While I am confident that east central Indiana remains an excellent place to do business, we must act now to save the jobs of Hoosiers. That is why I have been involved in a number of events to promote job growth and protect the jobs of Hoosiers: Job Fair. I host the annual 6th Congressional District Job Fair. More than 1,500 Hoosiers annually attend the event. Businesses, municipalities and universities are all committed to hiring Hoosiers as the economy moves toward a sustained recovery.

Along with other Hoosiers, I was elated when East Central Indiana saw the arrival of new jobs from Honda, Brevini, TS Tech and Really Cool Foods in 2008. While this was all welcome news in tough economic times, we were also saddened when Cummins was forced to cut 500 jobs due to the recession.

As a conservative, I believe that economic freedom is the key to returning America to prosperity. To this end, I believe that Congress must continue to reduce the tax burden on the American family. At home, east central Indiana has been affected by the recent economic slowdown and this translates into growing uncertainty about jobs. I am deeply concerned about the threat of growing unemployment and will do all that I can to fight for Hoosier jobs and providing the kind of environment which will free the American entrepreneurial spirit inherent in our economy.

Bailouts

In the fall of 2008, many of our lending institutions failed and Congress was asked to bailout these institutions on Wall Street with a massive infusion of taxpayer dollars. I was the first Member of Congress to come out publicly against this plan and I voted against it twice.

In my stance against it, I said that

"Our nation has been confronted by a crisis in our financial markets. The President and this Congress were right to act with all deliberate speed in addressing this crisis.

"And we now have a bill that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?

"Benjamin Franklin said in 1759: ‘They that can give up liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'

"Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.

"The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.

"It must be said, Republicans in this Congress improved this bill, but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it.

"There are no easy answers, but the American people deserve to know there are alternatives to massive federal spending."

I maintain that America's economy is the freest and strongest in the world because the American people are the most innovative and entrepreneurial and because we understand that the most vital economies are not those that are overtaxed and overregulated by government.