Questionnaire responses from Jim Matheson

As a graduate of Utah State University, Senator Reid has close Utah ties and brings Western values and a commonsense approach to Washington. He chairs the Mormon Democratic Caucus in Congress. Sen. Reid stands with me in fighting against the resumption of nuclear weapons testing and against the East Coast dumping its radioactive garbage on the West.

2. Why did you join in the unanimous Democrat vote against a $40 billion reduction in the budget deficit when that bill also specifically encourages development of our oil and energy resources in Utah?

Only in Washington, D.C., would legislation that increases the deficit be referred to as "deficit reduction." The proposal would actually have increased the federal deficit by several billion dollars. Along with that dismal prospect, it proposed deep cuts in student loan programs, Medicaid, support for states trying to collect back child support from "deadbeat dads" and funding for foster care. This was not an honest attempt to balance the federal budget, unlike the strong budget enforcement reforms that I have put forward along with my fellow Blue Dog Democrats.