top-notch, quality public
education. They deserve nothing less.