United States Senator Election: John Barrasso

NLJ: Please tell us why you want to hold this office, and what you intend to accomplish if elected. Please be specific about your goals and objectives, so our readers can measure your progress over the course of the term. Also tell us what qualifications and characteristics you possess that will help ensure that your stated goals can be achieved. (The same question was posed to all candidates for the General Election.)

John Barrasso
The people of Wyoming know me. I’m a husband, father, and someone who cares deeply about the future of our state. I’m conservative. Nothing has prepared me more for serving Wyoming than the years I spent as a medical doctor, a state legislator and volunteer in our state. These experiences and jobs prepared me to contribute conservative ideas to the broad set of issues and challenges we face. They taught me the important lessons of hard work and community that lead to solutions closest to the people. These jobs taught me to listen first. Most importantly, I learned why it is so critical that we guide our own future and not leave decisions about our lives, our resources, our freedoms to Washington, D.C.
Providing a pro-growth, pro-American economic climate to create and maintain good-paying jobs for Wyoming people is a top priority. The Obama administration took direct aim at Wyoming’s economy. It saddled our state and country with new taxes, new mandates, and oppressive federal regulations that burdened many Wyoming families and small businesses.
Working closely with the Trump Administration, I successfully fought to cut taxes, so Wyoming people keep more of what they earn, and unleash America’s private sector economy. We slashed billions in excessive Obama-era rules and regulations that targeted Wyoming jobs, and we opened new opportunities overseas for Wyoming’s natural gas and coal. This is good for our economy, Wyoming jobs, and our national security.
Finally, Obamacare is a terrible law that left patients with higher premiums and less choices for healthcare. I fought against Obamacare and authored alternatives that clear away the mandates and give families a real choice to buy affordable insurance that works for them. I helped lead efforts to repeal the individual mandate tax so that you aren’t forced to buy insurance you don’t want or can’t afford. 
I believe in limited government. We’ve seen the federal bureaucracy grow too large and too encompassing. We’ve seen Washington, D.C., not listening and not working. As a result, too often the federal government issues a one-size-fits-all approach to solve a problem. Time and time again we see this approach fail and our individual rights put at risk.
I believe in a government of, by, and for the people. I believe a smaller government creates more jobs and interferes less with personal freedoms. And I believe when we downsize the federal government, we are safer, more prosperous and live more free.