I hope Im building a record of being a good team player and not just standing for my principles but being willing to work for them. I think when you do that and you work really hard people take notice.
When I campaign with seniors its always Are you a Democrat or Republican? But when I campaign on college campuses they ask me where I stand on specific issues. I think Millennials are much less interested in conventional labels. One thing thats universal among Millennials is a distinct frustration with Washington D.C.
I didnt start working out until college. But in college I could feel my body changing and I knew that if I didnt make some changes I was going to go in the wrong direction.
In politics you never know whos going to die retire or – in Illinois – get indicted.
Exercise is more important than diet for me because its a twofer. It keeps me in good physical shape and it relieves stress. And when youre a representative of the public theres never a shortage of things to do.
Everybody has a smartphone everyone is a reporter.
Im a big believer if you want to change peoples minds or get someone to vote for you either a voter or a colleague youve got to first get their attention.
The biggest misconception people have about me is that when they see how young I am they think Oh this guy must have always wanted to be in politics his parents must have been politically connected. Im a finance major and always intended to go into business.
Your belief system tends to be a function of how you were raised. Being raised in the Midwest and in a relatively conservative household my views were shaped by my upbringing by my Christian faith.
I think Michelle Obama is on the right track with her Lets Move campaign to bring down childhood obesity. She and I come from the same state Illinois which is number four in the nation for obese children. One out of five Illinois children are considered obese. Not overweight obese. And two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.
I got to know Elton Johns older music by learning to like his newer stuff. The Lion King? Thats what I like.
Good supporters who have single daughters say Hey you need to take my daughter out. And its awkward.
Ive had Republicans come to me and say Tell me how I should talk to young people! as if its some foreign language or something.
I believe the House of Representatives is exactly the place where immigration reform should take place. Our entire House is elected every two years. Were the people closest to the people.
We should make it so that young people pay their fair share for health care and nothing more. And instead of Washington telling us what to buy lets get back to letting every American choose the plan thats best for them and their family.
I used to be able to eat and drink whatever I wanted. But now when Im in a suit and tie all the time sitting and being driven you can just feel your body.
Quite frankly I think if a man or a woman likes their American job wherever they were born they should be able to keep that job. We need a clear path to citizenship for workers who are already here and a fair and efficient on-ramp for those who want to come here.
I take four planes a week honestly. You know I am for intelligence screening.
Obviously exercise is an important part of my life and I think taking care of yourself is an important part of every individuals health care.
When I travel overseas on many occasions I get pulled out because I may be buying a one-way ticket I may be traveling with my sister and we have different last names. Thats smart profiling. Just pulling people out one at a time when we have millions of passengers in random screenings Im not sure is the best way to do it.
When youre a politician someone always wants something from you so theyre constantly telling you how smart or great you are and that can warp people! Exercising humility is important to me. My friends back home treat me like the same person I was when I was waiting tables.
If people dont know who you are theyre not going to listen to your message. And not everybody pays attention to politicians by watching Fox News and CNN.
Each year I host a leadership summit in my district and my biggest advice to young people is get experience. Get your foot in the door.
When Mens Health reached out and said Will you be on the Today Show and do a fitness challenge? I said OK. Im not showing them anything they dont already know. But Im going to take what some would argue is a negative or not substantive and turn it into a substantive thing to hopefully do some good for people.
Im not from a political family and didnt grow up dreaming of being George Washington. I started working in 8th grade and have held every odd job possible – working in a gravel pit weighing big wheelers ticket sales data base management – but I knew if I worked hard and got experience I could apply that experience to my next endeavor.