As someone born and raised on the Eastern Plains, this is my vision of Colorado's promise fulfilled. As the Fourth District's Congressman, these are the things I will fight for in the Halls of Congress:
	Excellent schools for our children    Accessible and affordable health care    Comprehensive water planning    A forward-looking rural agenda    Protecting the Social Security trust fund    Effective and practical transportation solutions

Innovations in Education
	We need innovative tools, not just simplistic rules, to meet the needs of our schools. As the Fourth District's Congressman, I will build on proposals I made in the Colorado Senate to create an incentive plan to keep the best Colorado teachers in Colorado.
	Another plan I have backed is to hold schools accountable for the education of students, by requiring a long term plan to increase academic achievement.	Stan meets with student supporters in Fort Collins
	We must, however, do more than just test our children. We can develop diagnostic tests to find out what's going on and develop a treatment plan to help our children get better.
	Finally, if we are going to hold schools accountable, they need the flexibility of local control to determine what priorities fit their needs.
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Accessible and Affordable Health Care
	In our bountiful state and in other states across the country, it is criminal that some communities don't have adequate access to health care.
	Likewise, I will stand up to insurance companies and others who are trying to exploit the suffering of people in the Fourth District and in other communities across America.
	If you like Stan's plan, email this page to your friends and family!   Health care should be available to all Coloradans regardless of where you live, how old you are, what income bracket you fall into, or your current health status. I will make sure that children in low-income families do not fall through the cracks of our health care system, and I'll see that resources are provided for those middle-class families who can't afford high premiums but who don't qualify for help.
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Comprehensive Water Planning
	As a 4th generation Coloradan, my family has survived the cyclical droughts in Colorado. When drought conditions exist, our water should go to farmers and ranchers, not jet skis and sail boats.	When drought conditions exist, our water should go to farmers and ranchers, not jet skis and sail boats
	I am confident that the rains will come and the hardship will pass, but we need a comprehensive water plan that sets achievable 5, 10, 20 and 40 year goals for conservation, repair and expansion of existing facilities, as well as creation of new water storage facilities.
	In the short term, because of the severity of the current water shortage, I have called on the state to release more water from the Cherry Creek Reservoir to save crops downstream on the Platte River.
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A Forward-Looking Rural Agenda
	I grew up on the Eastern Plains and I haven't forgotten that our state and our nation are built from diverse communities. As the Fourth District's Congressman, I won't forget that the needs of rural Americans are different from, and just as important as, the needs of Americans in the cities and suburbs.	Bi-partisan Solutions Stan talks with highway construction workers at an event celebrating the signing of the bi-partisan Matsunaka-Owens Transportation Plan > read press release > enlarge photo
	All communities deserve access to top quality health care professionals, because no one should have to commute long distances to see a doctor. As your Congressman, I will promote the bringing of top quality health care practitioners into rural areas.
	Rural schools should provide a wide array of skills to maximize opportunities for our children. Our rural schools should offer more than just ranch management, and instead should include substantial courses on innovative rural economic development and introduce our children to the latest technologies.
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Protecting the Social Security trust fund
Social Security is a valuable community program rooted in the American tradition of social insurance where everyone pays and everyone benefits. I have a three-point plan to ensure that Social Security continues to offer steady and reliable support to all of our senior citizens:
	First, we must prevent the privatization of Social Security.
	Second, we need to institute a pro-active approach to health care.
	And finally, we have to protect the Social Security trust fund.
Stan talks with seniors about his plan for protecting Social Security Stan gets a hug from one of his most loyal supporters—his dad, Harry Matsunaka   enlarge photo I want to go on record as standing firmly against the privatization of Social Security. Women in particular would lose under privatization. Women are the majority of the beneficiaries, and on average women live longer and earn less than men. If you're going to privatize the system, then women would have much less to invest. Privatization is nothing but a promise for less, and all Americans, especially women, should demand more. We need common sense answers and leadership on Colorado's problems, and I'm going to work with Republicans and Democrats to ensure that Colorado's families, and particularly Colorado women, get the Social Security program they deserve. More on this issue:     Stan's Three-Point Plan for Social Security    Stan's pledge against privatization
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Effective and Practical Transportation Solutions
	We need free-flowing transit so that we can spend our most precious commodity, our time, on important things. We must make a serious effort to promote mass transit and alternative transportation, while keeping the needs of rural Coloradans on the front of the transportation agenda.	Getting the Job Done Working together, Matsunaka and Owens created a common sense bi-partisan transportation plan > read press release > enlarge photo
	As the Fourth District's Congressman, I will work to stop ineffectual, band-aid approaches to transportation that leave us stranded in congestion.
	In seven years as a State Senator, I have learned that we must be open to innovative transportation proposals, such as toll roads for the most heavily-used transit routes.
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