Arthur G. Purves
RepublicanQ8 Fairfax County is home to a life sciences and biosciences workforce of more than 60,000 people, supported by federal research institutions, private companies, and public universities in the region. What is your view on the state’s role in supporting scientific research and the research workforce in Northern Virginia, and what policies, if any, would you support related to it?
Attract business with low taxes, low regulation, quick permitting. Address housing affordability by lowering real estate taxes. The recently approved Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave Act is an example of business and personal tax hikes and regulation that discourage business.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?
The federal government spends $2 trillion on medical care, and 90% of medical spending is on chronic disease. Federal and state governments and businesses are going bankrupt paying for the chronic disease epidemic caused by the thousands of unregulated chemicals in ultra-processed food and by the old food pyramid that for 40 years told us to eat a high-carb diet. That was a prescription for diabetes, and now half of American adults are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. The “healthcare” industry is actually profiting off of chronic disease and has no financial incentive to make us healthy. It’s not healthcare; it’s sick care. Fortunately, RFK Jr. has fixed the food pyramid. We need to return to eating the way our grandparents did: eggs, full fat dairy, red meat along with fruits and vegetables and a minimum of refined carbs. Follow realfood.gov. That will stop chronic disease and slash the $2 trillion-dollar federal deficits. If elected I would vote to remove unhealthy chemicals from our food, promote the corrected food pyramid, and promote regenerative farming to restore topsoil.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?
The federal government is broke. With $2 trillion deficits we have high inflation from overheating the economy and high interest rates. Higher program spending will be paid for with inflation and high interest rates.The best targeted program is reverse chronic disease by avoiding ultra-processed food and following the corrected food pyramid, at realfood.gov. Note that ultra-processed food and following the old high-carb food pyramid cause mental illness, which can also be reversed with proper nutrition. See Dr. Chris Palmer and his book “Brain Energy.”
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?
Data centers pay less for electricity than homeowners because data centers pay the industrial rate. The rate should be increased for data centers to make the centers pay for their own electricity. Virginia’s last-minute $1.6 billion tax on data centers should have been used to reduce homeowner electric bills instead of funding out-of-control state spending. Data centers are primarily the responsibility of local governments, which control zoning decisions.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?
The root of the problem failure to teach mastery of arithmetic facts by third grade, including the abandonment of drill (it’s “drill and skill”, not “drill and kill”), failure to memorize multiplication tables, too-early introduction of word problems, and reliance on hand calculators. The result is fewer students are prepared for STEM which means fewer graduates will enter STEM fields, including teaching.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?
Former New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Editor-in-Chief Dr. Marcia Angell wrote that a large portion of published clinical research is unreliable or compromised.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?
We’ll hit the $41.1 trillion debt ceiling around February, 2027. No new funding, and given the pervasive conflicts of interest in research and the low quality of research, this is a good area to scrutinize.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation
Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?
Listen to experts on both sides of an issue and protect unfettered free speech to communicate uncertainty and evolving evidence.
KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation