CLukehart

I'm Caroline Lukehart, and I represent the great state of Vermont. I am a moderate conservative, so I agree with most of the republican pa rty.

Worldwide, there are many problems. One of the biggest national problems that I think everyone can agree on is the national debt. The United States is over 14 trillion dollars in debt. Did you know that if we started paying off with just one dollar a second, it would still take us 979, 020, 979 days to pay off the national debt? The government needs to do more to try and work this out. I think everyone agrees with this. On a more personal note, I think abortion is a problem in the U.S. I know that some people may disagree with me, and that's okay. This is what I think. I think if you have an abortion, you are killing a life. In the U.S killing can be punished by death. I honestly don't see how killing an unborn baby is any different from killing a born baby. Either way, you are killing a life. That issue is extremely important to me.

Changing Energy Resources for Healthier Living

I have decided to work with Matthew Grimmett of Texas on a bill to change non-renewable energy sources into renewable energy sources. This can be done by replacing things like coal, oil, and gas with solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric dams. We plan to start in the city of Cleveland and see how it goes from there. if it works, we plan to expand it to other areas in 2014. Our bill will improve air and water quality and create a healthier America. it is our right as Americans to breathe safely. This bill gives citezens the chance to excercise that right.

__//**Interesting Facts About Vermont:**//__ ~ The capital, Montpelier, is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S. ~ Vermont was the first state after the original thriteen to join the Union. ~ Vermont has nearly one-half the dairy farms in all the New England states. ~ Vermont has the least amount of violent crimes in America.
 * ~** Vermont follows a state constitution that was written in 1793 and is the shortest state constitution in the country.

__//**Reasons for visiting Vermont:**//__ ~ You could come for **Open Studio Weekend** every Memorial Day weekend. These few days are when artisans from all over Vermont open their doors and invite you to come explore the beauty in what they do. Vermont is home to some of America's finest crafts people, and with it's gorgeous landscape, this weekend is not one to miss. ~ You could come to either the **Maple Open House Weekend** in March or the **Vermont Maple Festival** in April to celebrate Vermont's heritage in making maple syrup! You can come express your love for the sticky syrup alongside thousands of excited Vermonters. ~ Vermont is home to some of the most **beautiful castles**, including Hildene (Manchester), Wilson Castle (Rutland), Shelburne Farms (Shelburne) and the Park McCullough House (North Bennington). Many people come to Vermont just to see the wonderful mansions. ~ Vermont is known for **Alpine skiing and snowboarding**. With a snowfall average in the mountains of 250 inches yearly and over 5,700 acres of terrain to ski on, it's a skier or snowboarder's dream! ~ One of Vermont's biggest, if not THE biggest tourist attraction, is the **Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory**. Ice cream lovers can buy tickets to the massive factory and take a tour. They can even see the ice cream being made. If they're really seeking a challenge, they can try to beat the Vermonster, an enormous ice cream sundae!

__//**Vermont's Top Three Natural Resources: Agriculture:**//__ ~ Dairy ~ Lumber ( especially Sugar Maple) ~ Sheep / Wool

~ Maple Syrup ~ Tourism ~ Production of small electronics ~ Ben & Jerry's ~ IBM ~ Burton Snowboards
 * __// Vermont's Top Three Industries: //__**
 * Companies:**

__//** 3 Concerning Issues: **//__
 * Immigration is a very important issue in the United States. Every year, many illegal immigrants are arrested and deported back to their countries. If you think about it, you might realize that almost all of us came from immigrants. It doesn't matter where they came from or when they came, they were accepted as Americans.everyone deserves the chance to be accepted as an American. There are approximately 3.2 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. every year. America is supposed to be a free country, known for helping those that need it. Therefore, I believe we should be more willing to allow immigrants in, as long as they are registered.
 * Another important issue is the National Debt. The government keeps spending more than we can spare. currently, the national debt is $15.589 trillion. This is extremely important. The government needs to stop spending money unless absolutely neccessary, and they need to manage the country's mopney better. our economy s bad enough already, we don't need $15 trillion hanging over our heads.
 * Healthcare is also an important issue in the U.S. The government //__should not__// be allowed to force Americans to buy healthcare. Honestly, I don't believe that the government should get involved with Americans' healthcare at all. If they cannot afford it, the doctors should try their best, but that is really all they can do. although it is sad, special medications and such should not be given to those that cannot afford it. So many other Americans work hard to make the money to buy their healthcare; it is not fair to them.

__**Presidential Endorsement 2012:**__ I am not sure if I would vote in the presidential campaign. None of the candidates have everything i would want, but i didn't expect that. however, all the candidates have little to nothing that I would want in a president. If i had to endorse one though, it would be Mitt Romney. I agree with him most. He is pro-life which is so, so important to me. He finds that if he would feel guilty killing an innocent child, and he would not be able to allow others to murder, even if it was their choice. He is also against Obamacare, and he openly attacked the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act immediately after it was passed in 2010. He said it should be repealed. So far, I agree most with Mitt Romney.

The representative for the state of Vermont is Mr. Peter Welch, and he belongs to the Democratic party. This is the link to his website: []

Some issues that Mr. Welch is currently working on are
 * making sure that everyone has healthcare, whether they work or not.
 * making sure that colleges are affordable for young students, so that they can start their careers.
 * supporting veterans that come home, helping with their healthcare, supporting their businesses, and helping with their education

__//**Bibliography:**//__

For Natural Resources ; [|Natural Resources in Vermont] For Reasons to Visit ; [|Reasons to Visit Vermont] For Interesting Facts ; [|Intersting Facts About Vermont] For Overall Information ; [|About vermont] For Immigration: [|Immigration facts] For Mitt Romney: [|For Mitt Romney] Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: [|PPACA] National Debt: [|National Debt] Obamacare: [|Obamacare] Against Obamacare: [|Obamacare]