Immigration

Late in 2005, the U.S. House passed legislation that had Lynn's strong support and involvement to seal the borders and strengthen enforcement of immigration laws. During the debate, the House passed an amendment to the legislation that Lynn proposed to more effectively focus the sanctions on employers for hiring illegal aliens.
 
After the House acted, the U.S. Senate passed a bill allowing a path to citizenship and a guest worker program. The Senate proposal allows illegal immigrants to gain credit in the Social Security system for time when they were illegally present in the U.S., and fails to effectively seal the border. The Senate bill is unacceptable without major amendments.
 
Lynn is working with leadership in both the House and Senate as the immigration legislation is dealt with by a conference committee. Lynn believes in sealing the borders first, then dealing with the other questions on the immigration debate.

Energy

Gasoline prices have continued to climb after the Katrina disaster last year. There are no easy short-term fixes to the energy problem our nation faces. Under current law, there are 18 different fuel types and approximately 45 different fuel blends that have to be sent to various places across the country due to the Clean Air Act. A more streamlined approach not only makes sense, but is absolutely needed today.
 
The last time an oil refinery was built anywhere in U.S., it was 1976. Government regulations make it almost impossible to build a new refinery, and Lynn is working with other members of Congress to eliminate the excessive regulations on private business that prevent effective access to refined products.
 
Drilling in locations across the country where an abundance of oil remains untapped, such as in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), is absolutely necessary. According to studies, there are up to 16 billion barrels of oil in ANWR that remain untapped. Lynn has repeatedly voted for legislation to allow drilling in ANWR and on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico to increase our nation's domestic energy supply.

Taxes

High taxes on his business and personal income were the motivation for Lynn to run for elected office. He has continued to fight against high taxes and excessive government regulations during his time in the state legislature and in Congress.
 
Lynn is a strong supporter of major changes to the federal tax system. The first bill Lynn sponsored when he arrived in Congress was H.R. 25, the FairTax legislation. The FairTax is a national retail sales tax which will completely replace all federal taxes. Instead of penalizing savings, like the current federal tax structure, the FairTax will only tax individuals when money is spent.
 
Until a permanent tax solution can be implemented, Lynn has continued to sponsor and work for making the President's tax cuts permanent, including complete elimination of the death tax. Allowing these tax cuts to expire means a dramatic tax increase, and the death tax is one of the worst possible taxes, ensuring that individuals cannot pass businesses and farms on to their children. The death tax must be eliminated.