Over the past year, our economy has suffered through a severe downturn, and three million jobs have been lost since January. We’ve seen unemployment nearly double, to 10.2% nationally, and climb even higher in Pennsylvania. Those who have a job are worried about losing it, and those who have been laid off are wondering when the job market will turn around.

Yet rather than act to improve our economy, the Democrat-led Congress has made it even worse. Their $787 Billion stimulus bill has led to greater debt, and still hasn’t produced the jobs they promised. And their tax, spend, and regulate agenda will further reduce the competitiveness of American companies, delaying a recovery.

There is a better way forward. I’ve created jobs. I know what it takes to create an environment favorable to companies wishing to expand and create new jobs.

In Congress, I’ll work to reform our tax system so that investment in job creating companies is rewarded. And I’ll fight to eliminate burdensome regulations that make American companies less competitive.

I know that one of America’s greatest strengths is our manufacturing base. For years, Northwest Pennsylvania was a leader in manufacturing, and with the hardworking and intelligent workforce we have, I believe that we can be again.

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For too long, Congress has been reckless with the federal budget. Each year, spending has grown further out of control and our crippling national debt has continued to climb.

Over the past year, Congress has gone on an unprecedented spending spree that has forced the national debt ceiling to be raised to over $12 Trillion. Our debt is financed by foreign lenders, particularly China, who do not always have our country’s best interests in mind.

The level of spending and government intrusion by Congress has spiraled out of control, and the amounts our so-called leaders are throwing at problems have become nearly incomprehensible. We saw Congress give the Treasury Department hundreds of billions of Dollars to aid the financial sector, yet there has been little transparency or accountability in where the money has gone.

Not content with this level of spending, Congress then passed a stimulus bill, at a cost of $787 billion, which has not stimulated the economy or created long-term sustainable jobs. And in the spring of this year, after lending the auto industry tens of billions of Dollars, the federal government became the largest shareholder in General Motors without a clear plan on how to recoup its investment.

I’ll be a strong voice in Congress for common-sense Pennsylvanians who understand that this level of spending and debt is not sustainable. I have created budgets, set priorities, and managed them through good and bad times. I understand, just as Pennsylvania families do, that you can only spend what you have available.

The debt that we are accumulating will come due, and the burden we are creating will have to be paid for by our children and grandchildren. Our country’s leaders have an obligation to get our financial house in order, and I will be a strong advocate on behalf of hardworking taxpayers who want their money spent responsibly.

Rising health care costs are hurting families and small businesses, but nationalizing our health care system is not the answer. Nationalization will drive up costs for those with private insurance, forcing millions of consumers with private insurance into a one-size fits all government run plan. It would also lead to limited choices and give unprecedented control to bureaucrats to approve procedures and ration care.

Rather than nationalizing the health care system, we should focus on common-sense reform that reduces costs, expands choice, and preserves control by patients and their doctors.

Common-sense reform would include consumer protection, such as making health insurance plans portable so that people could keep their plan when they switched jobs. It would also prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions or dropping coverage for those who develop serious illnesses.

To increase competition and reduce costs, Congress should allow insurance companies to compete across state lines, creating a national marketplace where companies would be forced to compete based on their prices and quality of service. Congress should also allow small businesses and trade associations to join together to purchase health insurance, giving them the same purchasing power that large corporations and government employees enjoy.

I also think that we should increase individual control by supporting and expanding tax free health savings accounts and making a portion of health care spending, such as insurance premiums, tax deductible. Such options would encourage consumers to save for our-of-pocket health costs and make coverage more affordable.

Finally, Congress must address medical liability reform, which is driving up health care costs. Doctors are forced to pay more each year for medical liability insurance, and these costs are routinely passed on to consumers. The practice of defensive medicine adds hundreds of billions of Dollars each year to the cost of health care and forces patients to undergo unnecessary procedures.

I support efforts to lower the tax burden on hard working families and businesses, and in Congress I will push for common sense tax reform. I believe the American people should keep more of their hard-earned money because they know how to save, spend, and invest it much better than politicians in Washington, DC.

Our economy grows when families and small businesses have more control over their money. I support extending the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, which lowered tax rates and eliminated the marriage penalty and the Death tax.

Our economy is in a severe downturn, and now would be the wrong time to increase taxes on the American people.

High energy costs place a tremendous burden of families, farmers, and small businesses. Over the past few years, we have experienced large fluctuations in the price of oil, and rising prices have made it more of a struggle to pay for gasoline, home heating, and business expenses.

Congress needs to develop a comprehensive national energy plan that will make our energy more affordable and reliable, and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil. This plan must be a balanced set of policies that encourage and support diversification of our national energy portfolio.

I support efforts to increase domestic production of oil, including drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It has been estimated that the amount of recoverable oil that could be refined from ANWR alone would be equal to the amount of oil we import from Saudi Arabia. With increased oil production comes the need for a refinery permitting process that keeps pace. Our current refinery system is outdated and must be streamlined.

Our energy strategy should also include commitments to alternative types of energy, including wind, solar, biomass and nuclear. These alternatives to fossil fuels will allow us to diversify our supply of energy over time.

In Congress, I will oppose efforts to impose a Cap-and-Trade system on American businesses. The bill should be called Cap-and-Tax. This scheme would increase taxes by over $600 Billion on job creating businesses, and energy prices would spike. In fact, it’s estimated that each household could see their energy costs rise by as much as $1,000 per year. This bill would put American companies at a competitive disadvantage and will kill more than one million American jobs.

I will work to pass an immigration bill that secures our borders, stops employers from hiring illegal immigrants, and rejects amnesty. Illegal immigration drives up the costs of education, healthcare and welfare, imposing great burdens on our local, state and federal governments.

For more than twenty years, our federal government has ignored the issue of illegal immigration. Each day, thousands of undocumented people cross our borders, and there are currently more than ten million illegal aliens in our country. The problem of illegal immigration has turned into a national crisis, and in today’s global climate, it poses a threat to our homeland security.

I support efforts to gain operational control of our borders by building a wall along our southern border, increasing the number of border patrol agents, using new technology like infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ending the dangerous policy of “Catch and Release.”

Congress must crack down on the hiring of illegal workers by providing a reliable system for employers to determine whether employees are legally eligible to work and increasing penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Preventing undocumented and illegal aliens from finding work will reduce their incentive to stay in the country.

I will strongly oppose any amnesty plan that comes before Congress.

I have always believed we should protect those who cannot protect themselves. In Congress, I will fight to protect the sanctity of life from conception onward.

I believe the right to life should remain preeminent in our nation. Our nation was founded on principles that recognize the importance and dignity of each individual, and only when we apply those principles to the weakest among us do we live up to the American ideal.

I will proudly stand with National Right to Life to oppose efforts that fail to recognize that each human life has value. I support banning partial birth abortion, requiring parental notification, imposing mandatory waiting periods, and giving medical professionals access to a conscience clause. I strongly oppose the use of federal funds for abortions, and would vote against any health care bill that includes such funding.

I believe in the individual’s right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In Congress, I will support laws that recognize the right of honest citizens to own firearms for hunting, sport shooting, and self-protection. I will oppose efforts by the gun control lobby to infringe on the rights of law abiding Americans.

The Second Amendment is about more than just owning guns, it is also about freedom, and I promise that I will always stand up for freedom in Congress.