By Rob Simmons

Hartford Courant

February 28, 2010

Our country is on a dangerous course. Our economy remains in shambles and the only solutions out of Washington seem to be to grow government. We are at war, but our leaders do not seem to realize it. And sadly, our representatives more than ever seem in it for themselves, even our own Sen. Christopher Dodd.

My first 100 days as senator would be spent aggressively addressing each of these challenges, bringing to bear a lifetime of experience serving our state and nation in the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency, as a teaching assistant at the University of Connecticut, in elected office, and most recently as Connecticut's first business advocate.

Our first challenge is getting America on the road to economic recovery. As Connecticut's business advocate, I met with more than 400 small business owners and the workers they employ. I heard their concerns about high taxes, the cost of energy, over-regulation, and high health care costs. Their concerns and ideas for solutions formed the foundation of my plan for prosperity, which I unveiled last month.

My plan for prosperity has five points to reinvigorate our economy, particularly through small businesses, which create 70 percent of new jobs. Washington has spent trillions on bailouts and "stimulus" to grow government under a misguided philosophy that says a few big businesses are "too big to fail" while the rest are too small to help. We've seen the results: record unemployment, trillion-dollar deficits and continued economic uncertainty for millions of American families.

Rather than grow government, my plan for prosperity calls for reducing the tax burden, including a six-month, 40 percent payroll tax cut, and permanently extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for all taxpayers; redirecting nearly $300 billion in unused stimulus and bailout funds to deficit reduction; reducing health care costs through common-sense, private-sector reforms; reforming the tort system to make it faster and fair, not a cash bonanza for trial lawyers; and streamlining job training programs to make them more effective for workers seeking new skills in a changing economy. My detailed plan is available at www.joinrobsimmons.com.

On the national security front, Washington is prosecuting the war on terror as a law enforcement exercise rather than an actual war. We are dropping our guard, welcoming terrorists into our country, granting them American constitutional rights and treating them as criminals rather than the enemy combatants they are.

As a retired Army colonel, Vietnam veteran and CIA agent, I bring to this race a unique understanding of America's foreign policy challenges and a real appreciation born of real-life experience for the challenges facing our men and women in uniform and our veterans - a perspective all too lacking among today's elected officials.

Finally, I will carry to the Senate my lifelong belief that public office is a public trust. I will advocate for serious ethics reforms to restore the confidence of the American people in their government. And I'll lead by example, committing to serve no more than two terms if voters give me the privilege.

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