Eagle Forum Friends:
My deep apologies for not being present at your Annual Convention. Travel difficulties yesterday prevented me from returning to Utah in time to be with you. Still, I am honored by the invitation and certain that my views will receive the fair hearing you are all known for.
On most issues, I know we are in harmony – as evidenced by my longstanding and consistent record as one of Congress' most conservative Members.
You favor limited government and low taxes, as do I.
It has been an honor for me to vote for the tax cuts and reforms proposed in every year of the Bush Administration. The Bush tax cuts of 2001, 2002, and 2003, in particular, have produced a still-continuing economic boom, and if we see some weakness now, that simply means we will have the opportunity to vote for tax cuts in this legislative year as well. There will be votes on permanent extension of these rate cuts, earned income credits, and elimination of the marriage penalty. Given the Democratic control of Congress, we will not get everything we want and need, but we are in a tough bargaining position, and I am hopeful. 
It is particularly significant, I think, that we are very close to having enough signatures on a letter to President Bush promising to uphold any veto of tax increases. This letter originated with Tom Feeney of Florida, and I am proud to have my signature on it.
It is essential that we continue the moratorium on internet taxation. I have always backed the extensions of this moratorium as they have come along, but I also strongly support a permanent moratorium – and will continue to lead the effort to accomplish that goal. I'm sure that the certainty that would come from a permanent ban on such taxes would be much more reassuring to investors and entrepreneurs than the uncertainty that comes with temporary bans.
The Death Tax is on its last legs. This relic of outdated class warfare has lost all credibility, even as a revenue-raising measure, and I am convinced that it will soon meet its merited fate.
Tax cuts are well and good, and may we have even more of them, but John McCain is right about one thing: tax cuts should be accompanied by spending cuts. Accordingly, I have sponsored an amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced budget. The states manage to live with a requirement of that kind, and I see no reason why the federal government can't as well.
As a way to control spending, I favor giving the president a line-item veto. Congress tried that before, as you know, when a Republican Congress gave Democrat Bill Clinton that budget tool. Unfortunately, the courts struck it down, but we have now found a formula that I think will withstand court challenges, and perhaps this Democratic Congress can return the favor, and help us give that power to a Republican president.
My record on taxes and spending has consistently earned me among the highest ratings in Congress from Americans for Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union, and the National Taxpayers Union.
I take pride in the fact that, while every single Democrat running for president is proposing new spending and taxing, every single Republican running for president is proposing new tax cuts.
There's more than a dime's worth of difference between the two parties.
But life is more than taxes, and I am proud to have stood with conservatives by sponsoring legislation protecting the right of gun-owners, for example, to use their concealed weapons permits across state lines. My record on the 2 nd Amendment is clear, and one that has earned me the highest possible rating from the National Rifle Association year after year.
I continue to oppose human cloning, and the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research. Almost every day comes a report in the medical journals of progress made with adult stem cells, proving the wisdom of your objections to using human embryos for this purpose. My votes in Congress on these issues demonstrate my resolve.
I oppose, as you do, efforts to criminalize thought, and to extend so-called "hate crimes" legislation to sexual orientation and gender identity. This last year, with Democrats in control of the House, we have had to vote repeatedly on this issue.
Abstinence education is another area where I think we have broad agreement. Liberals in Congress try repeatedly to eliminate the pittance of sex education funding that goes to encourage abstinence. With your support I'm proud to oppose their efforts.
Another ugly threat that has reared its head since Democrats took control of Congress is a revival of the discredited Fairness Doctrine. Liberals cannot win the battle of the airwaves on the merits of their arguments, so they seek to take over talk radio by law. This is a battle we have to win, and I'm proud to say that this year, by a vote of 309-115, we did defeat that effort.
Another victory for families was our success, even over the objections of the Democratic leadership of the House, in passing a ban on creation of a same-sex register in the District of Columbia. Now if Salt Lake City would only be as wise.
There are many other issues where we make common cause: the S-CHIP veto, forced unionization, and the creation of new entitlements in housing. But let me address one area where there has been contention: immigration.
Over the years, I have voted for every measure presented to the House that would strengthen our border security. We have a fundamental right to decide, as Americans, who comes here and under what terms. My record in protecting that right is absolutely clear. That includes supporting increased border agents, employee verification programs, and fences. I am strongly committed to control of our border. Border control is essential to our sovereignty, and I will defend that sovereignty to the end.
Where disagreement among many conservatives and Republicans has occurred over the years is how best to deal with the harsh reality of the millions of illegal immigrants who are here today, living and working among us. While this question has been thoroughly distorted by way of uncontrolled rhetoric in the immigration debate, there are basic principles about which I suspect we all agree.
Illegal immigrants have broken the law, and they need to pay a penalty for doing so. They absolutely should not gain any advantage as a result of their law-breaking over those who have or wish to immigrate legally. And finally, we must replace today's broken immigration system with one that works – one through which law-abiding, hard working immigrants can come to our country legally and in numbers that suit OUR needs, not theirs.
I think it was presidential candidate Fred Thompson who characterized a reasonable program as "High fences, wide gates." People should be able to come here legally, but they should not be able to come here illegally.
In conclusion, let me say that one aspect of our political debate is really disappointing. In the area of domestic policy, the biggest threat to our nation today is the tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities of our Medicare and Social Security programs. Congress in the year just past conducted a record number of recorded votes: 1,186. Yet not a single vote, my friends, addressed this problem.
That is the most telling indictment we can make against a Congress controlled by ideological Democrats: dozens and dozens of meaningless votes on Iraq and a wide variety of liberal agenda items, and not a single vote on the entitlement monster looming in our future.
Thank you for your support for the nation we all hold dear. I am with you in spirit, and wish I could be there in person.
