Congressman Roe is a passionate advocate for the people of Northeast Tennessee.

ABORTION
As an obstetrician and gynecologist who delivered close to 5,000 babies, Phil Roe strongly supports the sanctity of life.

Endorsed by the Tennessee Right to Life after receiving a 100% rating from the National Right to Life, Phil has fought for legislation to protect the rights of the unborn – especially working to stop new abortion rights in the Obama/Pelosi health care bill.

To view Phil’s record with the National Right to Life, please click the following link: http://nrlc.capwiz.com/bio/id/51685.

BUDGET, NATIONAL DEBT & DEFICITS
Our national debt is out of control - totaling more than $13 trillion. Our standard of living, our national security and our children's future depend on getting this runaway spending under control. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress have decided to turn their backs on this issue and not even submit a budget this year, which is irresponsible.

Phil is a cosponsor of legislation that adds a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution. He voted against the so-called $700 billion “stimulus” bill that has only resulted in higher unemployment and higher debt for our nation. Phil has stood firmly against the federal “bailout” program and has voted to cut billions of dollars in federal spending.

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND THE WAR ON TERROR
There is no role more critical for the federal government than protecting our nation. The men and women who serve our nation in the armed forces deserve the best we can give them and their families deserve our full support too.

Phil opposed President Obama’s efforts to cut our national missile defense program. He voted to impose tough sanctions on the radical regime of Iran while strongly supporting our closest ally in the Middle East - Israel.

Phil believes that it is the duty of our nation to honor and support the brave men and women who served to protect our freedom. As a veteran who served in Korea, Phil has been honored to serve as a leading Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, where he has worked to improve care for those who served our nation.

ENERGY
Our national security and standard of living depend on the long-term goal of energy independence. We must take steps to ensure our nation is not held hostage to the prices and supplies dictated by the Middle East. We can take steps to ensure that drilling is safer and cleaner, but we need to look for new sources of oil here in the United States. We need to use American innovation to accelerate technology that burns our abundant supply of coal more cleanly, and we need to build new liquefied natural gas facilities, which will increase our available natural gas supply.

Because Phil supports an all-of-the-above energy policy, he believes we should develop and implement new alternative energy sources and technologies like wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy. He is also a strong supporter of efforts to increase our use of nuclear power which can provide reliable, emission-free energy for our future.

Phil believes that achieving energy independence should be a job creator, not a job killer. Because our nation depends on affordable energy, Phil voted against Obama/Pelosi “Cap and Trade” bill which imposes billions in new taxes, increases utility bills for consumers and sends U.S. jobs overseas.

TAXES
When Phil came to Congress, he brought with him a simple philosophy – less government spending and less government intrusion. He believes our tax rates are too high and our tax code is too complex. That’s why Phil supports fundamental tax reform efforts like the Fair Tax. Until we can enact comprehensive reform, he supports:

• Lower income tax rates on individuals
• Elimination of the death tax that hits family farms and small businesses
• Lower rates on capital gains and dividends to spur investment
• A permanent end to the marriage penalty
• Lower corporate tax rates to promote jobs and economic growth

Phil has voted against billions of dollars in tax increases that have been proposed by Democrats this Congress – tax hikes that could affect every American and he will continue to vigorously oppose these tax increases in the future.

HEALTH CARE
As a physician with more than 30 years of experience treating patients and running a practice, Phil came to Congress to enact health care reform that would lower costs and improve the quality of care. He believes we need reform, but not the government-controlled plan pushed by President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As a doctor in Tennessee, Phil saw firsthand how the government-run TennCare plan drove the state to the brink of bankruptcy. He used his knowledge and experience as a physician to fight back against the Democrats’ health plan, and instead, he advocated changes like meaningful tort reform and allowing consumers to purchase insurance across state lines to foster market competition and reduce costs.

The health care bill signed into law last March increases the size of government, raises taxes, and ultimately, puts us on the path to bureaucrats rationing care. Studies are proving that this bill will cost far more and achieve far less than what was promised. Phil will support efforts to repeal this bad bill and replace it with meaningful reforms that will give patients – not government bureaucrats- more control over health care decisions.

IMMIGRATION
Illegal immigration poses a significant burden for taxpayers and a threat to our national security. Phil believes that states like Arizona would not have to enforce their own border security if the federal government was willing to do its part and secure our borders and stop illegal immigration.

Phil is a cosponsor of legislation to reform our country’s immigration policies called the SAVE Act. This legislation would increase the number of border patrol agents, require individuals entering our country to be checked against terrorist watch lists, make the basic employment eligibility verification program permanent, mandate use of the E-verify system, and establish electronic birth certificate and death notification systems.

One of the flaws of the federal health care bill is that it would allow illegal aliens to use easy deception to apply for government benefits. To crack down on providing any federal benefits to illegal aliens Phil supports the Photo Identification Security Act, which would make the only acceptable form of identification to qualify for these benefits a Social Security card accompanied with a secure photo identification that was issued by a state or the federal government.

SECOND AMMENDMENT RIGHTS
Phil believes the Constitution provides law abiding citizens the freedom to keep and bear arms. As a Life Member of the NRA with a 100 percent voting record in support of gun owners and sportsmen, he has been a consistent voice for the Second Amendment and has fought attempts to weaken those rights that are granted in the Constitution.

In Congress, Phil voted for legislation that allowed gun owners to carry their weapons into national parks and wildlife refuges, which was previously prohibited.

He has also cosponsored the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, which allows law-abiding citizens who are permitted to carry a concealed weapon in one state to carry that weapon in another state, subject to his or her permitted state’s restrictions.