1st District Republican: Rod Blum

I am a lifelong Iowan. My father and mother had 10th-grade educations. My father dropped out of high school to fight in World War II, and upon his return, he was a laborer at Dubuque Packing Company. My mother cleaned houses to help make ends meet.

They taught me the value of hard work, thrift and playing by the rules - these Iowa values equipped me to succeed in life.

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Private sector experience: I received a B.A. degree in finance from Loras College and an M.B.A. from the University of Dubuque. I worked in the software industry and eventually became an owner of a fledging five-person company that grew to 325 employees in just five years. Subsequently, I was awarded the Iowa Entrepreneur of the Year award in the high-tech category.

I've met a payroll, balanced a budget and solved problems for 24 years. Our firms have created hundreds of Iowa jobs and dealt firsthand with the burdens the federal government puts on the backs of business.

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Grow the economy: America is at its best when the economy and the middle class are strong but currently our working families are economically stressed. Middle-class household incomes and net worth are lower than they were six years ago. At the same time food, gasoline, health care and college tuition prices have all far outpaced the rate of any pay increases for the average family.

I've logged thousands of miles traveling Eastern Iowa, talking with working families. They do not want to be dependent on government - rather they want good jobs. It's time to rein in our hyperactive federal government, simplify the tax code, eliminate corporate welfare, reduce red tape and uncertainty, incentivize savings and investment, and enact lawsuit abuse reform. Let's not argue over who gets how small of a piece from a shrinking pie - let's make the pie bigger so everyone's take home is larger.

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Health care: A large uncertainty holding back business from expanding is the 'Affordable” Care Act. We have the highest-quality health care system in the world - let's get the costs down without sacrificing quality.

We need to give patients more control over their health care, not less. We need to turn the patient into a consumer with Health Savings Accounts. There is a role for government in health care, particularly with our veterans, elderly, impoverished and people with pre-existing conditions. But the health care choices and decisions made by millions of citizens on a daily basis should be their own - this is the only proven way costs can be decreased while maintaining quality.

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I believe in Americans: Washington believes in the power of bureaucrats. I'm running for Congress because I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe in the power and promise of each and every American. We the people are the solution. I stand for a rebirth of economic and personal freedom and the prosperity that will result. Please stand with me.

' Rod Blum of Dubuque is a Republican candidate for the 1st District seat in Congress. Comments: rod@rodblum.com