When it comes to health care, I believe that the proper role of government is to protect the freedom of all people to improve their own health. Patients and their doctors - not lawyers or bureaucrats - should decide which treatment is best. Good choices in a health care system built on free market principles ultimately translate into higher quality and better care.

• Social Security is a sacred promise to America's seniors and must be preserved for future generations.
• I believe we can protect, preserve and personalize Social Security, turning it from a cross-generation funding mechanism into a self-supporting system and making it viable for all future generations. Current workers should be able to decide how a portion of the money they pay into the Social Security Trust Fund will be invested.
• We must reform our health care system to make certain that every individual has access to quality medical services, regardless of race, age, or medical condition.
• A government takeover of our health care system is not the answer. Instead, the emphasis should be on strengthening individual choice and access.
• Our healthcare system is deteriorating under the weight of an explosion in medical malpractice claims. It is imperative that we streamline legal procedures, encourage binding arbitration to decrease litigation costs, and speed both dismissal of frivolous suits and payment of legitimate plaintiffs' full economic losses.
• I recognize the importance of retirement plans to our Seniors, and I support efforts to improve 401 (k) plans, IRAs and other retirement programs.