Issues

Below you will find a brief outline of my stance on several key issues. I hope you will read through each of them and should you have any questions please contact my campaign. I am excited about having an open and candid discussion with you about the right direction for our country and our state. Your thoughts, ideas and concerns are what this campaign is about so please share your knowledge and experiences with me!

Taxes & Economic Security

As State Treasurer, Cynthia Lummis saved every Wyoming worker $1,000 per year in taxes. She did so by increasing investment income from Wyoming’s savings accounts. She converted Wyoming’s investment portfolio of $3.5 billion to a fully diversified portfolio of equities, real estate and fixed income investments, public and private, domestic and international, totaling $8.5 billion.

Financial security is the backbone of America’s economy. We must, as a nation, learn to save and Washington must learn to practice fiscal discipline. The government, like a corporation, has a responsibility to the American people to properly steward tax dollars.

• Cynthia Lummis will work hard to keep taxes low because she knows that Wyoming’s citizens deserve to keep their money and that hard-earned dollars are best spent by the people who worked for them not by the government.

• Cynthia pledges to oppose all federal tax increase proposals.

• Cynthia will impose discipline on federal government spending

• Using Wyoming as the example, Cynthia will lead 21st century America into the habit of saving, starting with Washington.

• Cynthia will work to ensure that Social Security and Medicare do not bankrupt our children.

Energy Independence

Energy independence is a national security issue, an issue of economic prosperity and an environmental issue. Cynthia Lummis believes Wyoming has the solutions Washington needs to make America energy independent and to get it done without sacrificing the environment. Wyoming’s gifts to the nation include not only coal, gas, oil, wind, biomass, uranium, solar, platinum for fuel cells, helium for cryogenics and other resources, but most importantly its people. With technological expertise and the on-the-ground experience Wyoming can make energy independence happen for America. Cynthia Lummis knows to get us there, we must:

• Increase clean coal research to prevent our abundant coal resources from becoming a stranded asset.
• Increase delivery systems such as transmission lines and pipelines to transport our resources where they are needed.
• Increase our share of wind, solar, and biomass generated power.
• Identify new natural underground storage areas for fuel which are closer to the energy consumer.
• Increase gas mileage and promote hybrid technology for automobiles.
• Advance nuclear power.

Second Amendment Rights

Growing up on a ranch just outside Cheyenne, Cynthia learned first-hand the importance of our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Livestock predation by domestic dogs and coyotes was a serious problem and her family’s livelihood required her and each member of her family to use firearms to protect their livestock.

Cynthia knows that gun ownership and hunting are important parts of the culture and lifestyle of many Americans. Cynthia Lummis will protect the rights of gun owners.

The 2nd Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees the right of individual Americans to own and use firearms.

• Cynthia believes that the government may not broadly limit private firearm ownership.

• Cynthia opposes firearms registration.

• Cynthia believes that gun sales by private citizens who are not engaged in an ongoing firearms business should not be subject to federal background check requirements, whether the sale takes place at a gun show or elsewhere.

• Cynthia believes Bill Clinton’s ten year ban on the manufacture for sale to private citizens of certain firearms and ammunition magazines, which expired in 2004, should not be reenacted.

• Cynthia opposes imposing a new waiting period on the purchase of a handgun (the waiting period was eliminated in 1998).

• Cynthia believes that no records should be maintained on any lawful gun buyer.

• Cynthia opposes federal legislation to require firearm owner licensing.

Healthcare

Accessible and affordable healthcare should be within reach for any American citizen. Cynthia Lummis applauds Senator Enzi’s ten point plan for healthcare reform. To ensure that all Wyoming citizens have the opportunity to meet their healthcare needs:

• Cynthia Lummis believes families should be in charge of their healthcare dollars, not the government.
• Cynthia supports changing the tax code to make all healthcare expenses tax-deductible thus eliminating the special treatment afforded to employer-provided healthcare plans and leveling the playing field for families and individuals.
• Cynthia believes families should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines, which will foster increased competition for insurers and lower costs for families.
• Cynthia believes individuals should be able to get health insurance through organizations or associations that cross state lines and that those policies should be transferable across all jobs.
• Cynthia supports the development of routes for the sale of safe, less-expensive generic drugs.
• Cynthia supports the development of tax-advantaged healthcare savings accounts.
• Cynthia believes in private sector solutions to affordability and accessibility.

Wyoming's Water

The importance of water to Wyoming’s future cannot be overstated. Cynthia Lummis recognizes that there is a strong interrelationship between our water quantity and quality and the management of Wyoming’s natural resources.

Perhaps more importantly, Cynthia understands that protecting the State of Wyoming’s authority to manage its water resources is critical to protecting our agricultural base, wildlife, industries, and communities.

Cynthia knows that the administration and ownership of water is one of the most important States rights issues that she will face in Congress, and she is up to the task. To ensure that Wyoming’s water is protected for Wyoming’s future:

• Cynthia will oppose any legislation that seeks to federalize Wyoming’s water through such things as the “Clean Water Act.”

• Cynthia will carefully target funding to the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the United States Geological Survey; agencies that have a long history of providing support for developing water resources for our municipalities and our agricultural industries in Wyoming.

• Cynthia will work to expose the detrimental impacts and unforseen consequences of misguided federal policies, such as the latest effort by a few in Congress to give to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers jurisdiction over Wyoming’s water.

• Cynthia will work closely with the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, the Wyoming Water Development Commission, and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to protect Wyoming’s water resources and to ensure that Congress and the federal agencies focus their attention on National matters, rather than on usurping Wyoming’s authority.

• Cynthia has identified the protection of Wyoming’s water and its water rights as one of her top priorities. She has historically and will continue to consult with the top water and legal experts available to ensure that these rights are protected.

Environment

Good stewardship of our land, water and air is among the most precious gifts we can give to our children. It is possible to have a healthy environment and a healthy economy. Cynthia Lummis is committed to conserving Wyoming’s pristine landscapes and maintaining our clean air and water. Cynthia is a leader in agricultural land conservation, serving on the board of the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust.

National Defense

As Americans we find ourselves in an uncertain world where radical Islamic extremists threaten our country’s security and our way of life. We must work together, as one, unified nation, to strengthen our military and our intelligence community to protect our citizens from further attacks on American soil.

• Cynthia Lummis supports General Petraeus and our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Cynthia supports efforts to make our nation more secure in the face of an illusive enemy.
• Cynthia supports the modernization of our military and its use of alternative forms of warfare, such as technological warfare, to defeat Islamic radicals whose only mission is to terrorize our country using whatever means available.
• Lastly, Cynthia will fight for America’s veterans who fought so hard for us. It is imperative that veterans and their families are honored for their service with increased benefits and access to higher education and healthcare.

Immigration

America is a nation of immigrants. We are bound together by common ideals and a common language. To protect America’s integrity we must secure our borders and prevent illegal immigrants from eroding America’s economic strength.

• Cynthia Lummis believes securing our borders is the first step in preventing illegal immigration.
• Cynthia will demand that employers ensure that their foreign workers are properly documented.
• Cynthia believes Congress must increase enforcement of current immigration law
• Cynthia will work to make English the official language of the United States.
• Cynthia believes that the number of guest worker visas should be increased from its current 6,600 and that the application period should be extended.
• Cynthia believes that documented guest workers who are returning to the same employer should have renewable and expedited guest worker status.
• Cynthia will work to insure that illegal aliens do not receive social security benefits, medicaid benefits, food stamps, drivers licenses, or other benefits.
• Cynthia is opposed to blanket amnesty.

Family Issues

I believe that the family is the center and cornerstone of American life. I was blessed to grow up in a home with a mother and father, sisters and brother, guided by faith in God and involved in activities that pulled our family together. I am a twice-blessed person: my husband, daughter and I have enjoyed even in this challenging era for families, a happy and complete family life.

That is why I believe strongly in family values, and the moral guidance provided by faith and family. Family values are the province of the family, not of the federal government. Further, the social and moral values of this very diverse nation are best reflected and protected at the state level, not the federal level.

In the Congress, I would vote in a manner that would protect families and state governments from Washington’s interference in issues that are the province of families and states. I would further support the confirmation of judges who understand that judges may not make law, but rather are confined to the important role of interpreting laws made by others.

I would work to protect from repeal the ban on partial birth abortion, which is in my view a reprehensible practice that is, at best, unbecoming of a civilized society. Further, I would vote to protect for state legislatures the right to make policy on issues such as marriage, adoption, abortion and education.