Peter Meijer

Protecting Our Rights
Life
I am 100% pro-life and will defend Life from conception to natural death. I vehemently oppose any federal funding to support abortion.

Religious Freedom
The First Amendment is first for a reason, and we must preserve the freedom of religion and assembly. No government rule, law, or policy must force an individual or church to violate their closely-held religious beliefs.

Second Amendment
The Second Amendment to our Constitution states that, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed” for a reason; I proudly support the Second Amendment and exercise my own right to keep and bear arms, and I will strongly defend this right against any infringement.

I saw the effect that stigmatizing access to mental health care had in the military, where service members avoided counseling for post-traumatic stress out of fear it would imperil their security clearance, and we cannot create that same stigma with Red Flag Laws.

Federalism
Our division of governance between state and federal control is one of the greatest strengths of our country. In our diverse nation, one-size-fits-all government simply doesn’t work. I will work to ensure that the federal government’s role is as limited as possible and that the vast majority of government functions take place at the state and local level, closest to the people.

As a principle, decisions should be made at the lowest level of competent government in order to make those decisions as responsive to the needs of the people as possible.

In an age of increasing technological surveillance and diminishing personal privacy, we must ensure that our government does not trade hard-fought liberty for security, and that the private sector does not have the ability to turn our private information into profit without our knowledge and consent.

Economy
Debt and Deficit
Every dollar in debt we add is a dollar borrowed from the future on the backs of our children. We need to move towards budget surpluses while the economy is strong and work to pay down our debt before it’s too late.

Regulation and Taxes
Our federal government needs to do little, but do those roles well. I believe strongly in the Congressional Review Act requiring bureaucrats to get approval from both houses of Congress for any regulation with a cost to our economy of over $100 million. Additionally, every new law passed by Congress should be reviewed periodically and measured on performance. We can’t keep adding layers to government that are never revisited. The vast majority of legislation should have sunset clauses and be up for periodic review to ensure it is acting as intended and achieving measurable goals.

We need a simplified tax code that doesn’t require families and small businesses to hire an army of lawyers and accountants simply to comply with the tax code. President Trump’s tax cuts helped out families and small businesses with significant simplification. It also leveled the playing field between small businesses and larger firms, which has further helped to revitalize the economy. Now we need to make sure the swamp and their lobbyists don’t chip away at this progress with loopholes and carve-outs.

Immigration
We are a nation of immigrants, and it is thanks to immigrants, like my great-grandparents who realized the American Dream through hard work, that our economy is the strongest in the world. America will always be a beacon of hope and freedom for the world, but we must reform our broken immigration system so that it prioritizes merit-based immigration and is aligned to benefit our nation in the long-term.

Infrastructure
States have to bear their share of costs for improving our infrastructure but the federal government needs to drive the overall vision and strategy so that states stop delaying necessary maintenance and improvements out of misplaced hope that the federal government will bail them out.

Trade and Tariffs
I believe in free markets and capitalism, but we cannot allow other countries to take advantage of our companies and workers by giving them access to our markets which they don’t offer to American companies. I support tariffs as a tactical means of establishing a level playing field for American workers, but do not believe that tariffs should be a long-term strategy. American workers and companies are the best in the world, drive innovation, and can compete and win against any competitors in a fair system. I will fight alongside President Trump for free and fair trade.

Healthcare
The rising cost of healthcare is a heavy burden borne by too many American families.

We must have a health insurance system that protects patients with pre-existing conditions and provides them affordable access to care.

Nobody should ever have to make the choice between the medicine they need to stay healthy and feeding their family. We can make market based reforms that reduce the costs of life-saving medication while protecting innovation.

I support expanding Health Savings Accounts. Allowing families to save money tax-free to pay the cost of healthcare is a strong market reform that reduces the cost of care.

Education
The education of American children has always been and should continue to be primarily state and local responsibility. I support school choice, the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act, and other efforts by President Trump and Secretary DeVos to ensure access to a quality education for every American child. If federal funds are supporting a school, we need to ensure that those schools are spending their funds wisely and providing parents with more control of their child’s education.

Foreign Policy & Defense
Ending the Endless Wars
President Trump will find no stronger supporter in his drive to end our endless wars than me. I understand these conflicts because I fought. I was there. In Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are not only destructive and wasteful, but also undermine our national security and diminish our standing in the world. After almost two decades, no more American blood should be shed in these conflicts.

Securing Our Borders
A critical component of our national defense is securing our borders, including building physical barriers, to regulate the flow of people and goods into our country. Secure borders are an essential prerequisite to any immigration reform effort to ensure that our immigration system strengthens the country instead of weakening it.

Allies
I believe firmly that it is our responsibility to preserve strong alliances across the world to spread prosperity throughout the world andensure a strong national security. Specifically, Israel is an ally of conviction, and we must support our steadfast ally and protect this beacon of liberty and innovation in the Middle East.

Intelligence
Our intelligence community is the eyes and ears of America in the world, and we must ensure our intelligence community is focused on informing policy makers to deal with strategic issues to prevent the wars of tomorrow rather than being bogged down in the wars of today.

Environment and Energy
Environment
As a nation, we depend on our natural environment for our livelihoods, health, and economic security. We must ensure we have, at a minimum, clean air and clean water. Environmental Conservation: We are stewards of the natural inheritance we have been given, and must value sustainability as a core conservative principle.

The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a natural treasure endowed upon our state of Michigan and represent fully 21% of the surface freshwater on earth. Anyone who seeks to be the voice for West Michigan in Congress has a duty to stand strong to protect the Great Lakes. I will work with my Michigan colleagues and President Trump to ensure that the Great Lakes are defended.

Energy Innovation
We need to encourage the private sector innovation which is driving the transition to renewable energy sources. At the same time, we need to understand that our power needs will always require on-demand energy sources. I support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and natural gas components. Under President Trump, America has become energy independent, and we can never again allow ourselves to become reliant on foreign sources of energy.

COVID
My team and I have been devoted to upholding the utmost health & safety in our community during these unprecedented times, as evidenced by our actions and advocacy. Our team also saw a void placed upon families who found themselves impacted by the adverse effects of economic fallout during the pandemic. To do our part, our team delivered over 36,000 free meals to those in need. We’re all in this together, and we will continue to put our neighbors first.

Stay up to date on the pandemic through the links below:

• Resources from the State of Michigan
• Resources from the Center for Disease Control^[27][28]