JOB CREATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Travis Childers knows what it's like to struggle. His number one priority as Congressman is, and will continue to be, jumpstarting our economy and making sure every North Mississippian who wants to work has a job. Travis has fought for major investments in our schools and infrastructure to save jobs and create new ones, and has fought to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. As a small businessman himself, Travis knows how important small businesses are to job creation and economic development. That's why he's consistently worked to encourage investment in small businesses and provide small business tax credits and loans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently recognized Travis's pro-business record by honoring him with the Spirit of Enterprise Award.

GIVING OUR CHILDREN THE EDUCATION THEY NEED TO SUCCEED - Travis believes that a good education is the best jobs program, and the best way for North Mississippians to lift themselves up, especially during economically trying times. He will also continue to support teaching jobs throughout the district to both prevent unemployment and ensure our children receive the education they need to secure good-paying jobs and contribute to a skilled workforce in Mississippi's First District. He'll also keep working to make higher education opportunities more accessible and affordable.

Travis Childers 's Education Platform
Travis Childers will continue building on his record of putting North Mississippi first and providing our children with a quality education by:

1. Ensuring that North Mississippi students receive the education they need to secure good-paying jobs and compete in a highly-skilled workforce.

Travis has increased investment and encouraged interest in science, technology, engineering and math education, and has worked with Mississippi universities to support programs that lead to highly-skilled, good-paying jobs. He'll continue helping shore up state education budget shortfalls, promoting education in innovative fields, and ensuring that these programs have the resources necessary to produce a competitive workforce.

2. Supporting public education in rural communities.

Rural communities make up the majority of the First District, and Travis believes that our children deserve the same opportunities as children anywhere else. He's worked hard to protect funding for rural schools, bring broadband access to our most rural communities, and support agriculture outreach education. He'll keep working to encourage the teaching of agriculture in schools and ensure that rural communities have the education resources they need.

3. Protecting Mississippi's teaching jobs .

Hiring more teachers and keeping the ones we have will help prevent classes from becoming over-crowded so that children can do what they come to school to do – learn. Travis helped pass legislation that will save and create an estimated 2,000 education jobs in Mississippi , and supported a State Stabilization Fund to help prevent teacher layoffs statewide. He'll continue fighting to protect education jobs, helping lower unemployment and providing our state's children with a quality education.

4. Making higher education more accessible and affordable.

Travis is a Pell Grant recipient himself. He voted to shore up the program's shortfalls and to increase the grant by $500. He also supported a $2,500 college tax credit for families, as well as provisions that help students consolidate their loans. Travis will continue working to maintain the availability of education assistance like the Pell Grant Program, gain additional funding for federal student loans in Mississippi, and give all our students the opportunity to receive a higher education.

5. Providing alternative educational opportunities so that all North Mississippians have the tools to succeed.

Travis graduated from Northeast Mississippi Community College . He knows that community colleges in Mississippi are some of the best in the nation and that they play an important role in preparing students for today's workforce. Travis will continue working to build a world-class community college system , and support vo-tech programs in North Mississippi to ensure that students have access to cutting-edge technologies that enable them to compete successfully for 21 st century jobs.

PROTECTING SENIORS – Travis is against raising the retirement age, and is adamantly opposed to the privatization of Social Security, which would put seniors' hard-earned savings in the hands of the very same Wall Street bankers who caused our financial meltdown. Travis has also supported shoring up state Medicaid shortfalls and closing the Medicare Part D “donut hole” to help make seniors' medication more affordable.

FIGHTING FOR MAIN STREET – Travis's loyalty lies with Main Street, not Wall Street, and he will continue working to ensure that North Mississippians are never again forced to bear the burden of Wall Street's reckless decision making. He voted twice against bailing out Wall Street, and has voted to end abusive practices by credit card companies. Travis knows that the best way to improve our economy is to provide relief for hard-working North Mississippians, and put money back in their pockets. That's why he helped pass one of the biggest middle-tax tax cuts in American history, benefitting 99% of North Mississippi's families and individuals.

ENDING OUR DEFICIT - Travis is a fiscal hawk focused on protecting taxpayer dollars and fighting wasteful spending. Travis strongly opposed the bailouts of Wall

Street banks and voted against trillion-dollar budgets that drove up the deficit. He's worked to cut non-defense spending all around, and has consistently supported efforts to balance our budget. He also led the fight against Congressional pay raises, and actually pushed for a Congressional pay cut.