Tracey Mann has unique insight into the job requirements for the Kansas First District Congressional seat. He was Rep. Jerry Moran’s first intern back in 1997.
Mann, a Republican from Quinter seeking to take over Moran’s seat, grew up on 100-year-old family farm and lived in the same house his grandfather ordered from Sears and Roebuck.
Working in commercial real estate, this Ag Economics major has seen the affects taxes and regulations have had on business though the years, Mann said.
Mann said that government growth and spending are out of hand and Congress needs new blood willing to bring growth and spending under control.
“Congress is addicted to spending,” Mann said.
With ever increasing business regulations, it is becoming harder and harder for businesses to remain successful.
“We’re punishing our job creators with needless regulations,” Mann said.
Congress needs to help get the economy back on track so it can start creating new jobs. Tax cuts for small businesses, abolishing the death tax, cutting taxes on savings and investments are necessary for growth.
The prerequisite for growth in this country are good education, good health care and broadband high-speed Internet service.
“We have to have those to be successful,” Mann said.
The $13 trillion deficit has prompted raising the debt ceiling three times in 10 months. To gain financial responsibility, congress needs to reduce spending, eliminate earmarks, pass a balanced budget amendment and stick to it.
He believes that teaching standards need to be set at the state and local level and not by federal decision makers that are out of touch with current needs in education.
Changes in health care, especially in Medicare, will cause small hospitals lots of problems. With 75 hospitals in the First District, the most in any district in the country, he sees the cuts in Medicare to pay for new medical legislation hurting hospitals especially small hospitals.
“This will be a huge strain on community and rural hospitals,” Mann said.
Mann wants to repeal “Obamacare,” with new people in congress and get a new president in 2012 that will not veto the repeal.
He wants to pass tort reform that will decrease the 30 percent of health insurance cost that goes to preventing lawsuits and not healing anyone.
New legislation is also putting more and more restrictions on agriculture. Congress needs more people who understand what really happens on farms and how laws impact farm operations.
“Agriculture is the bedrock of our economy,” Mann said. “Agriculture is under attack by environmentalists and animal rights activists.”
Solving all these problems cannot be done by promoting action from within, Congress needs new people with new ideas, Mann said.
Mann is 33 and has been married to Audrey for eight years. They have no children.
