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Editors Note: The Morning Call solicited Your Views from candidates in contested primaries in the Lehigh Valley region. The three Republican candidates running for the nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in November were asked to discuss what they see as they biggest issue(s) facing the 7th Congressional District and how they would approach solving the issue(s). Their responses are running this week, in alphabetical order by last name. Your Views from state House races will run next week.

I am running for Congress because we are losing our country.

The disastrous policies coming out of Washington are making us less safe and creating conditions where Americas next generation may not be better off. Its a serious concern for me personally. My wife and I are expecting our first child a son who is due any day now.

Like any new parent, I find myself reflecting on the conditions my child will be born into. With that in mind, I am extremely worried about the direction of our country.

I have had the honor and pleasure of serving as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing portions of western and northern Lehigh County, working every day to help make our community better.

But its getting harder and harder to have a positive outlook on Americas future. We have a wide-open border that allows migrants to enter the country illegally in record numbers hundreds of thousands of people each month. That adds up to millions over the last few years. That situation is leading to an increase in drugs, crime and human trafficking. Its diverting resources that should be spent to help struggling Americans and rebuild crumbling communities.

We also have an economy where inflation and high prices continue to spiral out of control. With wages not keeping pace, the increased cost of food, energy, housing and other necessities have made life unaffordable and upward mobility unattainable. The biggest driver of inflation has been massive overspending in Washington funded by debt that must be paid by future generations.

In spite of all of this, we continue to hear from members of both parties that they want to continue their reckless spending. They want to send more of our money overseas and hand out Americans hard-earned tax dollars to people in our country illegally. This fiscally irresponsible approach is unsustainable and must be stopped. And I know how.

As a state representative, I have experience authoring and passing legislation that directly addresses illegal immigration and improves our states economic climate.

Currently, I serve as Republican chair of the House Labor & Industry Committee. A number of years ago, both union and nonunion construction industry stakeholders approached me about the increase of illegal labor in their field and how it harmed American workers. So, I acted fast and authored and passed legislation making E-Verify mandatory for all employers in the construction industry.

E-Verify is a Department of Homeland Security program that allows employers to rapidly check the legal working status of individuals before they are hired. It is available for employers to use voluntarily, but my legislation made it mandatory to address the problem of illegal labor in Pennsylvanias construction industry. The bill also makes clear that failure to use E-Verify could lead to fines and other penalties for offending businesses. Ultimately, it passed both the House and Senate in 2019 with veto-proof majorities and become law without Gov. Tom Wolfs signature.

More recently, I introduced a package of legislation to crack down on illegal immigration. It includes bills to further expand the mandatory use of E-Verify, protect vulnerable children from labor exploitation, end sanctuary cities, increase cross-checks to clean up voter rolls, and add language to our state constitution to make it clear that people in the country illegally are not eligible to vote in state or local elections even if officials try to allow for that practice.

On an economic front, I have built a proven record of putting taxpayers first. I never voted for a tax increase, opposed the gas tax increase, voted to reform the broken pension system to save billions of dollars, and I supported property tax elimination for homeowners. I have also led by example when it comes to fiscal responsibility, refusing taxpayer-paid per diems and a state car, supporting legislation to do away with those perks, and also voting to reduce the size of the Legislature.

Another law I authored eliminated the inheritance tax for small family businesses in 2013, streamlined excessive regulations in 2012 and 16, and protected local tax dollars from fraud in 2017. I was also part of a group that scoured state funds to stave off a massive tax increase proposal by Wolf.This effort helped pass a balanced budget without an additional burden on taxpayers.

As a dedicated public servant with a history of reforming government, protecting taxpayers and securing our communities, I am raising my hand to serve in Congress because Im uniquely suited to address illegal immigration and massive overspending in Washington.

We must finish building the wall on our Southern border and end the forever wars overseas. We must stop the wasteful overspending and protect programs like Medicare and Social Security. We must elect candidates who are willing to tackle these issues and I hope you will join me in this fight to get our country back on the right track. For my family and for yours.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Emmaus is a Republican candidate for the 7th Congressional District.

Tuesday: Kevin Dellicker: Ill apply experience in military, business to solve nations problems

Coming Thursday: Maria Montero: I want to restore faith in the American dream

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Election 2024 Your View by Ryan Mackenzie: My experience in Harrisburg will help me address illegal immigration ... - The Morning Call