In this greatest land of opportunity, “wealthy” has become a dirty word with certain politicians.  Given that many of these people are entrepreneurs and small business owners, attacking them into submission doesn’t just hurt them, but the dozens and hundreds of employees they may lay off. I will not continue the congressional policies of creeping up the middle-class tax burden or punishing small business owners.  Instead, I favor a tax code that lets ALL Americans keep more of their hard earned money.

Jobs are created by business, not by government. Government serves to protect businesses and consumers from collusion, corruption, and misuse of monopolistic control. Government should manage these tasks with as little extraneous impact on business as possible.

America has the world’s greatest system of health care. Whether it’s the medical education provided by our renowned institutions, the cutting edge research and development conducted by our unparalleled facilities, the quality of our healthcare professionals, the safety and effectiveness of U.S. pharmaceuticals, or the system by which medical treatment is dispensed, America has no peer.

Cap and Trade legislation supported in Congress will take money out of your pocket and put Americans out of work. In Kentucky we enjoy some of the lowest utility rates in the world. We pay about 7 cents a kilowatt/hour versus 23 cents a kilowatt/hour in Europe.

With the array of advances we have made in medical technology, many soldiers that would have perished in the days of Vietnam are returning home from battle today and requiring life-long care. A decision to commit troops into harm’s way must take into account the care that many will need when they return from battle.  If they’re prepared to give all, we must be prepared as well.

No one loves peace more than the soldier that bleeds for it. As your Congressman I will continue to support a strong national security policy that provides for the world’s most dominant military, but one that also integrates the other instruments of national power into a cohesive, comprehensive and seamless defense strategy.

Many people who argue in favor of stringent gun control legislation typically do so with sincere intentions. However, their arguments, when taken to their logical conclusions, prove to be naïve or misguided. Restricting the access of law-abiding citizens to own guns would not solve the problem of gun violence. While strict rules against ownership would only be followed by those responsible members of society who obey the law, the criminals among us would violate guns laws in the same way they violate all the others. I refuse to tell someone that they do not have the right to protect themselves in their own home, and I will not take away their ability to do so.

The right of people to lawfully unionize should not be impinged, and neither should their right to privacy.  I think we would all find it very unsettling to consider a law that allows political operatives to stand over the shoulder of a voter.  For the same reason, I find it very unsettling to think of a union boss standing over the shoulder of a worker filling out his or her union ballot.