KNOW THE FACTS

Q.  How old is Sam?

     A. Sam is 27 years old and is proud to be the youngest Congressional candidate in America.  Sam encourages younger citizens to be involved in government at all levels.  Remember in most cases, you only have to be 18 to be elected to local office.

Q.  Where is Sam from?

     A.  Sam was born in Ohio and came to southwest Virginia when he was three years old.  He was raised and educated here in southwest Virginia.  Sam is the son of immigrants who came here in the 1960s from the Palestinian Territories to realize the American dream.

Q.  Is Sam a Muslim?

     A. Sam was born a Muslim and still considers himself a Muslim.  Sam would not consider himself religious, but very spiritual.  Sam believes if we all follow the two basic universal laws, the world would be a better place:  (1) Love God as you love yourself (2) Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Sam is proud of the acceptance of spiritual diversity in the Sixth District, that proven with the current Congressman being a Christian Scientist and the previous Congressman a Unitarian.

Q.  What does Sam do for a living?

    A.  Sam is a small business owner who was raised and educated in the Sixth District.  Sam and Layaly own a woman's fitness facility, like Curves, in Botetourt County and also own a small video store in Bedford County.  Until choosing to run for office full-time, Sam was General Manager of a medical distribution firm.

Q.  Will Sam take his oath of office on the Bible or the Qu'ran?

     A.   Neither, the United States Constitution.

Q.  Does Sam believe in term-limits?

     A.  Yes he does.  Sam has pledged to be in the United States House of Representatives for only five terms, regardless of what other legislators are doing.  Sam believes if a legislator really served the people well, then he/she can move on to another elected office and continue to serve, but we must rotate power to fight corruption.

Q.  Is Sam a "tax and spend" liberal?

     A.  NO.  As a small business owner, Sam is a fiscal conservative who believes that balancing our federal budget is a matter of national security.  Sam believes that all of this deficit spending is sacrificing our future and undermining our economy.  Sam wants to the rid the system of pork-barrel spending and eliminate earmarks from our budget.

Q.  Where does Sam get his funding?

     A. About 3/4 of Sam's donors are from inside the state of Virginia. Sam accepts absolutely no money from PACs, lobbyists, special interests, or even the Democratic Party, so that he is only accountable to the American people. Because Sam is the child of immigrants that came here in the sixties, he has hundreds of family members that live all around the country. Sam is proud that his friends and family are willing to support him. With nearly 1,000 donors, the majority being from the district who believe, as Sam does, that PACs and special interests should not run our agenda in Washington -- that is why Sam only accepts contributions from individuals.

Q.  You said in the last question that Sam has nearly 1,000 donors. I've heard otherwise.

    A. According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations, donors who give below $200 are not displayed in the quarterly FEC report, though their donation is very valuable to this campaign.