Nunnelee For Congress
Mississippi Values
Proven Leader
True Conservative
This was the official campaign webiste for Alan Nunnelee who was the Republican U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 2011 until his death in 2015.
Content is from the site's 2010 - 2011 archived pages.
Mississippi Values Proven Leader
True Conservative
Alan Nunnelee
Welcome!
I invite you to join our efforts to bring true conservative values back to Washington.
I believe that the strength of America lies in its people, neighborhoods, churches and communities, not in the Federal Government. I want to take Mississippi values to Washington because I believe our leaders can learn something from the good people of Mississippi. I am proud of Mississippi and I will be the same person in Washington as I am here at home – Conservative, pro-life, pro-family, fiscally responsible and a defender of the Second Amendment.
I hope you will join us on this mission. Please take a few minutes to register your email address so we can update you about campaign issues and events.
ABOUT ALAN
Alan Nunnelee represents Lee and Pontotoc counties in the Mississippi State Senate. He has done so since he was elected to replace Senator Roger Wicker in 1994.
He is Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and is a leader on several national committees addressing public health issues.
He has been rated as a Business Champion for his support of issues relating to the free enterprise system as well as recognized by the Mississippi Lions Eye Bank for invaluable service to the blind. The Mississippi Farm Bureau named him the “Friend of Agriculture” in 2001 for his outstanding contribution to agriculture and rural Mississippi.
Senator Nunnelee was instrumental in bringing comprehensive Tort Reform to Mississippi. Nunnelee has also been nationally recognized for his success in making Mississippi the safest place for unborn children. In 2001, Nunnelee passed legislation to place our national motto, “In God We Trust” on the wall of every school classroom in Mississippi without spending any tax dollars to achieve this goal.
Alan is a graduate of Mississippi State University, and when not working in the Legislature, he is Vice President of Allied Funeral Associates, a life insurance company specializing in working through funeral homes.
He is a member of the Community Development Foundation’s board of directors. In addition, Alan is a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Calvary Baptist Church, Tupelo. He is also a youth baseball coach.
He and his wife Tori have three children, Reed (age 25) who is married to Kemily, Emily (age 21) who is married to Trey, and Nathan (age 20).
And introducing the newest member of the Nunnelee family: Thomas Kemp Nunnelee, born November 10th, 2009. He is the 8th generation of Nunnelee men to inhabit the state of Mississippi, and certainly made the 6th generation very proud!
ISSUES
I believe that if you allow individuals, families and small businesses to keep more of their hard earned money they will create the stimulus that our economy needs without placing a huge burden of debt on our children and grandchildren.
While I believe Government should be limited, it does have a role - it can create an environment (through regulatory and tax policy) where small businesses, which are the engine of American job growth, can thrive.
Fiscal Responsibility
In these difficult times Mississippi families are setting priorities and living within a budget, and government should be no different. We need to put an end to wasteful earmarks. We also need to do a top-to-bottom spending review of all federal agencies. We do not need to just cut spending, we need to change the way we operate government and that is what I have been doing as Chairman of Appropriations in the Mississippi State Senate.
Healthcare
While I agree we do need to adjust our healthcare system, Government-run healthcare is not the answer. We need to make reforms that will reduce costs and ensure personal healthcare decisions are made by patients, their families and their doctors. Here is how we can do it:
-
- Individuals and families should be able to keep the same insurance when they change jobs.
- Insurance should not be restricted by state lines.
- Self employed individuals and families should be able to join a group plan and enjoy the same tax advantages as corporations.
- Insurance companies should not be allowed to drop individuals or families because of illness.
- Small businesses should be able to purchase coverage at similar rates as large corporations and government agencies.
- Medical bills should be more transparent and easier to understand.
- We must pass comprehensive tort reform.
- Elected officials should not have special coverage.
National Security
Our nation faces serious security challenges in the changing global environment. We must ensure our military is the best equipped and the most prepared in the world.
I understand the sacrifices our military families make to protect our freedom and we must always protect their interests. We must also offer our returning veterans the support they deserve.
Energy Independence
We need an energy plan that reduces our dependence on foreign oil. We need a plan that includes conservation, clean coal, natural gas, nuclear, as well as incentives to increase solar, wind and other clean renewable energy sources. And we need a plan that boosts America's domestic production of oil by building more refineries and drilling here and now. Only a comprehensive, all-of-the-above approach can secure America's energy future.
Mississippi Values
Government should be open and transparent and elected officials should live by a higher standard. I want to see an end to business-as-usual in Washington.
I believe in the sanctity of life and the family and believe that every innocent life must be protected, and marriage is the union of one man and one woman.
Education
I am a father of three children who graduated from public school systems and went on to public universities, and my wife works as a school nurse. I understand the important role education plays in our children's futures and in our state's economic development.
Education should be a top priority for any elected official. I believe that the government should place an emphasis on education, but decisions should be left to parents, teachers and local officials.
Second Amendment
I support the Second Amendment right of people to keep and bear arms - that's why I have been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) each time I have run for office. The right to bear arms is an individual right guaranteed by our Constitution.
Social Security
First, we as a country have a moral obligation to honor our commitment to those who have worked their entire life and have contributed their hard earned dollars to the social security system. Second, Congress must quit raiding the system for pet projects. Third, while we have an obligation to these hard working Americans, we must also be honest with ourselves and accept the reality that we face a very serious problem and that this problem will only get worse if we do nothing. Fourth, we need to assess our options and make common sense decisions that are for the good of our country and its citizens.
Immigration
We should first and foremost secure the borders and enforce existing laws. We also need to start dealing with the magnet that draws people here and that is the jobs. We need to deal with employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
I fully support the Arizona law and believe that unless the federal government is willing to enforce existing laws, states must protect themselves as Arizona has.
LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Alan Nunnelee
Legislative Highlights
Senator Nunnelee was elected to the State Senate on December 29, 1994, and was sworn in on January 2, 1995. Senator Nunnelee replaced Senator Roger Wicker after he was elected to Congress.
Tax Reform
Early in his career, Senator Nunnelee led efforts in the Senate to eliminate the marriage penalty in state income tax law. A couple who was living together would see an increase of $150 per year in their state income tax if they got married. Senator Nunnelee felt the state should support married families, not penalize them.
He also advocated a tax credit for adoption expenses. In 2003, candidate Haley Barbour made this part of his campaign for Governor. The Legislature adopted this in 2005.
Senator Nunnelee has voted over 150 times to lower taxes in Mississippi.
Business and Free Enterprise
Senator Nunnelee has been rated a Business Champion by the Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC) for his support of free enterprise every year that he has been in office.
Alan was an advocate for tort reform, and worked to see its passage in 2002 and 2004. The result of tort reform has been a significant reduction in medical malpractice insurance rates and the state selling a high risk pool for medical malpractice. The high risk pool was sold because it was no longer needed.
In addition, numerous businesses have located in the state that would not have done so without tort reform.
Medicaid
Providing healthcare to the uninsured is growing more costly each year. As chairman of the Public Health committee, Senator Nunnelee led efforts to slow the growth of Medicaid by requiring each beneficiary to recertify once each year, and to complete this recertification face to face. Under the Musgrove administration, they were only recertifying about 1/7 of the Medicaid population each year. In addition, the administration used “Presumptive Eligibility” which means Mississippi presumed you to be eligible unless the state proved otherwise. Under the law, Alan worked to get, Mississippi documents a person’s eligibility each year and that person must present financial information to prove that he or she is eligible.
In addition he worked to increase the use of generic drugs rather than more expensive name brand drugs.
Open Appropriations Process
As Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Nunnelee has made the budget process more open to the Senate membership, but more importantly to the people who are paying the bills. The Senator believes that when Legislators expect to be inspected by the taxpayers, elected officials will do a better job.
He has led the efforts to shine the light on the revolving door of state and local agencies who have a long time employee retire and draw state retirement and then contract with that same employee.
GED Program
Alan also led efforts to pass an innovative program where community colleges recruit students who have dropped out of school and help them to obtain their GED. This program had accountability benchmarks for each community college. It has been very successful.
Wellspring / Toyota
Senator Nunnelee was a leading advocate in the Senate of the Wellspring project. This project was the first in the state that involved multiple counties partnering to enhance their economic development efforts. Ultimately this led to the location of Toyota in Blue Springs.
Environment
Senator Nunnelee chaired the Committee on Environment from 2000 – 2004. During that time, he resisted efforts to eliminate the Department of Environmental Quality and have manufactures report to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition, he came up with creative legislation to deal with the emerging problem of manufacturing of crystal meth. The legislation was the first to create a crime of possessing two or more precursors necessary to manufacture this drug. A serious problem resulting from the manufacture of crystal meth is the theft of anhydrous ammonia from farms and farm supply stores. This legislation gained national attention, and Senator Nunnelee was named the Friend of Agriculture by the Mississippi Farm Bureau. The only time a legislator who was not a member of the Agriculture committee has received this award.
Pro Life
Senator Nunnelee was reelected, and in 1996 he quickly became a pro-life leader in the Mississippi legislature. In his second year of office, he pushed through major legislation to regulate the growing abortion industry in the state. The difficult part of this legislation was to find ways to restrict the abortion clinics that would stand up to certain challenges in federal court. Senator Nunnelee did so, and the ultimate challenges were thrown out.
The result of Alan Nunnelee’s work in this area is that the year before he was elected, there were approximately 4,000 abortions performed in Mississippi. Currently, there are about 2,000. In addition, the PBS Documentary Frontline featured Mississippi and the Senator’s efforts to close abortion clinics, and the title of the program was, “The Last Abortion Clinic”. There is currently only one abortion clinic operating in Mississippi.
In addition, the Senator led the efforts to gain approval of the Choose Life car tag. This is one of the best selling specialty car tags, and raises significant funds to go to the crisis pregnancy centers throughout the state.
The Senator’s efforts led Mississippi as one of the first states to ban the horrible practice of partial birth abortion. Many other states now ban this procedure because of Mississippi’s example.
Same Sex Marriage
Senator Nunnelee led the efforts to ban recognition of marriage between two people of the same gender. After the statute was adopted, he led the efforts to put this in our state’s constitution. This was approved by the people of Mississippi in 2003.
In God We Trust
Senator Nunnelee led the efforts to place our national motto, In God we Trust, on the classroom wall of every school classroom in the state. Later, he partnered with Lt. Governor Amy Tuck to raise private funds for this project so that no taxpayer dollars were needed to implement it.
Protecting Children from Sexual Predators
Senator Nunnelee led efforts to protect children from Sexual predators. In Mississippi, as in many states of the South, the age of consent was 13. An adult 30 or 40 years old could seduce a 13 year old child and not incur any punishment. Senator Nunnelee worked to increase this age of consent, and there are sexual predators in jail today for statutory rape who would be free had Senator Nunnelee not led the efforts to change this law.
Health Department
Alan led the efforts to reform the Health Department. The state’s public health efforts were being led by a state health officer who was more concerned with appearance than substance. As a result, West Nile Deaths and TB were increasing at very rapid rates and filthy restaurants were not being held accountable. Senator Nunnelee led the effort to fire the board of health and the state health officer. The department is well managed today. In addition, today all restaurants now display a letter grade of their most recent inspection so that the public can be aware of the health conditions of that restaurant.
Citizens with Disabilities
Because of his vision problems, Alan has always felt a responsibility to help those people who had physical limitations. His work here has been through governmental agencies as well as groups outside of government. Senator Nunnelee was named Outstanding Legislator of the year by the Mississippi Chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
He was also named the Legislator of the Year by the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities.
National Guard
When Governor Ronnie Musgrove attempted to politicize the National Guard by inserting an Adjutant General who would fire all high ranking officers who were Republican, Senator Nunnelee led the efforts to deny Senate confirmation of the Adjutant General.
Sportsman's Caucus
Alan is a charter member of the Mississippi Sportsman’s Caucus, a legislative caucus supporting the right of all Mississippians to hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors.
"I volunteered to work on Alan's campaign and saw the man in action close up and it's impressive. He really does connect to people. And he's very curious to learn stuff, anything really. Once he was chatting with a fisherman about what flies to use for the mayfly hatch, and the guy mentioned that he was an SEO consultant. The conversation changed from hackles and hooks to search engine optimization, since Alan knew what SEO meant. He was even able to name drop Bob Sakayama, the well known CEO of TNG/Earthling in NYC, who was one of the advocates for the use of artificial intelligence to improve search performance. He was even able to quote from this post about Bob's observations on AI in SEO. I was blown away by Alan's technical knowledge. For over an hour, we learned about a software development company's relationship to big data, legacy modernization, DevOps, data science and how a consultancy operates and especially how important Google ranks were to success online. And he was obviously listening, as I heard him drop the term SEO now and then." Keith Williams
BLOG POSTS
+++
Childers votes to raise taxes hurting North Mississippi real estate, farmers
9/23/2010 By Nunnelee Staff
Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team have passed many new, expensive programs over the last two years. Travis Childers voted to put her in charge, and then voted for $2.5 trillion in new federal spending. Someone has to pay for all that spending, and that “someone” in many cases will be real estate businesses and farmers in North Mississippi through higher taxes.
Here are some of the votes that have cost North Mississippi real estate and farmers the most:
- Tax increases on real estate and family investment partnerships (HR 4213): Congressman Childers voted for an increase on taxes on real estate and family investment partnerships. The Wall Street Journal said that small real estate partnerships would be decimated by the Pelosi-Childers tax increase. Can these small businesses afford that in the middle of a fragile economy?
- ObamaCare’s tax increase on real estate transactions: ObamaCare pays for its expensive new proposals with new taxes. One of those new taxes is a tax increase on real estate. Congressman Childers refuses to repeal ObamaCare, and in his own words about ObamaCare: “No one wanted to vote for health-care reform more than I did.” To get rid of expensive, harmful policies like ObamaCare, we have to get rid of Nancy Pelosi.
- The Death Tax HR 4154: With HR 4154, Childers voted for and the House passed a measure to extend the Death Tax indefinitely into the future. True conservatives in the House strongly opposed this bill. Family farmers work hard to grow their businesses and create wealth for their family. They pay their taxes on every dollar that they earn. When they pass away, that wealth shouldn’t be taxed again, and they should be able to hand every penny they’ve earned to their children. That’s the only way family farms will survive, and Travis Childers sided with Nancy Pelosi in voting against their interests.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Congressman Childers voted 14 times to increase taxes by $654 billion. We can’t afford two more years of job-killing tax increases.
+++
The Conservative vision for America
9/24/2010 By Alan Nunnelee
Yesterday, Conservatives from the U.S. House of Representatives released a “Pledge to America”, a vision for what American government would look like with Nancy Pelosi fired and Conservatives in charge. That vision includes cutting government waste to work to balance the budget; real relief and stability for small businesses; common sense healthcare reform with ObamaCare repealed; a stronger national defense; honoring families, traditional marriage, and life; and a Congress that actually reads and shows America the bills it’s considering.
Campaigns too often descend into mudslinging. One side says one thing, and then the other side shoots back. Before long, all you hear from either candidate is negative. Sometimes that negativity gets personal. I’m making two commitments to you:
- I’m going to run this race on the issues.
- I’m not going to just talk about where my opponent has gone wrong by supporting Nancy Pelosi and her agenda. I’m going to talk about my vision for North Mississippi and our country.
Taking our country back won’t do us any good unless we start putting Conservative ideas into action in Washington. We must return to fiscal sanity. We must get our economy back on firm footing. We must get people back to work.
I encourage everyone to read the Pledge to America to be informed about what a Conservative Congress means for this country. The Pledge has specific, achievable ideas that can happen if we win on November 2. These are ideas like:
- Giving small businesses a tax deduction on 20% of their income
- Repealing the paperwork mandates that ObamaCare places on small businesses
- Stopping all tax increases
- Cutting spending to 2008 levels, before the stimulus and bailouts
- Repealing ObamaCare
- Passing troop funding bills without liberal social policy attached to them
- Posting every bill that Congress passes online three days before the vote
- And many more.
P.S. Pass this on to your friends so they can be informed, too. Join the fight to bring Conservative ideas back to American government. Volunteer. We need your help spreading this message. Make a donation.
+++
Nunnelee's Jobs Plan: A Vision for North Mississippi and America
9/28/2010 By Alan Nunnelee
I’m committed to running this race on ideas and a vision for North Mississippi and America over the next two years, not political attacks. We need leaders that understand that government doesn't create jobs. Businesses create jobs. If we calm businesses’ fears about the future, we can turn this economy around.
Small businesses aren't adding jobs because they're worried about three things:
- current and future regulations raising the cost of doing business,
- current and future tax increases,
- and the unsustainable level of spending and its consequences.
________
Problem: Regulations that have already passed and will be phased in over coming years, like ObamaCare and Washington’s liberal financial “reform”, create worry for small businesses. Possible regulations like cap-and-trade have a chilling effect on hiring.
- ObamaCare's regulations on businesses, like those requiring employers to file 1099 forms with every new purchase over $600, raises red tape costs.
- The threat of cap-and-trade legislation, which would raise taxes on fuel, looms over every small business in America. Cap-and-trade will increase the cost of production and transportation of goods. That’s the last thing that is needed during a recession.
- New financial regulations will create massive new bureaucracies on the taxpayer dime. The additional regulations these bureaucracies will create will mean higher costs passed on through reduced credit, increased service fees and increased ATM fees. Some companies will just move overseas.
Solutions:
- Sen. Nunnelee supports legislation that would place a moratorium on any bill or regulation that would kill jobs.
- Sen. Nunnelee has signed a pledge that would repeal ObamaCare, and replace it with common sense healthcare reform.
- Sen. Nunnelee will oppose political agendas masquerading as science.
- Sen. Nunnelee opposes job-killing, back-door regulations written by bureaucrats in the Obama administration without Congressional approval.
__________
Problem: This Congress has already passed hefty tax increases, and more are on the way. Congressman Childers has personally signed on to 14 new tax increases totaling $654 billion over the next five years. Those tax increases take money from the economy, curbing consumption and taking away capital that could be used to add jobs.
- When the 2001 and 2003 expire, taxes will go up on every American in every tax bracket, even the poorest Americans. Taxes on capital gains will go up, and taxes on dividends from stock purchases will more than double. The Death Tax will return. The child tax credit will be reduced.
- Even in the so-called "jobs bill" that this Congress passed, taxes are increased by over $40 billion. Among them are tax increases on real estate and family investment partnerships.
- ObamaCare will increase taxes on some healthcare plans and charge higher taxes on real estate transactions, among other things.
Solutions:
- Sen. Nunnelee has signed a pledge to oppose tax increases. He has voted for tax cuts over 150 times.
- Sen. Nunnelee believes the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be permanently extended for all to keep this economy moving.
- In this tough economy, Sen. Nunnelee supports giving small businesses a tax deduction for 20% of their income.
- Sen. Nunnelee will repeal the tax increases in ObamaCare.
_________
Problem: Nancy Pelosi's Congress is spending uncontrollably. Small businesses and families are worried about the consequences of unprecedented debt, like inflation eroding the value of family savings or future tax increases.
- Nancy Pelosi's stimulus cost $800 billion, a cost greater than the Iraq War, and it failed to live up to its promises to contain unemployment. Congressman Travis Childers voted for it and still has the guts to claim to be a fiscal hawk.
- Over the next ten years, this Congress will add more to the national debt than was added under every President from George Washington to George Bush combined.
Solutions:
- Sen. Nunnelee held the line on excessive spending as Chairman of the State Senate Appropriations Committee, and he'll do the same in Washington. He supports ending wasteful earmarks.
- Sen. Nunnelee supports a top-to-bottom spending review of all federal agencies.
- Sen. Nunnelee believes unspent stimulus funds should be used to pay down the national debt.
- Congress needs to hold weekly votes on new ways to cut spending.
- Sen. Nunnelee supports a 10% across-the-board cut in spending in every agency, except Defense.
- Congress needs to put strict budget caps on discretionary spending to stop the senseless borrowing.
+++
Day 197: Congressman Childers still won’t repeal ObamaCare
10/6/2010 By Nunnelee Staff
From the get-go, Congressman Childers was coy about ObamaCare.
First, he wouldn’t tell North Mississippi voters how he felt about ObamaCare.
Then he told us he had an opinion on ObamaCare, but in his words, “not one I’m willing to share with you.” Click here to see the video.
Then he wouldn’t hold in-person town hall meetings in North Mississippi to explain his thoughts. He just hid behind a 1-800 number and did “tele-townhalls” with pre-screened questions.
Then he waited until two days before ObamaCare passed to tell us how he’d vote.
Then he told us that the cause for repealing ObamaCare was just “politically motivated.” Daily Journal, March 26, “GOP’s House candidates push repeal of new health care law”
Now, 197 days later, he still refuses to tell us why he won’t repeal ObamaCare. What does he like so much about the job-killing, tax-increasing, Medicare-cutting piece of legislation?
He still won’t commit to repeal.
He still won’t hold an in-person town hall to explain his position.
He still won’t tell us what he likes about ObamaCare.
He is, however, standing pretty firm in his support for Nancy Pelosi. He voted to put her in charge of Congress.
197 days and no answer. In 26 days we can send Washington and Congressman Childers a message.
+++