Fred Thompson

Birthdate: August 19, 1942 (Sheffield, Ala.)

Hometown: Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

Spouse: Jeri Kehn Thompson

Children: Tony Thompson, Daniel Thompson, Hayden Victoria Thompson, Betsy Thompson (died in 2002), Samuel Thompson

Religion: Protestant

 

• Healthcare
• National Security
• Federal Budget and Spending/Budgetary Reform
• Tax Reform

Healthcare
Americans have the best healthcare in the world. Some, however, choose not be insured; others cannot afford it. Every American should be able to get health insurance coverage that is affordable, fully accessible, and portable. Coverage should meet their individual needs and put them in control. Those who propose a one-size-fits-all Washington-controlled program ignore the cost, inefficiency, and inadequate care that such a system offers. Access to affordable, portable health care can be made available for all Americans without imposing new mandates or raising taxes. Current government programs must also be streamlined and improved so that those who truly need help can get the health care they need. I am committed to a healthcare system that:

• Realigns programs and creates a system around individual consumers and patients by providing more information and more opportunities to choose affordable health care options that best meet their needs and those of their families.
• Improves the individual health of all Americans by shifting to a system that promotes cost-effective prevention, chronic-care management, and personal responsibility
• Modernizes delivery and administration of care by encouraging the widespread use of clinical best practices, medical information technology, and other innovations.
• Increases competition and consumer choice while streamlining regulations through free-market solutions that benefit individuals and reduce costs for employers.
• Promotes and speeds medical research and life-sciences innovation.

National Security
The first responsibility of government is to protect the American people, the homeland, and our way of life. Today we face the urgent threat of radical Islamic terrorists. Al Qaeda is committed to attacking us here at home, and wants to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to kill millions. We must never give them that opportunity. We must defeat the terrorists abroad, and that begins in Iraq and Afghanistan—the central fronts in this global war. We must show the world we have the will to fight and win. A weakened America - or an America that appears weaker - will only encourage further attacks. We must persevere. As Commander-in-Chief, the president must ensure the United States has the means to achieve victory. Presidential leadership requires talking to the American people about these stakes, mapping out a clear vision for success, and devising a comprehensive strategy for achieving it. I am committed to:

• A larger, more capable, and more modern military that can defeat terrorists, deter adversaries, and defend the U.S. and our interests.
• A missile defense system that can protect the U.S. and our allies from long-range ballistic missiles.
• An enhanced intelligence community, with robust human-intelligence capabilities, focused on terrorism and proliferation.
• A robust approach to homeland security that will protect our nation from terrorists and WMD, regardless of where they come from.
• A strengthened system of global alliances to better combat terrorists, proliferators, and traditional threats to our interests.
• A judicial system that deals with the realities of terrorists and unlawful enemy combatants.

Federal Budget and Spending/Budgetary Reform
In a few short years—not a generation from now—a fiscal tsunami that could imperil our security and economic prosperity will hit our nation and place an unfair burden of debt on our children and grandchildren. The tens of trillions of dollars in debt that will be accumulated over the next few decades will do immense harm to our economy. This burden is now estimated at $170,000 per person and $440,000 per family. Time is running out to address this looming crisis. We need market-based approaches to reform that guarantee benefits for those who need them and embrace personal responsibility and cost-effectiveness without raising taxes. Given the scope and urgency of this problem, and the burden it will place on our children, reform is not only an economic necessity, it is a moral imperative that requires action now. I am committed to:

• Opening the government’s fiscal books on this looming crisis for all to see and understand.
• Working with individuals of all political persuasions to develop a comprehensive solution to the pending fiscal crisis.
• Leading and making the hard choices necessary, to include cutting wasteful government spending, to safeguard our security, promote our prosperity, and protect our children and grandchildren from fiscal calamity

Tax Reform
The U.S. tax code is broken and a burden on U.S. taxpayers and businesses, large and small. Today’s tax code is particularly hostile to savings and investment, and it shows. To make matters worse, its complexity is a drag on our productivity and economic growth. Moreover, taxpayers spend billions of dollars and untold hours each year filling out complicated tax returns, just so they can send more money to Washington, much of it for wasteful programs and the pet projects of special interests. We need lower taxes, and we need to let taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned dollars—they know best where and how to spend them. And we need to make the system simpler and fairer for all. To ensure America’s long term prosperity and economic security, I am committed to:

• Fundamental tax reform built on the principles of simplicity, fairness, and growth.
• A new tax code that gets the government out of our citizens’ pocketbooks, while enhancing U.S. competitiveness abroad.
• Dissolution of the IRS as we know it.