Mark Arnes (R) for U.S. House of Representatives
Hollywood, MD – Retired Calvert County doctor, Mark Arness is the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from the Fifth Congressional District which includes all of Southern Maryland, parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.
In an area with such a heavy military presence, Arness is facing the potential political hurdle of having received a court-martial from the United States Air Force in 2008 even though he subsequently garnered an honorable discharge and full veteran’s benefits. Further, Arness lost a JAG appeal of his court martial in 2014.
Arness called the court martial “highly prejudicial” and said it related to absences on holidays and weekends when no one else was on duty. He said if elected he would work to help others in a similar situation.
He explained that wounded warriors come back from combat and are mustered out without any benefits. He said he took his case to the office of Rep. Steny Hoyer (his opponent) and was told there was nothing they could do. He expressed that it was an indication of poor constituent service.
Arness minimized Hoyer for the taking credit for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) successes of NAS Patuxent River and Indian Head Naval Base. He said those bases have been deemed vital to national security and there was no threat of closure.
If elected, the former doctor wants to roll up his sleeves on the issue of health care. Arness said there is nothing affordable about the Affordable Care Act and it should be repealed and replaced by a true national health care system, with portability. In addition, he said there would be need for governmental control over it.
Arness noted that he recently needed to secure a prescription for a pill that used to cost only a nickel and now costs $5. He also said the insurance companies in the United States will have to pull out of Obamacare in the next few years because will not be able to afford participation.
When an inquiry about his presidential support was made and Arness was asked if he supported Donald Trump, he sidestepped the question. However, after hesitation, he then said as a Republican, he would support Republican candidates.
According to his website http://www.arnessforcongress.com/ ‘Doc’ Arness is a published scientific author; his papers have appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the American Journal of Epidemiology, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine. Arness and his wife of 19 years Mila have two daughters.
Arness is facing 19-term Congressman Rep. Steny Hoyer in the Tuesday, Nov. 8 general election.
For a video of TheBayNet.com interview with Arness go here:
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
