Malorie Williamson
mwilli92@uwyo.edu
Tim Stubson, Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, is now on his campaign trail running for U.S. Congress.
A Wyoming native and UW graduate, Stubson is eager to make Washington understand the need to solve Wyoming problems in a Wyoming way.
Stubson said by being a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, it did not take long to realize how important federal issues are to the state.
“When you have the federal government owning 50 percent of our land, decisions that they make have a profound impact on how we do things here,” Stubson said. “It becomes very clear from the state level that you have limited ability to steer those things.”
For Stubson, being able to have a vote on issues means he can have a greater impact on them, which is what led him to start his campaign.
In Wyoming, Stubson said the big issue is economic growth. He said the state needs to create an environment that allows job creation, especially small businesses, to grow as a state and develop resources.
“We’re unique as a state,” Stubson said. “When you only have 580,000 people it’s different. The problems are different and the solutions to those problems are different.”
One of the very important things for Stubson, he said, is fighting tendencies the Federal Government has that a one size fits all solution works for everyone, when it does not work for Wyoming.
Energy is a big topic for Wyoming and one of the many regulations the administration has come out with in recent years is a set of rules on hydraulic fracking, Stubson said. The rules though, look just like the rules already in Wyoming.
Stubson said it is important to address that the BLM enforcing these rules instead of the Wyoming oil and gas commission. He added that this new management does not benefit Wyoming.
Stubson said if the Cowboy State needs to recognize it already has the solution, as it is monitoring what is being pumped and who is doing the job so no additional systems and costs are neccessary.
Stubson has been working with the budget committee of Wyoming and for the last three months has been attempting to balance the budget.
“We cut expenditures and dug into savings and we balanced the budget,” Stubson said. “That obviously needs to happen at the federal level and those discussions don’t happen.”
Stubson said a balanced budget amendment needs to be enforced. He said Congress has shown it is unable to control its appetite for tax dollars. Wyoming is only about six states away from calling for a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget.
Stubson said a Wyoming representative must push for a balanced budget over the long term.
As far as healthcare goes, Stubson said changes need to be made.
“Obamacare clearly does not work for the state of Wyoming,” Stubson said. “We have more uninsured people now then we had when Obamacare passed.”
Stubson said Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is a good example of something that may work in a state with 17 million people, but does not work in a state like Wyoming with 580,000 people.
Wyoming residents pay the highest in healthcare and premiums, but balancing that across the country would dramatically benefit the people in Wyoming, which is not something seen in Obamacare, Stubson said.
As Stubson continues his campaign for U.S. Congress, his focus on Wyoming issues and what needs to be done federally to help the Cowboy State remains his priority.
