DISTRICT: MI - 01 Jack Bergman (R)

Date: 4-11-16
Candidate: Jack Bergman
Event: Your Defending Fathers Radio Show Patriot Voice Radio Network 94.5
WYPV
Time of day target began speaking: 8:15am
Approx. Crowd Size: n/a
Approx. Time Spent Talking: 14:00
Press Coverage: n/a
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBnMYWO29s4
Subjects covered: Federal Debt, Military Spending, Sequestration, IRS, Tax Code,
Downsizing the Federal Government, Federal Reserve, Dept. of Education, Common
Core, ISIS, Dept. of Defense spending, A-10 Warthog
Event Notes: n/a
Speech Notes:
(How hed be as Congressman) If an item cant stand up to scrutiny and pass
on its own merits it has no place in any bill. I will be active in in the Conservative
caucuses not just a participant. We know there are going to be hard choices. There
is no question that there will be some situations where the provision in the bill is of
such importance that voting no is worse than voting yes but my constituents will
know why I voted and how I voted and Ill explain to them.
(Eliminating the IRS) I would favor something along the lines of flat tax
proposals, something simple, very few rules, two or three rates no complexities. We
need to eliminate the IRS as it currently exists.
(Reducing Federal Agencies) Well if you read the preamble it will give you
exactly the businesses the federal government should be in to the 90 plus percent
level. Its too big. Its too complex. It does to many things that it really has no
constitutional authority to do - good examples of that are Departments of Education
and Department of Energy. They are unnecessary bureaucracies.
(Federal Reserve) Well in answer to your question.should we audit the Fed?
Absolutely. As for making changes to the Fed. I tell you whatask me after the audit
because daylight and sunshine lends a lot of visibility to exactly whats underneath
the tent. So lets hold my comments on that until we see what the audit produces.
(Common Core) Well number one get rid of Common Core, dont teach student
tests, that that doesnt yield the kind of functional citizens that we need to take this
country forward. I believe in state control of education. There is no federal mandate.
Federal involvement is ineffective, inefficiency.
(Student Loan Default Rate) The default rate is skyrocketing. Higher ed should
compete in the free market like everyone else. If perspective students cant afford

the price of colleges and universities then there is going to have to be price
reduction to fill those classrooms. Make them compete. And colleges and
universities always brag about their endowmentshow about using some of them.
(Immigration Banning Muslims) Well I dont bar. I dont support anything
absolute like that one way or the other. I think Mr. Trump made a good point where
we need to make forward progress very quickly is in getting control of the process
by which we vet people coming into this country.
Our country was founded by immigrants. They created a society worth becoming
part of. Those who do not desire to assimilate into our way of life quite frankly
should go elsewhere. The United States must remain the premiere melting pot in
this world. Thats what made us great.
(ISIS) That will require a select number of American boots on the ground in the
training, equipping and advising role of our allies. So going forward there is no end
to what were in today. There are only little points that we make progress on
operation, one coalition at a time.
Full Transcript
Trucker Randy: As of this morning, were joined by a new candidate Brian just
filed yesterday afternoon with the Secretary of States office down in Lansing and
wed like to make the announcement here on Patriot Voice Radio Network. The 1 st
Congressional district currently held by Congressman Dan Beneshik has a new
candidate running on the Republican ticket. Retired General Jack Bergman is joining
us this morning. Good Morning Jack. 00:29:00
Jack Bergman: Hey good morning Randy. How are you?
Trucker Randy: Im good. Good, good, good and uh were going to set our
volumes here with you a little bit and get to the questions right away.
Jack Bergman: Can I make one small point of order if you will. Okay because
sometimes, we deal with an economy that sometime can get inflationary and just
the correct terminology is that people call me General is because Lt. General is too
long. Three stars is a Lt. General cause there are a lot of great generals out there
Im not one of them Im just a three star guy. 01:08:00
Trucker Randy: Okay, I stand duly corrected.
Brian Sommerfield: And you can easily remember that by, BE MY LITTLE
GENERAL.
Trucker Randy: There you go.
Jack Bergman: Thats right.
Trucker Randy: Very good, well I apologize for that introduction and stand
corrected. Jack one of the things that I think people are concerned about in
Washington the Congress people not understanding the power of the purse string
and one of our main complaints Brian and I have on our show is the Federal deficit

and how its completely spiraling out of control. This thing is just going to hit 20
trillion dollars before Obama leaves office. As a candidate running for Congress
whats your plan with dealing with this huge problem of the federal debt. 02:04:00
Jack Bergman: One Congressman cant do it alone. There has got to be a cultural
change in Congress and the cultural change starts with the kind of person you send
to DC. Leaders. Not people just ascending to another career in the political rung. So
you have to have the right people there. I will persuade Congress people from both
parties both on the floor and in committee to remove the unnecessary spending
that is buried in legislation. If an item cant stand up to scrutiny and pass on its
own merits it has no place in any bill. I will be active in in the Conservative caucuses
not just a participant. We know there are going to be hard choices. There is no
question that there will be some situations where the provision in the bill is of such
importance that voting no is worse than voting yes but my constituents will know
why I voted and how I voted and Ill explain to them.
And basically, lets face it maybe we need some changes in the budget and how we
do it. Zero based budgeting I would suggest to you is a concept we should look at
again. 03:12:00
Trucker Randy: Absolutely. Well one of the things being a recently former, active,
military leader in this country. What do you think personally sequestration has done
to the military? And also has it been an effective tool to actually reduce our
spending? 3:31:00
Jack Bergman: Well I think when we first applied sequestration. We really didnt
know how to do it so we just include everybody in the mix and that wasnt the right
answer. A proper budget would make sequestration unnecessary however if it was
needed it could be a valuable tune. If that was the case I wouldnt hesitate to
impose it but I would exempt the military. Maintaining a trained and equipped and
ready military is the most important element of ensuring our liberty. Review of the
military spending though should be done as a separate function it wouldnt be
totally exempt forever it needs to be looked at 04:10:00
Trucker Randy: Right. Well lets talk about that, you know budget, income,
spending. Its all a result as of some type of revenue to the federal government in
the form of taxes. Would you be in favor of changing our current our current tax
code, getting rid of the IRS, whats you thoughts on changing the tax code?
04:34:00
Jack Bergman: Well our present system is terrible. Its created a lot of jobs for
people trying to explain what it is were suppose to be doing in filing our taxes.
Which is near and dear to our hearts this time of year.
Brian Sommerfield: I resent that comment. ???
Jack Bergman: ?????. People are rightfully suspicious of change. And a
consumption tax or a sales tax could be more confusing. I would favor something
along the lines of flat tax proposals, something simple, very few rules, two or three
rates no complexities. We need to eliminate the IRS as it currently exists. 05:16:00
Trucker Randy: Well one of the things that Brian and I talk about is the size of

government especially in Washington and you know were looking at different

departments that we always rattle off a bunch of letters and alphabet soup that we
would eliminate. What are your thoughts on downsizing the federal government?
05:37:00
Jack Bergman: Well if you read the preamble it will give you exactly the businesses
the federal government should be in to the 90 plus percent level. Its too big. Its too
complex. It does to many things that it really has no constitutional authority to do good examples of that are Departments of Education and Department of Energy.
They are unnecessary bureaucracies. Like many parts of the Executive branch
especially could be eliminated and should be eliminated. Congress has an obligation
to return to writing comprehensive and clear legislation thats our job. The current
practices of providing a framework per executive ??? (6:20) with rules is an ????
(6:22) of the Congressional powers. We need to write specific laws and the
Executive Branch should enforce them as written. 06:30:00
Trucker Randy: Well one of the things that Brian and I talk about a lot on this
show. We feel that 1913 was absolutely the worst year in the history of the United
States. We got the 16th Amendment, which was income tax, the 17th amendment
we lost control of electing our US senators by state legislators and the other thing
created that year was the Federal Reserve. Well whats your position on auditing the
Fed and what changes would you make going forward regarding the Federal
Reserve. 07:03:00
Jack Bergman: Well in answer to your question.should we audit the Fed?
Absolutely. As for making changes to the Fed. I tell you whatask me after the audit
because daylight and sunshine lends a lot of visibility to exactly whats underneath
the tent. So lets hold my comments on that until we see what the audit produces.
07:24:00
Trucker Randy: Okay thats fair and speaking of you mentioned eliminating
Department of Education whats your position on doing that and also Common
Core? 07:36:00
Jack Bergman: Well number one get rid of Common Core, dont teach student
tests, that that doesnt yield the kind of functional citizens that we need to take this
country forward. I believe in state control of education. There is no federal mandate.
Federal involvement is ineffective, inefficiency. For example Federal programs just
about single handily responsible for the enormous inflation in college/university
tuition and expense costs. I equate the college student loan program to the
subprime mortgage fiasco. It inflates costs by removing market influences from the
equation. Tuition is raised with impunity and students are forced to borrow money
that they could never repay. The default rate is skyrocketing. Higher ed should
compete in the free market like everyone else. If perspective students cant afford
the price of colleges and universities then there is going to have to be price
reduction to fill those classrooms. Make them compete. And colleges and
universities always brag about their endowmentshow about using some of them.
08:44:00
Trucker Randy: One of the things in this Presidential race that Donald Trump
brought up, made a statement publicly, that if he becomes President of the United

States that hes going to bar Muslims from entering the United States until they are
can be fully vetted and to make sure that with a background check we can make
sure who these people are. Where do you stand on that issue? Should we bar
Muslim refugees from coming into the United States? 09:12:00
Jack Bergman: Well I dont bar. I dont support anything absolute like that one way
or the other. I think Mr. Trump made a good point where we need to make forward
progress very quickly is in getting control of the process by which we vet people
coming into this country. Safety and security issues that we have today require us to
know exactly who is trying to enter our country. Geography plays a significant role. I
do not agree with the idea of a religious test but proof of identity is mandatory.
Again safety and security concerns require it. Our country was founded by
immigrants. They created a society worth becoming part of. Those who do not
desire to assimilate into our way of life quite frankly should go elsewhere. The
United States must remain the premiere melting pot in this world. Thats what made
us great. 10:16:00
Trucker Randy: What do you think we should do as a country, as a military, as a
government, what do you think we should do about ISIS? 10:24:00
Jack Bergman: ISIS and other radical extremists they must be contained and
destroyed. The United States has long been the free world leader in developing in
leading coalitions. Look back at WWII. There is no reasonable scenario that changes
this is the foreseeable future. The next administration needs to produce a
comprehensive, national, military strategy focused on current and future threats.
Training, equipping and advising those allies, example the Kurds, who will fight and
really fight. Notice I said fight twice and thats a third time. That will require a select
number of American boots on the ground in the training, equipping and advising
role of our allies. So going forward there is no end to what were in today. There are
only little points that we make progress on operation, one coalition at a time.
11:35:00
Trucker Randy: In that vein Jack what youre talking about is strategically putting
forth military plans and directing and building coalitions with other governments to
work with us. On that point right there especially based on your background talk to
me about military spending on going forward and describing what you just said with
all the other things we got goingwhat would you change in regards to our military
spending? 12:02:00
Jack Bergman: Well, spending within the Department of Defense as well as other
departments does need an overall. Outdated spending priorities are just that.
Outdated. An example, Jim Collins, ??? author, Good to Great, talks about in good
businesses they talk about what are they doing today that they need to keep doing?
What are they not doing today that they need to start doing? And what are they
doing today that they need to stop doing? That is key. The Department of Defense, I
guarantee you has some processes and functions that they perform they need to
stop doing. So part of that overhaul needs to occur within the Department of
Defense looking honestly at themselves but what helps the Department of Defense
do that is a realistic national, military provided by the administration. That drives
the Dept. of Defense to reform itself on a periodic basis to meet the security needs
of the country. 13:01:00

Trucker Randy: Well on that specific point, I mean youre a former combat pilot,
you know there is a controversy Im reading and prepping for the show, this
controversy going on the old A-10 Warthog versus this new joint strike fighter.
Whats your position on that specific change within the military? 13:22:00
Jack Bergman: Number one we always need to keep advancing our military
platforms to make sure we have capabilities that really overshadow any of our
adversaries but in the case of the A-10 you know the Navy and Marine Corp could
have landed that aboard a ship that is the best close air support plane that we still
have today for the grunts in the fight and the bottom line, as you know, its a plane
built around a gun and I guarantee if you are the guy on the ground on the receiving
end of that you dont want to be there so I support the A-10. We need to keep that
flying as long as possible. Replacing with another appropriate platform but also
moving forward with the F-35 ???? 14:06:00