U.S. House District 1 candidate: Zane Lawhorn (R)

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NAME: Zane Lawhorn

CANDIDATE FOR: U.S. House 1 (southern West Virginia counties)

CITY OF RESIDENCE: Princeton

EDUCATION AND DEGREES: O.D. Doctor of Optometry; B.A. Bachelors in Biology.

OCCUPATION: Optometric Physician

1. Nearly one in five children live in poverty in West Virginia. What specific policies and legislation do you believe will bring children and families out of poverty?

I want to bring manufacturing jobs to West Virginia. There is no specific legislation on the federal level to address the urgent need to terminate our dependence on China and other foreign countries for manufacturing critical items. Most of our sophisticated chips come from Taiwan. If China were to invade Taiwan, we would not have chips for our fighter jets. That is a direct threat to our national security. I will introduce legislation and work to bring those jobs home to West Virginia. The governor and legislators have worked together to bring several jobs to West Virginia and I commend their efforts. The key to rising out of poverty is to have an abundance of good paying jobs available. I would also like to see a tax cut for the first $100,000 of income to allow for all businesses to be successful and bring jobs to every community. By improving the business climate, we can get the government out of the way and reduce the poverty which plagues our state.   

2. What are your specific plans to address the effects of the opioid epidemic?

The opioid epidemic is a result of two major factors. One is the greed of huge pharmaceutical companies who have deceived doctors into believing opioids were safe and necessary. They are neither. Big Pharma has two much influence on our medical schools, our hospitals and on our government policy makers. I will support legislation to ban lobbyists from the capitol grounds. Voters must act to hold politicians accountable that take campaign funds and other forms of compensation from these corporate interest groups. The second factor is the wide-open border. While not all are opioids, they have the same effects. Causing a record number of deaths and suffering to our families who have lost loved ones. We must close the border. We must stop enabling drug abuse with free needles and other stupid policies. Creating good paying jobs will help some to avoid falling into the despair that comes with our high poverty level. We must act to end the suffering this epidemic causes before it strikes another family. 

3. What can be done to ensure the Black Lung Benefits Trust Fund remains solvent to provide West Virginia miners with health care benefits if their employer files for bankruptcy?

I will support extending the funding of the Black Lung Benefits Trust Fund. The best way to improve funding is by charging the excise tax on all exports. It is ludicrous that only domestic tonnage is taxed. I would support legislation to place the excise tax on all exported coal. I applaud Senator Manchin for his bill introduced to extend the funding for 10 years. Unfortunately, it was not considered important enough to enact as a stand alone bill. Instead, Democrats tied it into a massive spending bill that even the Senator couldn’t support. I will gladly work with the Senator to ensure our miners and their families receive the benefits they deserve. The stipends should be increased with cost of living raises. By taxing exports of coal, we can ensure the solvency of the Trust Fund for years to come. An excise tax could raise millions to cover the shortfalls. In addition, I would hold coal operators financially responsible whose company goes bankrupt but have a golden parachute for themselves. They should be held responsible if they end up with any significant ownership or involvement in a new coal company. Our miners deserve our best effort.  

4. What is your stance on creating a national law enforcement database and training standards to ensure officers who are fired for misconduct cannot just move to another jurisdiction?

I support our law enforcement officers who sacrifice daily to protect our communities. I believe most of our efforts and resources should be used in supporting the vast majority of law enforcement who do a great job protecting us. I believe politics needs to stay out of law enforcement business including the training and hiring policies. We have too much government involvement in every aspect of our lives. Our law enforcement members deserve our respect and support not dictate more policies. Government is the biggest problem they face not the solution. Law enforcement will have a friend in Congress if I get elected.   

5. According to FEMA, flooding has become more common and more severe as the climate changes. What policies do you support to address climate change?

The climate always changes. Government policies do more damage than what the liberals want to acknowledge. If liberals had their way, we would ride horses and hunker in caves during the winter. Or die, since a campfire would pollute. I do believe we should make every reasonable attempt to reduce all types of pollution. I have driven a hybrid car; I constructed my office building to maximize solar passive heat and I recycle. I believe we should protect our valuable water resources and be good stewards of our planet. Enacting policies that cause people to starve, lose their livelihoods and endanger our future survival will not be supported by me. Just like global warming the new catchphrase "climate change" is a political tool to enact dangerous big government policies that are detrimental. I support the defunding of FEMA and several other wasteful government agencies.

Questions from the state League of Women Voters: 

6: Historically, the Voting Rights Act enjoyed bipartisan support. Will you commit to supporting voting rights in the next Congress? If not, please explain what specific Federal legislation you will support to protect voting rights and remove voting barriers for all citizens of WV and other states?

I will always support citizen’s right to vote in honest, fair and transparent elections. I support strong Voter ID requirements. Voters should present a Photo ID, which I would recommend being the state DMV driver's license with a voter registration number. The voter would also have a PIN for additional verification. Personal arrangements made for those with special circumstances.

7. Last year, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. When the Equality Act comes up in the next Congress, will you vote for it? If not, please explain your opposition.

No. The Act violates religious freedom, the Constitution and weaponizes civil rights laws. The Act opens the door to the murder of more preborn children through abortion. It allows males to participate in female sports. It violates the doctor-patient relationship. It creates discrimination and violates God’s Law and I will not support it.

8. WV has a responsibility to meet at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. What measures do you support to make sure that WV complies with IPCC Goals per the Paris Agreement?

I am more concerned about the people of southern West Virginia than some arbitrary goals mandated by politically motivated globalist ‘scientists’. Instead, I want to create good pay jobs by utilizing our resources like coal. I want to DRILL for more energy, open up new sources of oil with neighbors and do it in as environmentally friendly method as possible.