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FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. Chris Shays doesn't think its right for him to run for Senate if he cant get the nation's budget balanced in a six-year term. Reducing government spending and boosting the economy are the main forces driving his campaign, the former U.S. representative for Fairfield County says.
Im not looking to make friends or become the next leader of the Senate," Shays said in an interview at his campaign headquarters in Stratford. "I want people to know that Im writing a six-year contract to get the country back on track."
Shays, who grew up in Darien, is seeking the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Joe Lieberman. His opponents in the GOP opponents are pro wrestling magnate Linda McMahon and attorneys Kie Westby, Brian Hill and Peter Lumaj. Democrats vying for the seat are U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and state Rep. William Tong.
He has looked at proposals to fix the nations economy, such as the Simpson-Bowles plan and the Ryan plan, but thinks they will take way too long to balance the countrys budget.
Our leaders keep postponing everything. I believe we need to balance the budget in the next six years. Until we get our financial house in order, nothing else matters," Shays said.
In 2009, Shays chaired a commission that discovered more than $60 billion of government money that had been wasted in rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan. It is this kind of frivolous government spending that Shays says he wants to eliminate.
He also wants to simplify the countrys tax codes and eliminate loopholes and red tape. He said it's not fair for some Americans to see their income taxes rise while others get write-offs.
Why not get rid of all write-offs and lower the tax rate," he said.
The countrys energy policies are another area where he believes money gets wasted. America is looked on with contempt because of how dependent it is on other countries for oil, he said.
We need to become completely energy independent, not partially," Shays said. "We spend $1 billion a day to bring in oil from overseas. Thats just transferring our wealth to other countries.
A total of 200 years worth of energy is available in our own country, which we should use, and work at the same time to become leaders in renewable energy, he said.
Shays also said he can lead the Senate in passing its first budget in over two years. Once the government has a master plan for what it will spend and what it will tax, Shays said, he believes that it will eliminate waste and focus spending so the American economy will grow and prosper.
Shays represented southern Fairfield County in Congress for 21 years before losing to current U.S. Rep. Jim Himes in 2008.
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