Neil Parrott
Republican | Maryland
Candidate Profile*
Verified Conservative
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Neil Parrott
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 6
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Maryland College Park, College Park, Civil Engineering, 1994
Mount Saint Mary's University, Emmitsburg, MBA, 2006
WORK & MILITARY
Traffic Solutions, Inc., President and CEO, 17
City of Frederick, Deputy Director of Public Works for Engineering, 1
Maryland State Highway Administration, Traffic Engineering Team Leader, 12
AFFILIATIONS
Hagerstown Area Summer Swimming, Head Coach, Trail Life USA
Past Committee Chair, MDPetitions.com, Founder and Past Chair
Hagerstown Tea Party, Founder and Past President
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Maryland State Delegate, 12
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
US Congress, 2020
Race
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
2017
|F
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
CONSERVATIVE (13)
*National Rifle Association (NRA) PVF
Family Research Council Action PAC
*Susan B. Anthony List
Citizens United Political Victory Fund
Huck PAC
OTHER (1)
*60 Plus Association
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (3)
Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC)
Governor Mike Huckabee
FreedomWorks for America
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
WinRed (2022)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (10)
American Conservative Union (2022)
Americans For Legislative Excellence PAC (2022)
Amie Hoeber (2022)
Huck PAC (2022)
Jeff Warner (2022)
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Life is valuable from conception to the end of life. Life needs to be respected and protected. The Declaration of Independence expresses this well when it indicates that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.”
ECONOMY
Redistribution of income is needed to lessen the gap between the wealthy and working classes.
Strongly Disagree
The government should cut spending in order to reduce the national debt.
Strongly Agree
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
A flat tax is a great concept. Everyone with income pays in, and everyone pays the same percentage, so the poor pay a small tax and the rich a larger tax. This would simplify the ridiculously complicated tax code to save millions of hours and millions of dollars of people's time and money. This would potentially reduce the IRS to a small agency. Even if we can't accomplish a real flat tax, moving in that direction would simplify the tax code and help ensure that everyone with income has a financial stake in our country.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
What should be the relationship between the church and the state?
I believe in the true meaning of the "Separation of Church and State," as was written in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Church. He wrote to indicate that the church would be free of state intrusion, not that the state should be free of faith. Public officials, teachers, coaches, and students should all be free live out their faith.
HEALTHCARE
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
With the Covid-19 epidemic, I joined other legislators, businesses, and churches to sue the State of Maryland to allow everyone to open. Every business is essential, and the government should not be picking winners and losers by forcing some to close and allowing others to open. In addition, churches should have been allowed to operate as they saw fit. While the government should provide accurate information and provide guidance, the power to choose Walmart and Lowes over the corner drug store or hardware store was not appropriate. A working paper by a Professor at Johns Hopkins University and other studies suggest that the shutdowns did nothing to stop the spread of the disease but led to depression, financial distress, increased drug use, and overdoses, and learning regression for students. Concerning the Covid-19 vaccination, I am completely opposed to any attempt to mandate the vaccination by any entity. Instead, the government should honestly inform the public about the benefits and side effects of the shot. Increasingly, studies are showing serious side effects, including blood clots leading to stroke or heart attack, neurological damage, and even death. We should end all mandates and move the emphasis to discovering cures for the side effects.
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
D is ideal but would require significant changes to ensure a system in which everyone can access health care without gigantic and expensive government bureaucracies. Most importantly, for now, the Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable. Since its passing, health insurance, health care, and prescription drug costs have skyrocketed. The quality of care has also degraded; there is a shortage of doctors and nurses, and it has become almost impossible for doctors to practice independently of corporations or hospitals. The health care system is unstable, especially for individuals and small companies needing insurance. Our country can do better by repealing and replacing Obamacare by using free market solutions, allowing cross-state insurance plans, and increasing competition that will bring costs down and improve the quality of care.
NATIONAL SECURITY
With regard to America's foreign policy, which view most closely resembles yours: A) The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened. B) The United States should selectively help countries trying to grow democracy and fight tyranny. C) The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. D) The United States should stay out of foreign conflicts completely.
A. The US should become involved when our national interests are at stake.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Strongly Disagree
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
It starts by acknowledging that there is a problem. Radical Islamic terrorists seek to destroy our way of life and must be stopped. President Obama made a mistake when he refused to name this threat. Thankfully, by fighting effectively against ISIS and its leaders, radical Islamic terrorism has diminished as a global movement in recent years. This was achieved by negotiating with terrorists from a position of extreme strength, by assassinating their top leaders, and not allowing them to hold physical territory they could use to establish bases permanently. The United States must be tough on terrorism and remain vigilant. I believe Ronald Reagan was right when he indicated that we will get “peace through strength.” By taking strict actions against terrorists like Qasem Soleimani from Iran, the United States will help deter future terrorist actions The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
State and federal funds shall be denied to any public or private entity, such as a sanctuary city, that is not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
It starts by acknowledging that there is a problem. Radical The U.S. must follow existing immigration laws. It is a travesty for those who follow the law by entering and seeking citizenship legally often face high barriers and very long delays in processing their applications. Lack of immigration enforcement and a porous southern border have led to Americans suffering from gangs like MS 13, who terrorize our District, drug dealers who have caused massive opioid and fentanyl deaths and increased human trafficking. State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, such as a sanctuary city that does not comply with immigration laws. Companies that take advantage of illegal aliens should be heavily fined. The U.S. must do more to secure the southern border physically.
VALUES
Sexual orientation and gender identity should be protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Bible-believing Christian, and the Bible informs my worldview. I believe, as our founders did, God established a set of universal truths and natural laws in our world. One of those natural laws is the intrinsic value in, and the importance of, hard work. When humans cannot work or enjoy the benefits of their work, they lose their sense of purpose and meaning. Socialism, a form of government that does not allow people to keep what they earn, will never be effective or appropriate. Just as one cannot defy gravity, one cannot defy God’s order in nature. The Bible indicates that one will reap what he sows and that “the rain falls on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). A government’s laws must agree with the natural laws to be truly successful. John Locke indicated this when he said, “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it…that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
As a Maryland State Delegate, I introduced legislation for several years that would require voter ID in Maryland.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
As a Maryland State Delegate, I introduced other legislation to make our elections more secure. One bill required checking citizenship before adding them to the voter rolls. Another bill I introduced would require signature verification for a vote by mail ballots. While the vast majority of the voting laws should be set at the state level, the federal government is responsible for ensuring that every legal citizen has the right to vote securely and that no one can vote more than once.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
We need to return to what Martin Luther King, Jr. said when he indicated, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." We need to stop focusing on race and start focusing on what unites us. Critical race theory instruction, unfortunately, does just the opposite. It pits one group against another and teaches institutional racism. This teaching must be rejected entirely. All US Citizens must work together to benefit each individual and family to give them the best chance for the American Dream. This starts from equal opportunity, where hard work and risk are rewarded.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Strongly Agree
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
In the United States - A. In China and India - B. The primary world polluter is China. They dump over 96% more plastic into the ocean than the US and contribute the largest percentage of the worlds CO2. Given that, the US should not sacrifice our manufacturing jobs to countries that do not have effective environmental laws. Trade laws should be used as one negotiating tactic to get China and other countries to pollute less.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-parrott-profile-20120723-story.html, http://ratings.conservative.org/states/MD, https://marylandfree.org/roll-call/
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
People matter, and right now, American families are hurting – high inflation, struggling businesses, crime, the border crisis, and battles over what children are taught in schools. I want to work to change this and help families across the district. During my 12 years in the Maryland General Assembly, I have a record of working for families, for faith, and for freedom. You don’t have to guess how I would vote in Congress. In Congress, I will work to obtain a balanced budget and to stop spending trillions of dollars that we do not have. I will help America be energy independent again so that gas prices and electricity costs will go down. I will fight crime, close the border, and give law enforcement the tools they need. I will give parents more control over their children’s education and encourage a culture of individual responsibility and equal opportunity. These ideals can unite us as a country, and they will guide my service in the U.S. Congress.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Strongly Agree
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
For the most part, people need to be able to exercise their 2nd Amendment Rights to keep and bear arms. Exceptions to this would be for people who have a criminal history who would pose a threat if they had a firearm or who have a verified mental illness that would make them a risk to have a firearm.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
That is like saying someone involved in a fatal car crash should be able to sue the car manufacturer since someone was recklessly driving. If the firearm is faulty or the car crashes because of a manufacturing defect, then they could be sued. A lawsuit against the manufacturer is not appropriate for the negligent use of a person using the equipment.
