Texans for Lamar Smith

Economy/Jobs

One year after enactment of the so-called “stimulus,” Americans are asking, “Where are the jobs?”

For $826 billion all we got was a record deficit, over three million lost jobs, and a mountain of debt for our children to pay, which why is Congressman Smith voted against the stimulus.

On top of the failed stimulus, the President and Democrats in Congress attempted to ram through job-killing policies such as cap and trade, tax increases, and government-controlled health care. However, the only thing they succeeded in doing was to provide a lesson on how not to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Congressman Smith knows that the government doesn’t create jobs, American ingenuity and entrepreneurs do. But the unprecedented growth of government in Washington is casting a chilling shadow on the American economy.

Small businesses, which have created 66% of all new jobs in the past 15 years, aren’t going to hire people when they are worried about paying higher taxes and facing more government mandates. With all the talk coming out of Washington, who would take that risk?

Congressman Smith believes that when Washington eliminates the looming threat of more taxes, more spending and more debt, American entrepreneurs will have an incentive to invest in their businesses and put Americans back to work.

Cap and Trade

The President’s proposed budget anticipates significant revenues from a cap-and-trade program. Companies would be required to buy permits from the government. Don’t be fooled, this is just another tax on American families. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, this program will cost the typical American household $1,600 in new taxes. Congressman Smith is opposed to a cap-and-trade program. While he believes that it is important to protect the environment, we must first protect the American family.

Health Care

The American people have had enough of the government trying to take over health care and Congressman Smith stands with the American people. We’ve all had enough of the 2,000-page bills, the trillion-dollar price tags, the backdoor deals, the cuts to Medicare, the higher premiums, and the trampling of the doctor-patient relationship.

That’s why Congressman Smith believes that the President and the Democrats in Congress need to scrap their misguided and unpopular health care take over and work with Republicans in good faith to develop free-market reforms to make high-quality health care more affordable and accessible.

Constitution

As the federal government gets bigger and bigger, one wonders if the proponents of government health care and cap and trade have read the Constitution?

Upholding his oath to defend the Constitution, Congressman Smith believes that government must be limited so that it never becomes powerful enough to infringe on the rights and liberties of individuals.

Spending

President Obama came into office promising to cut the deficit in half, to reduce taxes, and to not expand the size of the government. His budget does the opposite. Congressman Smith opposes the President’s Budget and is an original cosponsor of an alternative budget that will create jobs and decrease our national debt.

Taxes

Congressman Smith supports low taxes because he believes that Americans, not the federal government, know best how to spend their money.

He also thinks that the burden to close the budget deficit should fall on the federal government, not the American people. The government is spending two dollars for every one dollar it takes in, which is irresponsible. Taxes and runaway spending need to be restrained to reduce the deficit and balance the budget.

National Security/War on Terror

One of the adverse side effects of a big government agenda is that when the government intrudes in areas where it does not belong, it neglects its primary responsibilities like national security.

Congressman Smith thinks that the government needs to stop treating terrorists like citizens and stop treating citizens like terrorists. In Congress, he has fought the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and the transfer of dangerous terrorists to our shores. And he has made strengthening our national defenses against terror one of his highest priorities.

Border Security

Border security is another area neglected by the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress. Congressman Smith believes that the United States has every right to secure its borders. The enforcement of immigration laws is the key to achieving this. It is a national security issue as well as an economic issue, especially with millions of American citizens and legal immigrants out of work.

Those who are looking for work should not have to compete against people who have entered the country illegally. As a member of the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, Congressman Smith has long supported the strong enforcement of our border security laws. The flood of illegal immigration across our borders lowers wages for hard-working Americans and threatens our national security. He will continue to work to keep our borders secure.

Education

Providing a quality education is the key to our future prosperity. Equal access to education is the best way to reduce social inequality. In the 21st District, we are fortunate to have good public and private schools and colleges, including the University of Texas at Austin and Trinity University in San Antonio. Congressman Smith supports expanding educational opportunities as a way to insure future economic growth. Math and science education are particularly important to our high technology industry.