Gas Tax
This year the Legislature voted to raise the gas tax in Nebraska. The final vote count was 34 - 15, and I was one of the fifteen who voted against this tax hike. In fact, I was one of a few who spoke actively against this tax hike. The Legislature can’t come back year after year to continually raise the price of gas. We’re now at $4.00/gallon, and I am not interested in determining how much more people can take. This decision added to a heavy burden on Nebraska families, and it masked the underlying inadequacy of our Roads policy.

Illegal Immigration
It is a fundamental injustice to bestow the fruits of a just society on those who have entered it illegally. My mother is from a third-world country, the Philippines, and that entire side of my family remains on this island nation living in a situation of poverty. Would it be right to give a family in the Philippines the unemployment benefits of Nebraska? Or should we afford them participation in our food stamp program? Or Medicaid? Of course we should not, and it is a further injustice to afford benefits for some foreign nationals simply because they have been able to land in Nebraska. In fact, such policy provides an incentive for my family to sneak into Nebraska illegally. This simply isn't right.

This year I sponsored LR224 which encouraged local law enforcement's cooperation with the federal government in immigration enforcement. Should state and local governments carry the burden of incarcerating prisoners who are also here in this country illegally? I think not, and LR224 enabled local law enforcement to identify those criminals who are also illegal immigrants in order to turn them over to the federal government.

I also co-sponsored LB963 which required verification of lawful presence in the United States to receive state and local public benefits. Should tax dollars provide benefits to those who have entered our nation illegally? Again I think not, and LB963 created a consistent policy of verification to ensure the integrity of our public benefit system.

Taxes / Spending
Tax policy is tied inherently and inextricably to government spending. While a society can utilize its tax policy to encourage behavior benefiting society (or discourage behavior detrimental to society), the primary purpose of tax policy is not social engineering. Taxes are levied to pay for the State's budget. Taxpayers will not - and should not - accept a tax burden without some assurance that that particular taxation is necessary. It is my position that the prudent and appropriate planning of the State's biennial budget is the critical first step to an intelligent tax policy.

I serve on the Appropriations Committee responsible for recommending the budget that allowed for the largest tax relief package in the history of Nebraska. I worked long, late-night hours to accomplish this budget, and this is proof we can pay for the responsibilities of government without irresponsibly taxing the people.

Education
I am a minority (Asian-American), and I grew up in a working-class household. The education I received at Auburn Public Schools (Auburn, Nebraska) is a primary reason I have been able to advance as I have. My mother spoke English as a second language, and I learned to speak proper English during my education in Auburn. I also learned Spanish at Auburn, and I have since been able to learn several other languages. My numerical and scientific abilities proliferated under the auspices of my K-12 education, and I have now put these abilities at the service of Nebraska. Education afforded me the ability to rise to levels otherwise impossible, and I am deeply cognizant of this fact. While budgeting for Nebraska's historic tax relief package, I found a way to support a 9% increase in state aid to K-12 schools. I was also a key senator responsible for recommending the University of Nebraska's 4% increase. Fiscal responsibility necessarily entails funding government's responsibilities, and I am proud to have accomplished this task.

Family
I am not simply a senator, I am also a husband and father, and this influences my service in the Legislature. The money used to pay for government services comes from the work and livelihoods of many Nebraska families. Moms and dads, sons and daughters are those who pay for government.

The level of energy and insight I direct toward fiscal responsibility is a reflection of how important I know an income is to a family. When you work for the good of your loved ones, government had better have good reason for taking some of the fruits of that work.

That work produces income, and it also takes away from time with your loved ones. Not only does a dollar represent an amount of revenue, it also represents part of a life which might otherwise have been shared with another. It is my experience in a hard-working family of limited means that fuels my appreciation for the value of a dollar.

Family life has made me better, and I believe the disciplines and traditions of family life can do much to improve government and society.

Economy
Our nation's founders did not risk life and limb to come to a new land and establish government. They came at the allure of freedom. It was this freedom which expressed itself in the economic miracle which the United States of America has become.

The drive, energy, and initiative of a people are found in our economy, and we are best served when we unleash this enormous human potential. While there is legitimate need for government to regulate business and industry, it should be remembered that government does not grow economy.

Where regions of economic development have most flourished, a careful introspection will reveal that human creativity and entrepreneurship were the most deeply satisfying aspects to that economic development.

Where the extent of government's necessity has been identified, there too should its authority yield.