Important Issues

Bill Sali's voting record proves he is both a social and fiscal conservative.

The truth about Bill and Terry's finances.

My opponent and the national democrats have made a big fuss about tax liens Terry and I had 20 years ago. The fact is, 20 years ago, Terry and I did not have a lot of money. I was just out of law school. We had a young family and I had a fairly new law practice. Times were tough, and those tough times made it difficult for us to pay our income taxes on time in 1988. As a result of that, the IRS and the State Tax Commission recorded "tax liens" against us. That's the standard procedure for people who owe back taxes. We made payments on those debts until paid in full.

Terry and I don't pretend to be wealthy people. We're not. We pay our bills just like everyone else. We live in an average house and drive average cars. Like other Idaho families, we've struggled from time to time. And like other Idaho families, that doesn't make us bad people. It is wrong for the Democrats and my opponent to be so elitist as to say that people who have had financial struggles should never serve in Congress. That's flat out wrong. It's also wrong to use a person's financial struggles as a means for political gains. We've paid our bills. We've done what's right. We're not wealthy, but we're still decent, law-abiding people.

Bailout

I voted against the Wall Street bailout plan twice. I voted against those plans because I believe that it is irresponsible to use taxpayer money to bail out corporations that have mismanaged their own finances – I was one of the first Members of Congress to propose alternative legislation to address the real problems we are facing.

The bailout is the 180 degree wrong approach to the situation. As a nation, we need to grow our way out of this crisis rather than bailing out corporations. We need to establish sound financial policies and effective regulatory reforms which address the core of the problem. Henry Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, did a poor job of putting this together – he has since backed out of his own plan. The President should have seen through his ineffective and shortsighted proposal and expected better from him. Nationalizing our banks, which Paulson is now proposing, may get cash into the banks that they can loan out, but it is a move which places us even further in the wrong direction. Nationalizing banks is not the proper role of government and it is unfortunate that many, including my opponent Walt Minnick, support this course of action.

Instead of following the herd and listening to Secretary Paulson, I and a group of my colleagues in Congress solicited advice from Bill Isaac, former chairman of the FDIC, who has the right idea on how to approach this issue. He has proposed that we release reserves and provided cash for the banks to loan out – the right solution to preventing the credit freeze which many businesses are facing the consequences of today.

The financial crisis will require additional action from Congress after the election in November. A vote to send me back to Washington will be a vote for ensuring that this crisis is handled in the proper way. I have taken a leading role in proposing alternatives which will ensure that our nation is put back on track.

Reform of Congress

When I got to Washington, one of the first things I did was propose meaningful changes to the broken process Congress follows in Washington. I serve on the Committee of Government Oversight and Reform, and am a co-chair of a task force to reform Congress, and in these capacities I have proposed legislation to mandate single subject bills in the House of Representatives. By voting on legislation issue by issue, it would avoid much of the horrendous waste we recently saw in the Senate bailout package – in order to garner the votes necessary to pass the bill, they spruced up the bill with enough pork to satisfy a majority. This is wrong.

In Congress, legislators should be forced to vote on bills which are issue-specific. When I return to Washington to be a part of the 111th Congress, with your support, I will continue to champion the common-sense principals we cherish here in Idaho.

Health Care

Before serving in Congress, I learned firsthand about challenges Idahoans face in health care while serving sixteen years in the Idaho legislature, in which I served on the Health and Welfare Committee. In the 110th Congress, I've had the honor of speaking on behalf of rural America in a health care task force appointed by the House Republican leader. While Americans generally enjoy the best health care in the world, Congress can and needs to act on a few fronts to improve our health care system, including improving access, reducing costs, increasing choice and protecting the patient-doctor relationship as the cornerstone of America's health care.

To be sure, Idaho and rural America overall face a shortage of primary care providers. I believe we can encourage doctors and nurses to move to rural and under-served areas by offering sizeable tax incentives to move here. Doing so over the period of a few years would lead many to decide to stay in our communities as they see the wonderful quality of life we enjoy in Idaho. Yes, there is hope for lower gas prices, but Congress must immediately remove the restrictions it has placed on domestic drilling and exploration. America is blessed with oil-rich lands and it is absolutely necessary that we take advantage of this fact. We must increase exploration and production of American crude oil, as well as increase American refining capacity. Americans must conserve energy wherever possible. Oil - and a lot of it – will be needed if we are to remain prosperous and free.

I also believe we can offer refundable tax credits to individuals and families wanting to buy their own health insurance apart from an employer. Doing so would not only help folks get health insurance, but would also lay the foundation for moving to a more portable health insurance model. I've always said that people shouldn't lose their health coverage because they change jobs, lose their job or start a business. For those who want even greater personal control of their health care coverage and budgeting, I support expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) by allowing for increased contributions and lifting many of the arbitrary restrictions on Medicare beneficiaries and veterans.

I've been proud to introduce and cosponsor heath care legislation that addresses much of the above and am eager to find more comprehensive solutions to the challenges we face in the future. For such a large and regionally diverse nation as ours, there is no single "silver bullet" answer to improving health care, but I believe one thing is sure: the answers will be found outside the government bureaucracies. Although well intentioned, the labyrinth of laws and regulations in our health care system are often problem not the solution. The solutions to these challenges are not in Washington, DC but are found in our local communities and the professionals there who understand them day-to-day. Many of America's health care professionals are among the brightest and most educated in the world. It's time that government health care workers them with the respect they deserve and help them do what they do best the way they know how to do it.

Energy

Yes, there is hope for lower gas prices, but Congress must immediately remove the restrictions it has placed on domestic drilling and exploration. America is blessed with oil-rich lands and it is absolutely necessary that we take advantage of this fact. We must increase exploration and production of American crude oil, as well as increase American refining capacity. Americans must conserve energy wherever possible. Oil - and a lot of it – will be needed if we are to remain prosperous and free.

During my time in Congress, I have fought endlessly to bring the energy issue to the forefront. I have introduced and co-sponsored comprehensive legislation which effectively addresses the short and long term causes of the energy crisis. Americans are in dire need of lower gas prices, and I am working to ensure that the Democratic leadership does not postpone action on this issue any longer.

Gun Rights

I am a stalwart defender of our 2nd Amendment rights. I believe that our founding fathers were clear when they authored the Constitution, and as such, during my 16 years in the Idaho legislature and my first term in Congress, I have perfect record in protecting your right to keep and bear arms.

My record on gun rights has been recognized by outside watchdog groups as being stellar. The Gun Owners of America has given me an A+ rating and given me their endorsement. In their endorsement they noted that receiving an A+ is an honor that only 10 other members of the House of Representatives have received. The NRA has also given me an A+ rating and endorsed my reelection efforts. It should also be noted that my opponent refused to fill out the GOA questionnaire, so was not given a rating by the Gun Owners of America and has received a D+ rating from the NRA.

I believe, like George Washington, that, "Firearms are second in importance to the Constitution; they are the people's liberty's teeth." A vote for me is a vote for our rights as Americans to keep and bear arms.

Deficit Spending and Taxes

During my first term in Congress I developed a clear and convincing record in opposing deficit spending and reducing taxes, both essential facets of getting our country back on track. The first bill I had the pleasure of co-sponsoring in Congress was the Balanced Budget Amendment. The only way we are going to reduce deficit spending is for Congress to quit spending so much money. It is absolutely irresponsible for Congress to mortgage the futures of our children and grandchildren by increasing the size and scope of the federal government. Over the last two years I voted against over 1.1 trillion dollars in new government spending. I have been a strong advocate of reducing the size of government and keeping entitlement spending under control.

During my 18 years as a legislator, I have never once voted in favor of a tax increase. In the 110th Congress, I voted against $733 billion in proposed tax increases. My consistent record has been recognized my a myriad of small-government and anti-tax groups such as the Americans for Tax Reform, the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens against Government Waste and the American Conservative Union who have all given me awards for my efforts.

The last thing we need in a recession is higher taxes and more government. I have shown through my record that I will work to restore government to a manageable size and leave you and your family with more money in your pocket to be able to take care of your needs. We are going to have to grow our way out of this recession and in order to do that we will need to give the great people of our nation the freedom to pursue their goals and dreams without the federal government getting in their way.

Immigration

In order to keep our nation safe and our economy healthy we need to stop illegal immigration in its tracks. Illegal immigration steals jobs from hard working Americans, adds extra burdens to our already overstretched entitlement programs and presents unacceptable security threats to our country.

Illegal immigration is just that, illegal. The people who come here illegally are breaking our laws. And we will not continue to be a sovereign, well-ordered society without requiring respect for the rule of law. The law must be respected and obeyed by everyone.

A number of federal agencies are charged with enforcing our immigration, workplace and visa laws. But far too frequently, our federal government has only been consistent in its unwillingness to perform that basic and essential function.

As a result, agriculture and our service industries have become dependent on a workforce largely comprised of illegal workers. From that dependence, they urge Congress to act cautiously in reforming our immigration laws. Clearly caution is due to avoid unnecessarily putting the US economy into a tailspin. But that caution cannot mean amnesty and it cannot result in continued violation of the spirit or letter of US law.

We need to secure our borders. We need to fund and build the fence that the Congress approved in 2006. We need to insist that government agencies enforce our laws. And those agencies must provide a workable process for every employer to ensure their workers are legal with sanctions for those who knowingly employ illegals anyway.

The Truth about the Patriot Majority Ads

The group "Patriot Majority" is a liberal attack-group which is running ads across our district attempting to mislead voters about my record on veterans' issues. The group receives its funding from East-coast special interest groups which have no interest in Idaho other than resentment towards my votes for smaller government and lower taxes. The ad in question is aimed at inciting anger amongst Idaho's veterans and their families who are rightly concerned about their treatment by folks in Washington. I have never voted against our veterans, but I have voted against some pretty bad bills in Congress and three of them are mentioned in the ad:

First was HR 3159 which mandates rest periods for soldiers deployed to Iraq. I voted against this bill because it undermines the ability of the president to act as commander-in-chief as required by the U.S. Constitution. This legislation would put the decisions regarding military personnel in the hands of Congress, rather than the president or his generals who are actually on the battleground. Additionally, it mandated rest periods applied to whole units, rather than just to individual members. This could prevent the deployment of an entire unit if just a few of its newer members have not had the mandated rest time. 193 of my colleagues and I voted against this legislation because it was clearly an attempt to withdraw troops from Iraq, rather than actually implement a thoughtful rest-between-deployments policy, since the bill applies only to deployments Iraq and not to deployments anywhere else in the world, including Afghanistan.

The second bill they criticized me for voting against was HR 2638. It passed Sept. 24 and was the bill which funds the operations of the federal government. It funds many, many things, of which healthcare for veterans (mentioned in the ad) is but a small component. This bill had many flaws, such as a bailout for the auto industry which included $25 billion in loans and a flat-out subsidy of $7.5 billion. Additionally, the bill contained massive increases in spending for non-emergency federal programs and new increases in entitlement spending.

The third bill, HR 5658 was an amendment to the defense authorization act. The amendment was proposed by Rep. Tierney and would have reduced funding for the Missile Defense Agency by almost $1 billion. It failed with wide bipartisan support in a vote of 292-122.

A number of very prominent veterans have come out in support of my campaign including Major General Ben Doty, Brigadier General Bob Brooke and my opponent in the 2008 GOP primary election, Matt Salisbury. Please check out the press release they have put out on this issue as well as two videos they have recorded in support of my stances on veterans issues available here and here.