To everyone planning on unseating Rep. Tim Huelskamp — good luck.
Huelskamp was elected to the House in 2010, replacing the popular Jerry Moran. He won re-election in an unopposed race on Nov. 6, 2012. Huelskamp will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election. The general election takes place Nov. 4, 2014.
If Tuesday’s town hall meeting in Larned is any indication, Congressman Huelskamp is representing his rank-and-file Republicans fairly well in the U.S. House of Representatives Kansas’ 1st Congressional District. The people provided good questions and listened to Huelskamp’s consistent message of fiscal responsibility.
His message is fairly simple — put the halt on spending and start making inroads on the federal deficit.
He wants to limit the scope and over-regulation by the Internal Revenue Service and Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA was created to protect human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
Huelskamp voted for a budget proposal that would have cut about $5 trillion over the next decade and aimed to balance the budget by the end of the 10-year period.
In March 2012, Huelskamp voted against Paul Ryan’s budget plan in the House Budget Committee because he believed the plan did not cut the budget fast enough. He wasn’t allowed to serve on the House Budget Committee in the 113th Congress. Huelskamp also lost his seat on the Agriculture Committee.
Matt Kibbe, president of a Tea party group, suggests that Huelskamp has been punished for voting on his principles rather than moving the government on its current fiscal policy.
Huelskamp serves on the following committees — U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade; Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce; Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology; U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health; and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Here are a few of Huelskamp’s beliefs:
• Energy: “Our nation is dependent on far too many foreign sources of energy. This results in massive volatility and increases in energy prices.”
• Fiscal Responsibility: “I support our free-market economic system and do not believe that throwing money at problems and then sweeping them under the rug get anything solved. It will be my goal to be the best possible steward of your tax dollars and get government out of the way so that entrepreneurs can create private sector jobs.”
• Healthcare: “Healthcare costs have been spiraling out of control for many years. It is imperative that we, as a society, find free-market, consumer-centered solutions to our healthcare challenges.”
Challengers to Huelskamp are starting to surface. But he stands firm in his beliefs that he’s properly representing his voters.
Until someone disproves his thinking, Huelskamp will continue to preach to his choir that clearly has his back.

Jim Misunas