Elsie Arntzen for United States Representative - District 2
Republican
By Denise Rivette
Montana Independent News posed the same four questions to all candidates in the United States Representative race in District 2. Republican Elsie Arntzen’s views are presented in their entirety below.
What are the Montana values that will guide your decision-making?
I am a Christian, conservative, constitutionalist, and the America First candidate. As a 4th generation Montanan, I will always put Montana first and fight for Montanan families. I’ve served in the state legislature and as elected Superintendent of Public Instruction. I know how to deliver real results for Montanans while standing up for our traditional way of life.
My mother’s parents were missionaries on the Crow Reservation. My father’s parents homesteaded in Three Buttes. I grew up modestly, but my husband and I worked hard to build a business from the ground up to provide a better future for our children and grandchildren. After earning my degree in economics, I went back to school to get my degree in education. I served as PTA president, a 5th grade teacher, a state legislator and as Superintendent of Public instruction in Montana. I have been involved in Montana communities at every level, and I understand the priorities of our state.
I am a fighter for Montana values, and I am the conservative in this race. The people of Montana know me, they know my record of standing up for families and Montana values, and they know the DC swamp will not change that.
What skills, knowledge and experience do you possess that make you the better candidate?
I’m a Montanan that has experience legislating, being a leader, and being a fighter. Montana needs a conservative voice in Congress that isn’t afraid to take on the tough fights, knows how to deliver results, and puts America first. I have a consistent track record of being a constitutional conservative. It is easy to say you will be a conservative republican, but not all keep this pledge when they are pressured by special interests and the uni-party. When the liberal unions and woke organizations attacked me as Superintendent of Public Instruction, I did not bend, and I did not break.
As State Superintendent, I fulfilled my promises to Montana voters both in schools and on the Land Board. I defended parental rights, fought against woke ideology, and shrunk the size of bureaucracy. I saved taxpayer money by shrinking the Office of Public Instruction from four to one building. As a legislator, I fought against tax increases, improved access for hunting and recreation, and helped businesses thrive.
What are your top priorities to address during your term if you are elected?
Federal government overreach, overspending, and irresponsibility. The Biden Administration has failed to secure our border and is allowing illegal migrants to overrun our nation and threaten our national and fiscal security. The number of illegal aliens that have unlawfully entered our country under Biden is six times Montana’s total population. Our national debt is crushing our citizens by exasperating inflation and making everyday goods inaccessible.
The administrative bureaucracy is attacking our way of life with unneeded and burdensome regulations. As the longest standing member of Montana’s Land Board, I have fiercely protected Montanan’s voice on personal property and water rights. I promise to reign in the overreaching rules and regulations of the Bureau of Land Management. The Biden administration has also attempted to redefine sex based on a dangerous woke ideology.
In short, the federal government is out of control and is damaging the American dream for Montanans. We must put America first. That means protecting our borders, supporting Eastern Montana farmers and small business owners, and not saddling our future generations with crushing debt.
What legislative language would you propose or support to address those priorities?
First and foremost, Congress must secure the border by finishing the wall and implementing technologies that will assist our Border Patrol agents. Congress must reauthorize the “Remain in Mexico” policy put in place by President Trump and end “catch and release”. The backlog in the immigration courts must be addressed so that a free pass isn’t given to criminals, terrorists, and drug dealers. Finally, America must deport illegal migrants who have flagrantly broken US law, by dealing drugs, stealing property, and assaulting and murdering US citizens.
America’s debt problem is also one of the biggest threats facing our nation. The government has a spending problem, not a taxing problem. The national debt is currently over $34 trillion dollars, that is more than $103,000 for every citizen. US interest payments will hit $870 billion this year — that is more than America spends on defense. Congress cannot tax their way out of this problem. I will never vote to increase taxes on the hardworking families of Montana.
There are many opportunities to cut spending and regulations across all the agencies, and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for Montanans.
I have a record of cutting spending at the Office of Public Instruction and Montana voters know that I will bring that fiscal responsibility to the DC swamp. Congress can cut the Department of Education, the IRS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the EPA which has been weaponized against Montana farmers and ranchers. The EPA needs to be completely reformed. For instance, the EPA’s “Waters of the US” (WOTUS) rule is a bureaucratic micromanagement of even the smallest streams, farm ditches and creek beds. This rule creates unnecessary red tape hurting Montanan farmers and ranchers.
High energy costs burden our businesses and farmers which in turn increases the cost of all necessary goods for Americans. One of the first legislative initiates I would pursue is unleashing American energy potential. Here in Montana, we can lead the way. Congress needs to expand an “all of the above” energy production policy that allows natural gas and oil producers to access and provide these abundant resources to Americans.