Issues
Growth of Government – Jobs – Economy – Healthcare – Energy – Spending – Entitlements – Earmarks – National Security – Immigration – Pro-life – Family Values
Growth of Government – Government continues to grow as elected officials and insiders in Washington continue to put their agenda ahead of what is good for the people of our country. From the trillions of dollars in debt, and the record breaking trillion dollar annual federal deficits, to the proposals for massive new regulatory structures like cap-and-trade, the greatest deficit in Washington seems to be a responsibility deficit. I strongly oppose the growth of government beyond its Constitutional boundaries, and I will fight hard to limit the growth of government because as government grows, freedom contracts.
Jobs – Job number one for the next senator from Indiana must be job creation. A so-called “jobless” recovery is not a recovery, and we will not see a genuine economic recovery until we see Americans going back to work. The combined state and federal corporate tax rate is 39.9% – the second highest such tax rate in the world. I propose that we slash the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 24%, and then down to 20% as soon as possible after that. That would be an immediate tax cut of 31% for all employers in America. Additionally, this tax rate would be a flat tax that would reduce the tax compliance burden of companies, thereby freeing up more resources for job creation.
Economy – Along with jobs, strengthening the overall economy must be a top priority. Our economy will not recover as long as there is uncertainty about the role of the federal government in our economy. The bailouts must stop; the government takeovers must end. The federal government needs to shed the ownership and creditor positions that it has with many large companies. Tax cuts and the elimination of unnecessary regulations will help individuals, families, and businesses recover from the economic downturn. I will work to eliminate the death tax, reduce the capital gains tax, cut the recently raised payroll tax, make the 2003 income tax cuts permanent, and permanently index the Alternative Minimum Tax for inflation. Lower taxes give you more control over your future, and that, in turn, makes our economy stronger.
Healthcare – Americans are concerned about the cost of health care, but they are overwhelmingly opposed to the President’s $2.5 trillion takeover of our nation’s health care system. Certainly we do need to reform the system, but we must recognize that our nation leads the way in innovative treatments, and millions of Americans are happy with the level of care that they receive. In order to control the cost of health care we need to eliminate barriers to purchasing health insurance across state lines, and increase the amount of user participation in the system. As long as insurance companies and the federal government continue to pay for the vast majority of health care costs, we will not see any real health care cost-savings. Real savings and real reform starts with fixing what is broken, not breaking what is already working.
Energy – Our nation must decrease its dependence on foreign oil and become more energy independent. I support environmentally responsible oil and natural gas drilling off our coasts, in the northern region of ANWR, and in the shale fields of the Western United States. I also support the development of nuclear power plants and coal-to-liquid fuels, the expansion of our nation’s oil refining capacity, and the pursuit of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and ethanol, free of government subsidies.
Spending – Federal spending is out of control. Our deficit for FY2009 was $1.4 trillion, and our national debt currently stands at $12.6 trillion and is growing every day. I support passing a balanced budget amendment that would require Congress to pass balanced budgets unless a national crisis (such as war) demands deficit spending, after which time the budget must become balanced again. Unless we get our spending under control, our ability to borrow money will be severely hampered, our national credit rating will go down, and inflationary pressures will damage an already struggling U.S. dollar.
Entitlements – Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all on an unsustainable path that will wreck our economy if nothing is done to address them. Reforming these programs, particularly Social Security, starts with protecting current beneficiaries benefits. After insuring that current benefits will not be reduced, we must move these programs towards a more personal, individual-focused system. Transparency, accountability, personal flexibility and responsibility must characterize any successful reform effort.
Earmarks – I will neither request nor accept earmarks. I will work to implement earmark reform that prohibits corporations and non-profits from directly obtaining funding through legislative earmarks, and I will work to put in place a system that allows legitimate requests for federal funding to go before the federal agency that would have jurisdiction over the project. It is time to remove individual members’ ability to hand out taxpayer money to anyone who asks for it.
National Security – The greatest task of the federal government is the protection of the American people. I believe that a strong military equipped with the latest technology and supplied with the best resources offers us the greatest insurance for peace. We should never deploy American military power in engagements where the objective is not clear. We should never turn our fighting force into a social science laboratory where political correctness, and not preparedness, is the watchword. I support increasing defense spending to 4% of our nation’s annual GDP in order to insure that our military is prepared for war so that we may live in peace.
Immigration – This is a nation of immigrants, but it is also a nation of laws, and there is no conflict between the two. We need to have strong border and interior enforcement of our immigration laws. Building a fence along our southern border is a national security imperative. As we strengthen enforcement by providing for more border patrol agents and expanding our ability to return illegal aliens to their point of entry, we must also look for ways to reform the current immigration process. Temporary workers should be allowed to take jobs that employers cannot fill with American workers, but these temporary workers must enter the country legally, they must stay temporarily, and if they chose to begin the naturalization process they must learn our language and profess allegiance to our country.
Pro-Life – I believe that life begins at conception. Our Declaration of Independence includes among its list of the cornerstone liberties granted by God the right to life, and I believe that government should protect all human life, from its very early stages to its very latter stages. I will support legislation that denies any and all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. I will oppose unethical embryonic stem cell research while supporting ethical adult stem cell research. I will not compromise in the battle for life and I will work to end abortion.
Family Values – I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. This core value not only defines our country, but has also characterized every successful civilization and society in history. Children deserve both a mom and a dad. Our personal and cultural failure to always live up to what is best, does not mean that we should stop aiming for, and adhering to, the standard of what is right and true. To this end, I will co-sponsor and support a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. I will also seek to introduce legislation that removes the review of state marriage amendments from the jurisdiction of the federal court system. We must not let an unelected judiciary run rough-shod over the will of the people expressed at the state level.