Ben R. Lujan for U.S. Congress

Working families are the heart of our economy, but too many are struggling just to pay everyday bills. In New Mexico and throughout our country, we continue to experience the growing divide between the rich and the disappearing middle class. It’s time to stop this trend and put our economy back on track by focusing on the middle class and working families.

As a chairman and commissioner at the Public Regulation Commission, I have fought for working families and consumers. Increasing costs of heating, health care, and phone bills contribute to the growing cost of living. At the PRC, we have fought corporations who have attempted to impose excessive charges on New Mexicans. We forced Qwest to refund millions to consumers after they failed to live up to their promise to invest in our state’s communications infrastructure. In Congress, I will work hard to revive our economy by fighting for middle-class tax cuts and new good-paying jobs for the people of New Mexico to foster a viable, healthy economy.

Focus on the Middle Class and Working Families

Our current tax structure reflects the misguided priorities of the Bush Administration. The Bush tax cuts disproportionately benefited the rich, not the middle class, and they have left working families paying a higher tax burden. Revoking the Bush tax cuts for billionaires and shifting these tax breaks to the middle class is the first step toward helping working families and resuscitating our economy. It is time to end the favoritism that has been afforded to the wealthiest at the expense of the middle class. By making our economy work for the middle class we can help families cope with all the expenses of everyday life.

Education for a Brighter Future

Education is the key to a strong economy and a strong middle class. I want to improve access to college for all young people and encourage them to pursue innovative, high-skill fields. I'll work to increase Pell grants and make federal loan easier to repay. Education is the most important investment we can make in our economic future. We can create a vibrant economy in New Mexico that provides good jobs in communities across the state by making sure our students receive the education they need.

Renewable Energy that Creates Jobs in New Mexico

I believe we can create a bright future for New Mexicans by harnessing our state's tremendous potential to develop and sell our clean, renewable energy. New Mexico has long been a leader in energy, and we can lead the way in an energy-independent future. An investment in renewable energy development will create new jobs and lead the way to reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

Ending the War in Iraq

We must end the Iraq War. Precious lives continue to be lost and over 500 billion hard-earned dollars have been spent on a conflict that never should have been started. The Bush Administration has grown our national deficit to historic levels, putting our children’s economic security at risk. We need to invest in education, job re-training programs, small-business development.

Small Business

Small businesses are the engine that drives our economy in New Mexico and nationally. We need to give small businesses the resources to succeed by providing loans, grants and development resources through the Small Business Administration, the New Mexico Small Business Development centers and other local and national organizations. I will work closely with these organizations to support small businesses. In Congress, I will work to increase funding for small business incubators. We can also create new jobs by helping small businesses that develop renewable energy in New Mexico. Small businesses need access to capital to succeed. We should encourage investment in New Mexico's small businesses and expand access to capital to allow businesses to grow.

Gas Prices

The high price of gas is affecting almost everything families must buy. We need a commonsense approach to lowering gas prices and moving toward an energy-independent future. For too long, Republicans have allowed oil companies to run wild. They gave Big Oil tens of billions in tax breaks and have failed to hold them accountable. We need solutions to lower prices today while planning for the future.

We need a comprehensive approach to solve our energy crisis that includes passing 'Use it or Lose it' legislation that requires oil companies to use the 68 million available leased acres to increase domestic production, increasing our investment in renewable energy, increasing fuel efficiency in our automobiles and cracking down on speculators and market manipulation.

There are 68 million leased acres available for domestic production today that we can explore. Just recently, a leased, but previously unexplored track in North Dakota was tapped and resulted in a high yield of domestic oil. These are the immediate results we need. We should create and pass “Use it or Lose it” legislation to increase domestic production.

We also must crack down on price gouging and market manipulation by giving agencies greater ability to investigate complaints. Recent studies have shown that speculators have driven up the cost of oil and gas. We need to keep speculators in check and make sure they do not create a bubble that will harm consumers.

As we move forward, we need to commit to renewable energy by shifting tax breaks to renewable energy production and developing fuel efficient vehicles. We must reduce our consumption of fossil fuels by increasing fuel efficiency in our cars. Leaders in Congress have already taken steps to increase fuel efficiency, and we must work to accelerate this effort. If we increase fuel efficiency standards each year we can save hundreds of billions of gallons of gas. Research and development to improve fuel efficiency standards can create more, high paying jobs in our country.

Fiscal Responsibility

The Bush Administration has run up debts and deficits with little regard for our future. The Bush tax cuts, the war in Iraq and the misplaced priorities of the last eight years has put the US economy at great risk. When President Bush took office we had a $127 billion budget surplus. When he leaves office, we will have a $482 billion deficit. We need to get back on track and balance our budget, just as our families balance their checkbooks.

Together, we can get our economy back on track by focusing on the middle class and reaching out to rural communities and those living in poverty. It’s time to discard the policies of the Bush Administration and create a 21^st century economy that puts people and families first.