U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte proudly represents California’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A video game developer and business owner, Rep. Obernolte is dedicated to ensuring the High Desert, Eastern Sierras, and Inland Empire have a strong voice fighting for their interests in Congress.
America’s skyrocketing national debt is one of the largest current threats to our nation’s economy. As a small business owner, I understand the importance of a responsible budget, and I am committed to bringing that same small business mindset to the House Budget Committee on which I serve. I am dedicated to finding solutions that will balance the federal budget and rein in our national debt.
In California, onerous government intervention in the energy industry has led to a weakened energy grid and among the highest utility rates in the nation. Rolling blackouts across our state are a grim warning of the importance of energy diversity to strengthen the sustainability and reliability of energy production. A market-based, multimodal approach to energy production will help reduce the price Californians pay for electricity and ensure that families are not forced to choose between turning on the lights and putting food on the table. It will also help bolster innovation and ensure a balanced approach to producing energy while protecting the environment.
Communities like ours in the High Desert, Eastern Sierra and Inland Empire desperately need better access to affordable and quality healthcare. California - and our rural district in particular - is unique. A one-size-fits-all Washington approach does not work for the disparate communities like ours. We must support the development of a personalized, patient-centered healthcare system, including better access to telehealth services. We also need fiscally responsible healthcare policies and commonsense initiatives that empower patients, increase choices, and lower health care costs without reducing benefits. As your representative, I will continue to fight for legislation that ensures a sustainable health care delivery system for our nation, improves access to care in rural communities, and supports the needs of all Americans.
Immigrants have always been an integral part of our nation, and a robust system of legal immigration is vital to our society. However, the immigration process must be respected, and our immigration laws must be followed. Illegal immigration threatens our national security and the safety of our communities. It is critical that we work to secure our southern border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants, drugs, and human trafficking into the United States. We must also take steps to fix our long-broken immigration system and ensure that it encourages the legal immigration that is critical to the future of our country.
As an entrepreneur and small business owner for more than thirty years, I am committed to growing our economy and bringing jobs to California’s 8th District. In Congress, I am working to eliminate wasteful spending, cut the red tape holding back small businesses, and lower taxes to encourage job growth. Now more than ever, we must find bipartisan solutions to rebuild our economy, address the root causes of income inequality, and help get employees back to work.
The United States is a nation founded on the rule of law. I am committed to supporting law and order in our country and working to keep our communities safe. Our nation saw an unprecedented spike in murders in 2020, particularly in cities where there were efforts to defund or undermine our law enforcement officers. Although reforms are needed to ensure safer interactions with the police, defunding law enforcement is certainly not a viable option, and stripping them of their ability to keep us safe is a dangerous path for our nation. I support common sense reforms to our justice system, including better training, an end to the use of choke holds, and increased transparency, but we must ensure those reforms do not hinder law enforcement’s ability to act in the moments when we need them most.
I am proud to represent six military installations located entirely or partially in California's 8th District. Fort Irwin National Training Center, MAGTFTC / MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and Edwards Air Force Base are all an important part of what makes our district unique.
Additionally, we have nearly 50,000 veterans in CA-08, and I am committed to ensuring they receive the care and respect they have earned through their years of service. I have a long track record of fighting for service members and veterans in the California State Assembly, and I will continue that mission in Congress. For the last several years I’ve fought to prevent the closure of the Barstow Veterans Home, and I will fight to protect veterans across California’s 8th District. I have also had the honor to volunteer for the Veterans Airlift Command which provides free air transportation to disabled veterans. Our nations’ heroes deserve the care and benefits that they were promised – the freedoms we Americans enjoy are thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.
California’s High Desert, Eastern Sierra and Inland Empire are characterized by our outdoor spaces. Public lands make up over 90 percent of the area in California’s 8th District, including over 7,830 square miles of national park land. Our vast natural resources form the heart of our economy with countless jobs relying on industries from mining to tourism. I am proud to serve on the Natural Resources Committee and represent the interests of California’s public lands in Congress. We need common-sense policies that will support our communities, protect our environment, and help our economy to grow.
As a computer engineer and video game developer with a graduate degree in artificial intelligence, I understand the importance of cultivating innovation in technology. We must strike a balance which protects consumers and their privacy without stifling innovation. Over the next decade, the federal government will be addressing important technological issues such as digital privacy, net neutrality, big-tech censorship, and cybersecurity. These policies have the potential to reshape the world we live in and will determine the course of our nation for the next century. It is critical that we strike a balance on these issues by promoting American leadership and implementing protections for users and their digital privacy without overregulating the technology industry.