On the Issues

Our first president – George Washington—famously warned against “ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.” It is a moral outrage that we ensure that future generations will pay higher taxes because we refuse to live within our means.

The amount the government will spend on interest on the debt this year alone will be about $250 billion. These are funds that would have been available for anything and everything else.

We all feel the pain of record gasoline prices. Because the price of oil is set on the global market, there is no simple formula for relief.

Our addiction to foreign oil is dangerous to both our economy and our national security. Becoming energy independent is a priority but since the U.S. has an estimated 3% of global petroleum reserves, yet consumes 24% of the world's oil, energy independence requires short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.

Here's what I am doing and here's what I support.

Caring for our children is always the right thing to do. A successful, bipartisan, federal-state collaboration – the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)—has significantly improved our nation’s health coverage. Because of SCHIP the rate of uninsured children in America was reduced by 33 percent between 1997 and 2005. I support efforts to renew and expand this important program in a way that won’t add one penny to the deficit.

Video games have replaced watching television as kids’ most popular pastime. Too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that most parents would find shocking and objectionable. As a parent, I know that I am the first line of defense against my kids playing Mature-rated games. But parents can’t be everywhere monitoring everything and some reasonable, common sense rules ought to be in place to back parents up.

We have the most powerful military in the world and our soldiers have performed magnificently. If military might alone could succeed in Iraq, our mission would be complete by now. Instead, we face an uncertain future and we need more than a military strategy for Iraq—we need a plan for political, diplomatic, and economic success. I support a requirement that Congress be told what the plan is for eventual withdrawal of our troops. I oppose the establishment of permanent U.S.

Utahns want good jobs and a bright future. With high food and energy prices, an uptick in unemployment, and trouble in the housing market, Utahns are feeling pressured right now. While the federal government cannot and should not run the economy, I support responsible action to help, such as offering a lifeline to deserving homeowners who face foreclosure and sending a timely, but temporary economic boost in the form of tax rebates. Looking ahead, I want to pay down the federal debt, provide for sensible tax relief for Utahns, streamline government budgets and spending, and create jobs.

Utahns are concerned about the safety of the products in our homes—particularly when it comes to lead in toys or dinnerware. Recalls of millions of toys because of dangers to kids from lead paint or tiny magnets that could be swallowed are disturbing. Many of these products—most notably toys—are now made overseas and there are concerns that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is not doing enough to alert the public.

I want to ban the importation of radioactive waste from foreign countries to dump here in Utah. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which regulates radioactive waste storage, is considering a license application to bring 20,000 tons from Italy’s decommissioned nuclear reactors for processing in Tennessee and ultimately 1,600 tons slated for the Tooele County site. Like many other countries, Italy doesn’t have a waste disposal site of its own.

Our extraordinary men and women in uniform are the core of our national defense. I support whatever it takes to make sure they have the resources to perform their mission and to return home safely. That is why I support funding our troops, providing the equipment and supplies they need, and raising their pay and keeping their health care costs affordable.