Chris Dargis, Congress 8th District 2022 Primary Election Questionnaire

Full Name: Chris Dargis

What office are you seeking? Congress, Illinois 8

What offices, if any, have you previously held? None

City: Palatine

Occupation: E-Commerce Consultant

Education: B.A. from UCLA - Double major in Economics and Russian Studies

Campaign Website: https://www.votedargis.com/

What is your position re-establishing the Child Tax Credit at $3,500 per child as set in the American Rescue Plan?

I support the decision to increase the child tax credit. Lowering taxes for working families is the right thing to do.

Do you believe that corporations pay enough in taxes?

Raising taxes on businesses means increasing costs for consumers and lower wage growth for workers. We should not be increasing taxes – especially at a time when our nation is experiencing record inflation and straining the budgets of families, seniors, and workers across Illinois.

Would you support increases or decreases in the amount of taxes corporations pay? Why?

I do not support raising corporate taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 resulted in a growing economy, rising wages, low inflation, and more opportunity for working men, women, and families. One of the best things we can do for our economy is to stop raising taxes and instead reduce regulatory hurdles that unnecessarily harm economic growth and job creation.

Do the rich, defined as the wealthiest 1%, pay enough in taxes?

Instead of demagoging hard- working Americans, small business owners, and other job creators while practicing the politics of envy, we should focus on comprehensive reforms to ensure our taxes are fair for everyone.

Would support changes in the tax code that would increase or decrease their tax burden? Why?

Do you support raising taxes on capital gains and dividends? Why?

Raising capital gains taxes would hurt working families and seniors. We should not punish working people for saving or investing for their retirement. We do not need to raise capital gains taxes.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a breakdown in this country’s supply chain. What would you propose to fix it?

The past two years have shown the vulnerability of our supply chain from those who oppose the interests and national security of the United States. We need to recognize these vulnerabilities and legislate to provide economic incentives while removing burdensome and unnecessary regulatory hurdles to in-shore critical manufacturing capabilities and supply chains and create American jobs. We need to stop providing economic incentives to businesses to offshore critical parts of our supply chain to malevolent international competitors. These steps will enhance our national security, create American jobs, and protect American families from disruptions in critical industries such as pharmaceutical production.

How would you bring back manufacturing jobs?

According to research from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute there could be as many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs unfilled by 2030 and not filling those jobs could cost Americans as much as $1 trillion.

One of the most immediate and impactful changes that can be made would be to change current tax code bias against capital- intensive manufacturers. Our tax code does not allow manufacturers to deduct capital costs the same way they are allowed to deduct labor costs. Depreciation is extended out over several years. A dollar spent today is not the same value as a dollar spend tomorrow. This is especially true when we have periods of high inflation, which we are experiencing right now.

Allowing manufacturers to see the full benefit of their capital investments in the same year those investments are made would spur more manufacturing in the United States.

What plans do you have to help the lower and middle class?

The extreme policies of the Biden Administration have led to record gas prices and a 40-year high in inflation, and are causing incredible hardship for the middle class, for seniors on fixed incomes, for single mothers, for teachers, nurses, and police officers, for trade workers, and for the poor in this country. As a nuclear engineer I understand energy technologies and will bring forward common-sense, environmentally-sound, all-of-the- above energy policies that will lower gas prices and pave the way to a clean, energy independent future.

We also need to stop giving handouts of taxpayer dollars to the politically connected and reduce wasteful spending to get inflation under control. Even President Obama’s chief economic advisor agrees that unprecedented federal spending under the Biden Administration is a big factor in the record inflation we are seeing. My plans will restore our nation’s energy independence, restore economic growth, and remove the burden that Biden’s radical polices have put on the poor and middle class.

Do you support the idea that government can require immunizations against COVID-19 or other communicable diseases?

There is no one-size-fits-all policy that can apply to every possible medical situation. We should begin with a presumption of medical privacy and personal autonomy and use sound medical facts to inform our legislative decisions rather than half-truths and scare tactics. We should also ensure that decisions that impact the lives and livelihood of Americans are made by a duly elected legislature where proposed laws can be debated and discussed, rather than by the decree of unaccountable bureaucrats or a single person.

How do you feel about mask mandates?

Is America prepared for either another round of the current pandemic, or the next one?

I think one of the biggest tragedies of the pandemic is how politicized it became. We need a retrospective, non-partisan review of the cause of the pandemic, the medical facts of Covid, and our responses at all levels of government to ensure we have accountability to those who tragically lost their lives in this pandemic, and to all Americans whose lives have been disrupted over the past two years. This will also allow us to properly prepare for, and better respond to, any future pandemic that may occur.

Do you support new laws or regulations to safeguard people in the event of another pandemic?

The events of the past two years have shown ample room for improvement in our response to a pandemic, while also accelerating adoption of innovations such as tele-medicine. Innovations like this worked well and we should improve on them moving forward.

Should Medicare be expanded to include dental coverage for older Americans?

I would have to see what a proposal like this would look like before deciding how I would vote. The critical issues facing our seniors today are high gas prices and high inflation. These issues are devasting to retirement savings and to the budgets of our seniors living on fixed incomes. We need to focus on solving these issues that are pushing too many of our senior Americans into poverty.

What are the top two threats to our national security?

The top two threats to our national security are China and China.

For years China has aggressively worked to steal American technology and American military secrets. They have violated international treaties, polluted the environment, committed massive human rights atrocities, hacked American databases, spied on our government officials, and are actively and openly working to oppose American economic interests and national security around the globe.

What should be done to eliminate them?

We need to openly recognize the threat that China poses and acknowledge that China uses its economic power as a weapon to oppose the United States. We need to change the laws that give China a favored trade status with the United States and change the laws and incentives that allow corporations to place Chinese profits over the interests of the American people. We also need to immediately take steps to eliminate our reliance on China for life-saving pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and other industries and commodities that affect our national security.

China is a threat because of its actions, not because of any inherent animosity the United States has towards the Chinese people. And until China changes its actions on a sustained and consistent basis, we need to act accordingly.

What is your position on climate change and what should be done about it?

I absolutely support efforts to maintain a clean and safe environment. To achieve this goal, I am in favor of reducing our reliance on carbon-based energy. But this transition can, and must, be managed responsibly over time to maintain economic growth and stability for Americans. I favor a common-sense, environmentally- sound, all-of-the-above energy policy that will lower gas prices, lower inflation, and pave the way to a clean, energy independent future. The radical environmental and energy policies of the Biden administration damage our economy, hurt our national security, and cost American jobs.

What is your position on nuclear energy expansion?

As a nuclear engineer, I am well aware of nuclear’s potential to provide safe, reliable, zero-emission, efficient energy generation. Illinois has led the way in nuclear power generation, but more can be done. Instead of shutting down nuclear power plants, we should be making nuclear power the cornerstone of our efforts to reduce our reliance on carbon-based energy and pave the way to a clean, energy independent future.

We need to reduce regulations that inflate the costs of electricity for American families while simultaneously making it difficult to construct new, technologically advanced nuclear power plants. We need infrastructure legislation that, instead of lining the pockets of special interests, improves the resilience of our electrical grid, builds high-voltage transmission lines, and invests in new battery and electrical storage technology.

Should America invest in other forms of renewable energy? Please explain.

Yes. I favor common-sense, environmentally-sound, all-of-the- above energy policies that will lower gas prices and pave the way to a clean, energy independent future. This includes renewables. I support encouraging investment and innovation in renewables, which are currently unreliable and inefficient, but we should not put our thumb on the scale for energy production via renewables over other proven, reliable, and environmentally sound energy sources.

Should pregnant women have the right to get an abortion?

I support overturning Roe v Wade, which removed the abortion question from the democratic process and gave us some of the most extreme and permissive abortion laws in the world, and returning the debate to democratically elected state legislatures where it belongs.

Is the immigration system a problem in this country? If so, what is your plan to fix it?

It is self-evident that our immigration system is broken. We have millions of people illegally streaming across our border annually while our immigration laws are deliberately not enforced. This harms our national security, undermines the rule of law, and hurts American workers at the bottom of the economic ladder. As the husband, son, and grandson of legal immigrants, I cherish the fact that we are a welcoming nation to immigrants from across the globe. But our borders must be secured, and immigration policy set in a way that benefits the citizens of this country.

Do American cities have a crime problem?

Yes.

If so, what is your suggestion to solve it?

We need to ensure police departments are adequately funded, we need to ensure that police officers receive adequate training and support, and we need to make sure violent criminals are prosecuted.

Should police officers have qualified immunity in cases involving alleged excessive force or other misconduct?

Qualified immunity is a policy that protects those who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. Police officers who abuse their position of authority, however, should not be tolerated, and in those instances where that abuse is proven we already have a judicial process to remove the protections of qualified immunity when they are not warranted.

Are there any limits to the Second Amendment?

Yes, and even those judicial decisions which correctly state that our Second Amendment recognizes individual rights also acknowledge that these rights are not unlimited. Many limits are already in place, such as laws against allowing convicted felons to own a firearm. We should address rising crime by prosecuting criminals, rather than by find new ways to restrict our constitutional rights.

Do you support any restrictions on gun purchases or other stricter gun control measures including citizens’ access to military style weaponry?

I do support some restrictions on gun purchases, such as barring convicted felons from purchasing firearms. Gun laws that focus on criminal behavior is the best way to reduce crime, including gun crime. Gun laws that focus on the cosmetic features of a firearm have no effect on crime and only impact the constitutional rights of law- abiding citizens.

Illinois, along with many states across the country, have legalized marijuana making it legal for people to buy and use it. Marijuana, however, is still illegal at the federal level. Do you support legalizing marijuana nationally? Why or why not?

I believe we need to study the effects of legalization of marijuana at the state level before we take action at the national level to legalize it.

Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election?

Yes.

Would you have voted to ratify his presidency?

Yes.

What is your position on the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol?

I am opposed to riots and believe that rioters should be prosecuted for any laws that they break, whether those riots occurred at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 or in cities across the nation in 2020. There are no excuses for attacks on law enforcement or damage to public or private property.

I do support peaceful protest as a guaranteed right under the First Amendment, whether those protests occurred in Washington, DC in 2021 or in cities across the nation in 2020.

Was it an insurrection?

Using exaggerated hyperbole to describe the riots on Jan 6th only serves to further politicize and obscure the reality of what occurred that day and distracts from the serious concern that all Americans should have about what transpired.

Should people convicted of a crime related to their participation in the riot ever be pardoned?

Americans convicted of crimes have a right to petition the President for a pardon. This should apply to every American citizen regardless of what crimes they have committed.

Should voters be required to show an ID to vote?

Yes. The last several years have seen attacks on election integrity from both the right and left. If we want to assure Americans that our elections are free and fair, then rules like voter ID and a mandatory paper ballot for recounts and verification are essential. Accusations that these common-sense reforms constitute voter suppression are ludicrous on their face and only further poison the political atmosphere.

Would you, as a member of Congress, ever vote against certifying presidential electoral votes submitted by states’ official voting authorities?

I would take my role as a Representative seriously and act in accordance with the facts of the situation and the law. The constitution places almost all responsibility for elections with the states, and that would factor heavily in any action I might or might not take.