Priorities:

Promoting Fiscal Responsibility
I am profoundly concerned about the financial health of our country. For far too long our government has failed to rein in spending that continues to increase the national debt. We literally cannot afford to ignore the fact that unless we get federal spending under control, we are going to saddle our children and grandchildren with a crushing federal debt. I believe that both parties must come together to balance the federal budget, keep taxes low and cooperate with each other to find fiscally responsible solutions to the challenges of improving our health care system and insuring that Social Security and Medicare will continue to be solvent.
Increasing Energy Security
As a United States senator, I believe that the availability of reliable, clean energy poses one of the biggest challenges to our national energy security and economic competitiveness. Keeping our nation safe and competitive depends on our ability to diversify our energy supply so that we are less reliant on foreign sources of oil. Accomplishing this will require a balanced approach that includes all available technologies: the continued development of alternative fuels, nuclear power and renewables such as solar and wind; investment in research and technology; the expansion of our refinery capacity to include biorefineries and coal-to-liquid facilities; conservation of our resources; and enhancing oil and gas production in an environmentally friendly way.
Insuring Every American
I strongly believe that no issue requires an innovative cure more than our country’s ailing health care system. Today, millions of Americans, including 800,000 Tennesseans, lack adequate health insurance to protect themselves and their families. I believe that all Americans deserve to have access to affordable, quality health insurance that is transferable from job to job and deeply rooted in the private market. I truly believe health care reform will occur in the very near future, and I am working actively - with senators from both political parties - to move the debate in a productive and bipartisan direction.