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Contact Phil
About Phil Black
Phillip H. Black of Lexington
County is challenging incumbent congressman Joe Wilson for the
privilege of representing the people of South Carolina Congressional
District 2 in the June 10, 2008 GOP primary election. Black, a
native of Barnwell and current resident of the Lake Murray area of
Lexington County, is a retired employee of the Federal Small
Business Administration and part owner of a Barnwell hardware store.
Black is a former member of the Barnwell 45 and Lexington School District 1 board.
He and his wife, Martha, are members of Lake Murray Baptist Church.
Phil
Black
filing to challenge incumbent Congressman Joe Wilson for the
Republican nomination in the June 10, 2008 GOP primary election.
News Release - 3/16/2008 |
My name is Phil Black and
I want to thank you for your interest and welcome you to my web
site. I am entering the District 2 Congressional race because I
want the chance to make a difference in Washington so that our
children and grandchildren can have the same opportunities and
quality of life in the future that we have enjoyed.
Let me tell you a
little about myself...
All of my family was
born and lived in Barnwell South Carolina. I am a graduate of
Riverside Military Academy and the University of Georgia. I have
worked in banking, real estate, construction and have been a small
business owner (Black’s Supply in Barnwell is still going strong
after 33 years). I am retired from the U S Small Business
Administration. My wife Martha and I are members of Lake Murray
Baptist Church where I have served as Trustee, Moderator and
Chairman of the Building Committee. I have served on both Barnwell
45 and Lexington 1 School Boards.
One of my biggest
concerns...The President tells us we are in a slow
down of the economy --- I am here to tell you that I am afraid we
are in a full scale RECESSION. We have sent our industrial base off
shore and we are trying to borrow ourselves out of debt. Bottom
line – we need change in Washington starting with someone who has
lived and walked in the shoes of the working class. I am not a
Career Politician. The Federal Government is broken and many of our
elected officials are in denial and have their heads buried in the
sand. Our problems did not happen over night but with a few quick
fix procedures we can begin to cut fuel costs and work on the long
range solutions for the economy, immigration, health care, education
and national defense. I am asking for your most precious
possession, your VOTE. I pledge that when I get to Washington I
will work to change the way Washington does business and bring their
focus back to the needs of the citizens of this great nation.
Education
What can we do to fix NCLB? Full
federal funding is certainly one thing, but we also know that just
merely pouring dollars into the system does not work. Look at the
trillions of dollars used in Federal programs over the years. If
money were the factor that affected student achievement, then there
would be no reason for the NCLB Act of 2002. The primary variables
that could make the program succeed are:
- Provide
quality teachers. The NCLB talks about highly qualified
teachers but where will they come from and how will they be
paid? Realistically, how do we recruit and keep teachers in
South Carolina’s low achieving districts?
- Design a
different way of measuring success. The use of a single
administration of a test only provides a snap shot of what
children can do at one particular point in time. The
accountability that has become tied to test scores has produced
a situation that has placed the importance of the test in a
higher position than how we get children to achieve at a rate
that is appropriate to them. Worst of all is the fact that now
there is so much test taking and preparation that we have
severely limited the amount of time for instruction.
- The ACT
requires the use of “scientifically based research standards”.
In fact, the What Works Clearing House was established to
examine research and determine whether or not the programs
actually had an effect on student achievement. That’s well and
good, but in educational research we cannot produce the same
types of experiments used, for example, in chemistry. The best
we can do is use some random effects design to determine that
growth has taken place. In the end, all we have been able to do
is to look at programs and say they “seem” to have a positive
effect on student achievement. We cannot say there is a direct
correlation between the observed use of a program and the score
achieved by students. Related to this, education companies are
bringing to schools programs they say are based in research but
look carefully at how student achievement is defined and
measured.
- All of the
above interacting together will provide a learning environment
conducive to each student maximizing his or her potential.
When elected to Congress Phil Black
will introduce a bill to revise the NCLB Act of 2002.
The Economy
The current administration
inherited a large budget surplus when it took office in 1990.
Through its’ fiscal mismanagement, it has transformed that surplus
into the largest national deficit in history. While reducing taxes
for a select few wealthy individuals and for corporations, it has
failed to restrain spending. Congress has participated in this
spending spree by including a record number of so-called “earmarks”
in each budget. These fiscal policies, coupled with the huge cost of
the Afghan and Iraq wars, have caused the nation to have to borrow
money by issuing US Treasury bonds. These bonds are being bought by
entities of sovereign nations such as China and Saudi Arabia, which
now own a large piece of America. Our children and grandchildren
will eventually have to pay these debts.
The effects of
our declining economy are devastating average citizens. The current
exorbitant price of fuel is affecting every aspect of their lives,
from the cost of driving to work, to increased cost of food at the
super market. The home mortgage crisis is only making this financial
situation worse. Most citizens have stock market investments in the
forms of an Individual Retirement Account or a traditional pension
plan. Their investments’ values have steadily declined since last
Fall. The economy is not in a “slowdown” as President Bush has
stated, but has been in full-scale recession for several months.
Yet, neither party in Washington is taking meaningful actions to
move the economy toward recovery.
In the late
1980’s and early 1990s, the United States negotiated and ratified
the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central
America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). These agreements, coupled with
other free trade agreements, have made it advantageous for American
companies (including our own textile industry) to move their
manufacturing facilities overseas, where they can take advantage of
cheap labor and lax environmental regulations. They can then export
these products to the US market without paying tariffs. Our national
manufacturing base, along with millions of jobs, is now located
overseas. Virtually nothing is made in America anymore.
If elected to
Congress, Phil Black will support:
•
Renegotiation of NAFTA and CAFTA to insure that the United
States is playing on a “level economic field”.
• Revision of
tax policies so that companies that locate their facilities
overseas are financially penalized, and companies that keep
their facilities in the United States are financially rewarded.
• Elimination
of budget “earmarks”.
• Renewal of
the “Pay as You Go” (PAYGO) policy in Congress, which prohibits
Congress from starting new programs unless they also provide a
mechanism to pay for these programs.
• Adoption of
a real National Energy Policy designed to reduce our dependence
on foreign oil, instead of the current policy that was written
by the oil companies for their own advantage.
Health
Care
Over the last few
decades, the United States has experienced rapidly increasing health
care costs. Health insurance premiums have risen on average by
double-digit percentage points over the past five years, 2-3 times
the rate of inflation. Because of these out-of-control health-care
costs, there has been a steep rise in the number of uninsured
Americans. Currently, more than 45 million Americans lack any form
of health insurance, and millions more are “underinsured”-they have
insurance, but lack adequate financial protection for health care
costs. However, Federal law requires that uninsured citizens must
receive medical treatment if they go to hospital emergency rooms.
The cost of this medical treatment is passed to those who have
health insurance.
Many factors
contribute to this situation, but the single most important cause is
the “competitive” nature of our health care system. Under this
system, many “for profit” organizations (insurance companies,
hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, etc.) are vying for a
share of the health care dollar. Fully one third of health care
costs are consumed by these organizations in the form of
administrative costs (advertising, claim review, billing, and
accounting). Some of these organizations have powerful influence
over Congress and the Executive branch, keeping our government from
adopting a more efficient and economical health care system.
If elected to
Congress, Phil Black will support:
- Adoption
of a National universal health care system on the model of
the current MEDICARE system. Under this system, all citizens
would be fully insured, and would get medical treatment on a
“fee for service” basis, as they now do. However there would
be a single-payer, reducing the huge administrative costs of
our current system.
- Initiation
of “triage” systems in hospital emergency rooms, where only
those with serious ailments or injuries would be treated in
expensive emergency rooms. Those with less serious problems
would be treated in less-expensive facilities staffed my
medical paraprofessionals (physician’s assistants, nurses,
etc.).
- Changing
Federal legislation that prohibits the Department of Health
and Human Services from negotiating competitive prices for
MEDICARE Part D drug coverage.
Energy
Our
country needs a revitalized energy policy that reduces our
dependency on foreign oil, encourages research and development of
renewable energy sources and encourages private sector investment in
natural gas and oil exploration. We must provide relief for our
citizens who are struggling at the fuel pump with gasoline prices
that drain their funds when trying to get to work and we must
provide relief for our citizens who can no longer afford to
adequately heat their homes. This country must look beyond carbon
based fuels that threaten our environment and poison the air we
breathe.
When elected Phil Black will work to
reduce our dependency on foreign oil and reduce the price of
gasoline at the pump.
Immigration
Illegal
immigration is one of the most serious issues facing our country.
We must secure our borders as the first and most elementary step in
solving this problem. This situation not only mocks our immigration
laws but also makes a joke of our homeland security efforts. We can
no longer tolerate open borders. We must have the long promised
fence on the border between the United States and Mexico and we must
fully fund and support the agencies charged with controlling access
through this and every point of entry into this country. Then and
only then can we begin to adequately address and deal with the
crisis of what to do with the millions of illegal aliens Washington
has refused to handle. Amnesty is not the answer. We can start by
enforcing the laws that are currently on the books. We don’t need
more un-enforced or un-enforceable laws.
When elected to
congress Phil Black will work to secure our borders with a
combination of real and virtual fences, improved monitoring of
foreign nationals entering our country and increased support and
funding of the agencies tasked with these responsibilities.
National
Defense
Strong
active military forces are the nation’s best deterrent
against aggressive actions by rogue nations or terrorist
organizations. After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
successive administrations, both Democratic and Republican,
attempted to reap a “peace dividend” by reducing our active
military forces. These cuts were particularly heavy in the
support branches (engineers, military police, supply, and
logistics) so necessary to conduct stability operations.
Accordingly, we have had to rely too much on the Reserves
and National Guard to perform these functions in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Members of both active and reserve forces are
subjected to numerous repeated tours of duty in these
conflicts, subjecting both them and their families to many
hardships. Furthermore, the Reserves and National Guard are
not available to accomplish their first missions of disaster
relief and homeland security.
The
current administration pays lip service to supporting our
troops, while at the same time submitting budgets that
reduce benefits to the warriors who are sacrificing for our
nation, including:
-
Reducing the budget of the Department of Veteran’s
Affairs, resulting in long waiting periods for veterans
to get health care and the creation of Category 8
veterans who have a modest income. Category 8 veterans
cannot even apply for VA health care.
-
Reducing the budget of the military health system,
resulting in incidents such as that involving Walter
Reed Army Hospital being unable to provide adequate
health care to wounded warriors.
-
Repeated attempts by the Administration to increase
TRICARE enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, and
copays, resulting in financial hardship on our warriors
and veterans.
When
elected to Congress, Phil Black will not only provide
moral support to our troops, but will seek to provide
funding to strengthen our active and reserve military forces
and provide decent benefits to our troops and veterans.
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