Dean Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 4. The son of a military officer who fought with the US Forces, and a successful business family in Vietnam, he knows what it means to leave everything behind and start again. His family sacrificed every possession they had to flee from the communist-controlled country of Vietnam after the war ended to achieve freedom. After fleeing Vietnam and surviving the ocean while others perished, the family spent 2 years in refugee camps while waiting for their green cards to come to the United States. In 1980, he and his family were sponsored by a Catholic priest in Clinton, a town that he calls his first real home.
Budgets matter to you and me, and keeping within a budget should also matter to the federal government. Everyone knows you should not spend more than you can afford, yet the US Government does that on a regular basis. Instead of trimming out-of-control budgets, the government simply prints more money. What does this mean? It means that the value of the dollar is reduced so you can’t buy as much with the same amount of money.
Under Democrat leadership, trillions of unfunded dollars have been printed and put in circulation directly causing the 40-year record inflation currently at 7.9%. We are also suffering from bad energy policies and poor decisions that have resulted in the sky-rocketing cost of gas for our cars and increased cost to heat our homes. Yet politicians tell us that if we just buy new electric cars and put solar panels on our homes the soaring prices would have little to no effect on us!
The combination of a devalued dollar and increasing energy costs equals spiraling, out-of-control inflation, which hurts every American and every business every single day. In one year, the cost of food has increased to the point where the same bag of groceries that cost $20 last year may cost you $30 or more this year. The cost to heat your home is up 30 percent over last year, and gasoline prices have skyrocketed a whopping 50 percent! None of this is “Putin’s fault.” This falls directly at the feet of President Biden and the US Congress. We need a change–and fast.
Stop wasteful spending, and focus government budgets on fixing our infrastructure and growing good jobs.
Ending the excessive printing of dollars, which is devaluing our currency.
Enact policies that open up more energy production in our country to help drive down gas and oil prices.
Direct funding to assist our local farmers and to increase US-based Food Production.
Increase the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment to help seniors cover the skyrocketing costs of food and fuel.
In the last two years, Americans have seen their freedoms under attack as never before in this country’s history. In the name of solving a medical crisis, Americans were restricted in their freedom of association, freedom to worship, freedom to run businesses, freedom to make their own medical decisions, and, with the help of “Big Tech” platforms, their freedom of speech.
Children were kept from attending schools for an extended period of time, and when the schools were finally opened, children were forced to mask their faces all day while trying to learn, form friendships, and enjoy all the experiences that make education complete.
These restrictions came by way of unelected bureaucrats who made decisions about responses from not only the federal government but also state governments. Alarmingly, we also saw this tyranny raise its ugly head in other countries formerly seen as bastions of liberty and human rights.
Ensure that any directives for the American people come by way of the U.S. Legislature.
Ensure that the Federal Government does not try to impose its will upon the states.
Ensure that laws enacted by Congress uphold the freedoms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Dean Tran believes nothing is more important than safe communities for our families. In our unusual times, law enforcement has come under attack, with voices on the left calling to defund our police. At the same time, the burden of the Covid-19 pandemic falls especially hard on our first responders. Dean Tran supports our men and women in uniform and affirms their right to make their own healthcare choices.
Support fully law enforcement agencies.
Deny federal funds to communities that vote to defund police services.
Fight against vaccine mandates that unfairly target front-line workers.
The current Biden Administration Immigration policy, which encourages open borders, is broken. Thousands of people have crossed our southern border illegally every month. Illegal immigration puts tremendous strain on our local communities, especially the cities in the US Third District already challenged with a number of social issues. The influx of immigrants in these cities has created an increased need for providing and funding quality education to non-English speaking children, as well as healthcare, law enforcement, and social-welfare programs to ensure the safety and strength of all residents. Currently, the Biden Administration is relocating illegals into cities and towns throughout the US without prior notice to the municipality or without giving consideration to their ability to provide necessary services.
The United States is a compassionate and welcoming nation, and we must have policies that reflect these values and that encourage more legal immigration. We cannot have open borders that reward illegal crossings into our country. Illegal immigration diverts federal funding that should be used to address the existing problems in our society, such as homelessness, veterans services, and substance/opioid abuse education and healthcare. These should all be priorities for our government.
My family escaped from Vietnam in 1975. I was a child refugee fleeing violence and the tyranny of a Communist takeover of my native country. America is and will always be a nation of immigrants. I firmly believe that being a first-generation immigrant does not make me any better than those who have come before me, but the experiences of my early youth had a profound impact on how I view immigration. I have seen firsthand what happens when good people don’t stand up to the trends that are emerging in America today. The kindness and compassion of America saved me. I am running to pay that forward.
No child should have to go through what I went through during our journey to America. Even worse is what children are going through at the Southern border today as they make the dangerous trek towards the USA. I cannot even imagine the terrifying experiences of unaccompanied children making this journey, only to be abandoned or put into human trafficking situations by the Cartels.
Increase the number of Border Patrol Agents to better secure our borders and ports of entry.
Increase staffing of immigration centers to quickly process Unaccompanied Minors (reducing their time in the system).
Increase the number of green cards and H1B Visas available to immigrants that have been vetted and do not have criminal records in their home countries.
Enforce accountability on the government to perform medical assessments for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to ensure COVID, TB, and other deadly diseases are not being carried into our country, which endangers the lives of US Citizens.
Immediately deport any illegal border jumpers that have previous criminal history in their country of origin.
Require the Federal government receive permission from a community, before relocating illegal immigrants into any community. If a community agrees to accept illegal immigrants, the federal government must also evaluate the ability of the community to absorb the impact on their finances and services.
Our nation, and Massachusetts in particular, gets a failing grade on the maintenance of the infrastructure that helps keep our society functioning, including roads, bridges, and water/sewer/technology systems. This country depends on a transportation system that is safe, reliable, and efficient, to help stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Yet it’s apparent by the condition of the roads we drive on every day, that our government does not invest enough money to maintain and improve this system.
During my years as a local City Councilor and as State Senator, the number one concern of all residents, year after year, was the poor condition of the roads and bridges, and the seasonal disruption of traffic flow due to huge and unseen potholes. These potholes can cause several thousand dollars in damage to vehicles annually, in tires, rim, and suspension. This financial burden on drivers and businesses is due to the failure of our government to properly fund and maintain roads.
In addition, 93 percent of the 5,229 bridges in Massachusetts require repair work, and 9 percent of those bridges (nearly 500) are considered deficient, posing a serious risk to the thousands of motorists who traverse our highways and byways every year.
As if that were not enough, our water pipelines and sewer systems are aging and are not being replaced and upgraded on a timely schedule, potentially creating contamination and health risks to residents. Finally, the internet and broadband technology are lagging and not meeting the needs of today’s business and industry. We can and need to do better!
Direct more Federal funding to our states and municipalities for basic road repair and maintenance.
Provide fiscal incentives for states that complete road and bridge projects on time and under budget.
Slow infrastructure expansion, until policies, are in place to maintain our current infrastructure.
Enact policies that create competition between broadband providers to reduce costs to the consumer and to provide faster and better internet service to our communities, including rural areas.