ABOUT CLINT ISSUES VOLUNTEER/Contact
Candidate for US Congress Florida 6
Clint Curtis is an attorney, who practices Government Corruption Law, Veterans Law and Social Security Disability Law. He is the founder of the Law Offices of Clint Curtis & Associates which has six attorneys that practice in most areas of law including Family, Bankruptcy, Wills, Trusts, Immigration and Criminal Defense.
In addition Clint has devoted hundreds of hours providing free services to the community. He regularly hold workshops that provide free legal assistance for Naturalization, Veterans Compensation claims and Expungement workshops. Clint is also an officer of Hispanic Americans Political Initiative and is on the board of a Domestic Violence Prevention and Counseling non-profit.
Clint attended law school at Barry University School of Law, Cambridge University in England and McGeorge University.
Clint is dedicated to Restoring America's Values.
Do you remember when:
* Government employees were held accountable and actually worked for us?
* Before insurance companies controlled healthcare and made it unaffordable?
* Social Security provided enough income so those seniors did not live in poverty?
* Everyone could to go to college without the risk of crushing debt?
* A family could live comfortably on a single income?
* Immigrants were considered an asset?
* Veterans could rely on a fair evaluation?
* We did not allow Russia to pursue its worldwide evil?
* Voters believed that their vote would be properly counted?
* America was John Wayne and not Russia?
* Integrity and honesty meant something?
(click above to jump to my proposal to bring those values back)
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Do you remember when:
* Government employees were held accountable and actually worked for us?
As a government corruption attorney I am constantly amazed at how much corruption exists in the agencies our tax dollars are funding. We could easily save 20 to 30% of our national budget if we could just hold these people accountable. In my practice I attempt to do just that. Whistleblowers that report on theft corruption and even criminal behavior are attacked and forced out of their jobs using taxpayers dollars. These fake investigations and outright retaliation results in the expenditure of millions of wasted tax dollars. What is more disturbing is that the attorneys that work for these agencies don't seem to understand that they work for the taxpayer. They spend their time and our money defending this illegal behavior.
In addition, we have agencies that simply do not perform the purpose for which the agencies were built. Many agencies perform at just 5% success rates. This includes agencies such as the EEOC which is tasked with providing equal opportunity protection. For the cost of almost a billion dollars they are successful at only 3% of the cases filed and almost never hold agencies accountable or even force meaningful discovery to the individuals pursuing the claims. If we can not reform such agencies to perform better we should reallocate those resources to a better process which actually holds agencies accountable.
In today’s climate, whistleblowers risk their livelihoods to protect our nation and our taxpayers dollars. Often their lives are destroyed for little compensation.
I propose that we have new whistleblower protection laws were whistleblowers are awarded no less than 10 times their salary. In addition, they would be put at the front of the line for promotions. We really want honest individuals leading our government rather than a pile of corrupt good old boys. To qualify the whistleblower must take a polygraph test indicting their disclosure was true and suffer retaliation from anyone within the agency. To determine retaliation we would require that all agency administrators where fraud, waste, criminal behavior or national security abuses were indicated as retaliators pass a polygraph test that no such retaliation occurred. In addition, I propose that any agency attorney that assists in covering up such actions be held personally accountable. We should not be paying for Al Capone’s attorneys to help bureaucrats steal from us.
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* Before insurance companies controlled healthcare and made it unaffordable?
Back when I was growing up healthcare was not that expensive. Insurance companies hadn't taken over healthcare at that point and most people could afford medical services. Today that is not the case. Even with the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are between you and your health. They're allowed to deny you treatment. They are allowed to deny medication and yet they are shielded from the same rules that would apply to a doctor that was committing malpractice.
I propose providing a Medicare option for anyone who wishes to buy in. That option would allow a person to buy into Medicare for 5% of their income and it would cover medical vision dental and hearing and all deductibles this is very similar to health care plan that exists in the UK. In addition, I propose that insurance companies that deny coverage or medications to patient be held strictly libel for all damages that occur because of that denial.
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* Social Security provided enough income so those seniors did not live in poverty?
At one time Social Security provided enough income that seniors were not living in poverty. That is not the case today. Today over 47% of our senior’s that rely on social security live in poverty. In addition, as America ages, that percentage will continue to rise. Republicans continue to attempt to reduce Social Security and continually complain that the system is failing.
I propose a national lottery were the revenue generated from this voluntary source will be divided among the senior citizens collecting social security. Most lotteries where funds are projected to fund a particular cause are deceptive and never realize that goal. It will be vital that this lottery behaved differently. Establishing the lottery would be a supplemental income and the funds could never be used to allow politicians to raid the existing funding. In addition, this lottery will be different from some of the other lotteries where no one actually usually wins and the money is continually rolled over. Finally, someone wins a tiny amount and the whole role over fund disappears. I propose this lottery will split evenly with a winner each and every week and that the drawing will continue until that winter is found. The remaining half will go to our serving seniors and this will have no impact on our existing budget.
With this plan Social Security will not only be protected into the next century, seniors will actually receive a substantial monthly increase of their Social Security check. Most, if not all, will be removed from poverty.
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* Everyone could to go to college without the risk of crushing debt?
When I was growing up everyone could go to college. There were grants, there were scholarships, and there were work-study programs. Even a kid like me that grew up poor had the ability to go to college without worrying about crushing debt. The impact of crushing debt is even greater for many minority students since a college degree may not provide for the career that is expected.
I propose that every person will have the ability to go to school to any level they so decide with a repayment schedule of 5% of their income. No money would be required until they graduate. They will have no debt other than that 5 percent of income. The higher they go in school, the more they make after they graduate. This will more than compensate for the increased costs of some levels of education over others. In addition, prospective students will know what to expect and protect them if the degree does not result in the dreams they dreamed. Risk is minimized against any chance of destroying their financial future.
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* A family could live comfortably on a single income?
When I was growing up, it was possible for family to live with a single income. Many could actually live very well and the issues of working homeless were all but non-existent. Incomes have not kept pace with inflation. The average salary a person makes today is now approximately $10 000 behind that same salary in 1970. We can address this problem through restructuring our immigration and tax system to provide every household in America with an additional $10,000 rebate and do so without a tax increase or any impact on the budget. That means no new taxes while still addressing several issues that bringing salaries up to previous levels could fix.
When I was growing up there were small stores everywhere. Little flower shops, candy stores and ice cream parlors. People had the disposable income to keep local enterprises prosperous. We can return to that time without increasing taxes by a single cent.
In addition, $10,000 extra per family would address much of the homeless situation, the lack of affordable housing situation and would bring millions out of poverty.
I propose that we should restructure our immigration structure and our tax system to turn hard-working immigrants into an asset for every American. To do this we would simply make undocumented immigrants into tax paying conditional residents. Taxes that are now lost to unscrupulous businesses that exploit these immigrants will be divided among American households. Immigration fees for continue processing would no longer be part of the general budget. These funds would be permanently diverted to this US Citizen tax bonus division process. Mandatory use of E-Verify system would keep the issue of millions of undocumented individuals being exploited in the United States from ever happening again.
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* Immigrants were considered an asset?
Our present immigration system is little more than legalize slavery. In addition the tax dollars that should belong to us become profits of unscrupulous business owners. Promotion of the modern slavery system can be seen when raids are conducted. Immigrants are rounded up and jailed while the businesses that hired them are not even fined. The business owners never go to jail. The government has a wink and a smile to exploit these people while providing them no protections. They are often robbed, raped, murdered and treated like property with no ability to seek help.
I do a lot of free naturalization clinics. At these clinics, we help legal residents who are eligible to become citizens with the legal assistance free of charge.
At one clinic, a family came up to me and asked me to help them because her little girl had been kidnapped. I was told she was six years old and had disappeared from her fenced back yard. Since they were illegal, they could not report the kidnapping to police. If they were captured and deported they felt certain that the remaining children would wind up dying in the country from which they came. Even though they were asking for my help, they would not give me the name the country they were from or any information I could actually use to help them. It was heartbreaking to know the probable fate of that little six-year-old girl but their fear was keeping them from helping me help them. In speaking with other immigrants, I have been told that this is a very common situation.
I propose that we should restructure our immigration structure and our tax system to turn hard-working immigrants into an asset for every American. To do this we would simply make undocumented immigrants into tax paying conditional residents. Taxes, that are now lost to businesses that exploit these immigrants, will be divided among American households. Immigration fees for continue processing would no longer be part of the general budget but be part of this division process. Mandatory use of the E-Verify system would keep the issue of millions of undocumented individuals being exploited in the United States from ever happening again.
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* Veterans could rely on a fair evaluation?
This is not actually something America has done successfully in the past but it has always been a goal which we have consistently missed.
One of the areas I practice is VA law. I am constantly assisting veterans that are being denied their benefits. Through the VA, the veteran is required to prove that his condition is “as likely as not” to have occurred while he was in service. The rule sounds fairly liberal but that rule is not followed. In addition, claims that are obvious to reasonable people are not recognized by the VA. This includes claims such as servicemen exposed to radiation while working on a ship with the doors open to the radio equipment. This was a common occurrence during the Gulf War because radio equipment would overheat if the doors were left closed. VA will deny these claims because they claim that the radiation exposure can not be proven.
The VA is even worse when it comes to veterans of the Vietnam era. There are several diseases that are associated with the use of Agent Orange. Agent Orange was used not only in Vietnam but on several bases to control vegetation. Even when the veteran has multiple instances of these conditions the VA consistently turns them down for Agent Orange exposure.
I propose that the VA begin to accept conditions that doctors state are related to exposures during military service. Instead of a hard fast rule for conditions, we allow the doctors to analyze the situation and exposure and determine if those conditions likely would have resulted in the veterans diagnosis. We must forgo the regulations and let informed educated doctors make the determinations regarding whether conditions are likely service connected.
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* We did not allow Russia to pursue its worldwide evil?
It's important to know that Russia has always been our enemy since their initial formation under Lenin and Stalin. Communist Russia was our enemy and we supported the other side. Throughout World War II, Russia was considered as big a threat as any of the countries we were fighting. At the end of the war, General Patton made it clear that he felt the Russians were a greater threat than the Germans we had conquered.
Almost every American soldier that has died in battle since World War II has been killed by a Russian-made or designed weapon. They've assassinated individuals in other countries, hacked elections across the world and invaded free countries. Every conflict where we back a side, they back the other side. Ronald Reagan celebrated the failure of Russia but now they are back. Most importantly, they now show interest in hacking our democracy on a continual basis.
I propose that we give Russia a single chance to stop being the main source of evil in the world. If their hacking was prompted by Americans, that would be a greater threat to us than everything else Russia has done. If they wish to join the world in peace, they must begin to do so immediately and provide full information on any of the individuals that assisted in their hacking of our elections. This has to be irrefutable proof such as tape recordings and video because we should not trust anything Russia claims without verifiable documentation. If anyone helped or enticed them, they would have such evidence. Russia at this time is fully under control of the pervious members of the KGB.
I propose that if they fail to do this that we apply full sanctions on Russia and anyone else that deals with them. In addition, we remove them from the Security Council of the UN and provide full backing to our NATO allies. Unlike the United States, Russia is not a self-sustaining country as evidenced by the fall of the Soviet Union and their constant food shortages. Full sanctions against Russia should result in regime change within three to five years. That means Putin and his KGB associates would fall out of power and the people of Russia would have the opportunity to become the democracy it had begun prior to Putin's take over
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* Voters believed that their vote would be properly counted?
In 2004, I reported on a request by a prominent Republican to create a program that would allow for elections to be hacked electronically. A link to my testimony to Congress can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOFBu-Thds.
While this is a problem that could be easily solved, it has actually gotten worse. We now know that foreign powers have hacked our elections including the US agencies that monitor them. Our own government refuses to tell us which states were hacked but you know the hackers know. Now we have a decision from the impeachment of Donald Trump that requesting assistance from a foreign government to interfere in an election is no longer considered a bad thing. In this election, should I ask China, Germany, England, France or some of the other countries that are threatened by Russia's antagonistic behavior to interfere and assist me in my campaign? Will our system come down to who has the best hacker on their side?
I propose that to ensure that no one and no country can influence our elections by altering votes; that we provide a simple safeguard to our existing system. We presently use machines to do quick counts. Quick counts are necessary because we want to know who won right after the polls close. We can have the best of both worlds. While I suggest that the scanners we use be open source and not owned by a private corporation, even with this secret software we can ensure that the count will be correct.
A simple safeguard can guarantee that everyone will know that their vote is counted as they cast it. Even the best hackers can do no more than cause a minor inconvenience.
In order to keep voting from being hacked, I propose that after the scanners have provided a non-official accounting of the election, the ballots be hand-counted and that the hand count becomes the official count.
The hand count can be dome in leisure since the machines had already provided immediate totals. This way the machine and the hand count can be used to verified each other. Regardless if the machines are hacked, the hand count will determine the actual results. In addition, if the hand count differs from the machine count, the ballots can be hand counted as many times as we like.
I believe that the office of supervisor elections should have dual supervisors. This would provide for oversight from representatives of each major party. It is not necessarily that the supervisors are dishonest but it greatly reduces the possibility and helps assure our citizens that they can once again know that the vote is fairly counted.
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* America was John Wayne and not Russia?
This may show my age. I was speaking with a younger voter and they had no idea who John Wayne was.
John Wayne was a movie star who played roles that attempted to demonstrate American values. Those values included hard work, honesty and meeting your problems head-on. Many of his films were westerns or war movies, which resulted in the inevitable shootout between the good guy and the bad guy. In those movies and in American values, it meant something to not be the back shooter or the person who carried out the sneak attack. Somehow we have quickly drifted away from that. Just a short time ago Russia did a sneak attack poisoning of a man and his daughter in England.
The world and the United States admonished such attacks. Sneak attacks such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor were considered to be something done by individuals of low morals and lower values. Such abhorrent behavior would result in negative events happening to the back shooter.
Not long ago America sent a drone to a foreign country to perform a sneak attack assassination on one of that country's leaders. Many in the Republican Party found that to be perfectly acceptable because the person that we bushwhacked was a "bad guy". It's important to understand that the person or country that the attacker has chosen to assassinate is always considered to be an enemy by the attacker. The issue is where are our values and is this behavior now acceptable. Are we no longer John Wayne and are equivalent to the back shooting philosophy of Russia?
Excepting such things has its drawbacks beyond that of destroying our values. If sneak attacks become normal, it will be used against us as well. While Mr. Trump may have an army around him, the members of congress and senators that voiced approval of this assassination do not. Supporters of that action standing in line at a rally, do not.
America has a military might to win any war that is fought on a battlefield. Do we want to open ourselves to such back shooting activities by saying we approve of them?
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* Integrity and honesty meant something?
This is an election based on values and whether we as Americans still have them.
As I speak to voters across this district, I find many that dislike the values put forth by Mr. Trump and his backers. But just as many simply do not actually care about what we used to stand for. Many of the those Trump supporters start to make excuses as to why the values aren't that important in our president or our members of congress or our senators.
At the end of the day our integrity, our honesty and our values are really all that is important. It is what we are and it is what our children will become. If we are willing to forfeit those for some other reason or some other purpose then maybe we never really had those values at all.
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