The best way to promote job growth is to create an atmosphere that rewards hard work, keeps government out of the way of innovation and incentivizes our businesses to invest in new jobs and equipment. I believe our economy works best when we reduce regulations, lower taxes and allow families to keep more of what they earn.

I am committed to protect our existing jobs and creating new ones. I opposed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama promoted because it advocated more government and more spending, which doesn’t create jobs and has left our country with deficits as far as the eye can see. My strategy for job growth is straightforward: work to protect jobs in our traditional industries, while creating new opportunities for the future.

That’s why I voted for a Republican alternative to the stimulus that would lower taxes for families and businesses, end the unfair taxation of unemployment benefits and create an even more generous homebuyers’ tax credit to jump start the housing market. Our nation is facing difficult economic times.

At a time when America is facing a serious economic crisis, we have a responsibility as Congress to stimulate our economy through sound, responsible economic development policies. However, I do not believe the taxpayers should be asked to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out bad business practices.

That’s why I opposed legislation that would allow the second tranche of $350 billion from last year’s $700 billion bailout to be spent by the Treasury Department. I can’t support spending more of your tax dollars when no one can tell us exactly where the first half went. We need to get our economy moving, but just throwing money - serious money - at the problem is not a solution.