ECONOMY AND JOBS

Times are tough and uncertain, and now more than ever we Americans need Washington to pursue considered, responsible, long-term economic policies that protect all Americans – from working families to retirees to future generations.

Meanwhile, Congress is rushing to pass enormous spending bills, the largest surge of spending since World War II.  These irresponsible borrow-and-spend policies are ultimately going to force huge tax increases on the entire American public or trigger an inflationary cycle that will greatly reduce the buying power of Americans’ savings and retirement accounts.  

Congress should adopt some basic habits of fiscal responsibility to end the erosion of the dollar’s buying power, lessen the debt we are passing on to future generations, and restore stability in world markets. They include:

• Low Taxes.  Don’t raise taxes. Cut them to the minimum level necessary to balance the budget.
• No Bailouts.  Don’t pour federal tax dollars into failing business models. Let failing businesses reorganize into more competitive models.
• Cut the credit card.  Don’t build up the long-term debt by adding a lot of new permanent programs, or by expanding existing programs.
• Demand Accountability.  Seize every opportunity to make good government programs more efficient and eliminate bad ones.
• Commonsense Energy Policy. Remove costly restrictions on development of traditional energy sources in America.
• Demand Integrity in Government. And finally, end the practice of allowing members of Congress to keep earmark requests secret.

CONSTITUTION

The fiscal time bomb is ticking: America suffers from sixty trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities.  Every family in America owes $500,000 in federal debt.   The greatest nation on earth depends on foreign governments like China to loan us money so that we can meet our current obligations. 

How did we get here?  Quite simply, we have an attitude problem in Washington.  Those who find the prospect of spending their lives in government attractive are also likely to have an inflated view of the role and importance of the state in American life – a view which cannot be reconciled with the government of limited powers governed by Constitution of the United States. 

We need leaders who do not see the expansion of government as a solution to almost every problem.  We need to rethink the endless and diffuse morass of programs.  We need to return to constitutionally limited government.

The great challenges the United States now faces require, more than ever, that its government respect the boundaries set by the Constitution, so that it may focus more vigorously on its core functions.

Fortunately, the solution is straightforward, and in our hands: We can send to Congress leaders who are committed to constitutionally limited government. 

As your Member of Congress, I pledge that, before voting on any proposed act, I will ask whether the exercise of power is actually authorized by the Constitution.

Heck, I will even support a commonsense measure that requires our Members of Congress to actually read every bill before they vote on it.  Here is what we can expect:

• Make Congress deliberate before it acts.  Congress will have to slow down.  This means that Congress will give more careful consideration to how it spends your hard-earned tax dollars.
• Empower citizens to participate.  Bills will shrink, be less complicated, and contain fewer subjects, so that We the People can actually read them, too.
• Stop the corrupt tit-for-tat Washington politics.  Fewer bad proposals will be passed due to “log-rolling.”
• Restore transparency and integrity to spending.  No more secret clauses or pork-barrel earmarks will be inserted into bills at the last moment. 

NATIONAL SECURITY

As one who has served in the United States Navy, graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about issues of national security.  I believe we must keep our military strong, agile and capable of responding to a wide variety of threats to national security.

But first, we must recognize that all of the federal government’s responsibilities, including defending our freedom, will face an uncertain future absent a return to fiscal responsibility.  In short, if America ceases to be the wealthiest country in the world, we will also cease to be the strongest country in the world.

Beyond our economic situation, we must make the necessary investments in our military to keep it strong.   We cannot cut corners in protecting our citizens from nations or people who would do Americans harm.  We must dedicate whatever resources it takes to keep our people safe and to protect our way of life.

As a final point of emphasis, we should remember that our military is ill-suited to address many of our international challenges.  Thus, Congress must make it a priority to transform all of the instruments of national power to better address our 21^st century challenges.

PRO-LIFE AND PRO-ADOPTION

I am pro-life and pro-adoption - and I try to back up my talk with action. I serve on the Board of Directors of a pro-life ministry. My wife Jenny and I also promote adoption by performing free legal work so that caring adults can become loving parents.