Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Sue Myrick first came to Congress in 1995.

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Sue serves on the Health subcommittee, where she gets directly involved in crafting cancer research and other health related legislation.  Sue also serves on the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee.

In 2009, Sue was selected by House Leadership to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The Intelligence Committee has jurisdiction over the Intelligence community, including intelligence-related activities of the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Security Agency, and other agencies of the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Departments of State, Justice, and Treasury.

Sue is also leading the charge nationally on issues related to terrorism.  She is the founder of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, which has more than 120 Members.  This caucus meets with experts on terrorism and works to educate the public about the dangers we face from Islamofascism.

As a nine-year breast cancer survivor, Sue spends a significant amount of her time in Washington as an advocate for the issue and helping fight for the resources needed to some day find a cure. Sue also currently serves as the Co-Chair of the House Cancer Caucus and has successfully introduced and helped pass several pieces of legislation aimed at stopping this deadly disease.

She is the former chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus organization consisting of over 96 conservative members of the House of Representatives.  Under Sue's leadership, the RSC grew from 65 to over 96 members. 

In addition, she was chosen to be a Deputy Whip for the 108th Congress. In this position, Sue returned to the Leadership table where she sat her first 4 years in Congress.  She has continued to serve as a Deputy Whip through the 109th, 110th and into the 111th Congress.

If elected, my first priority will be to cut out-of-control federal spending.  We cannot continue to borrow against our children and grandchildren's future.  Congress must confront the growing national debt.  This will involve some painful cuts to discretionary spending and will also require reforms to entitlement programs.

I'm a firm believer in the fact that government doesn't create jobs - entrepreneurs do.  Over the past couple of years, the federal government has passed new laws that will create additional, unnecessary regulatory burdens that will hurt American businesses that are already struggling through the downturn.  To get our economy back on track, we need to create an environment that's conducive to growth.  I support repealing the new health care law and replacing it with market-based reforms; extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts so families and businesses have certainty about their future tax liabilities; cutting corporate and capital gains taxes; promoting alternative energy research and development with revenue generated by expanding domestic oil and gas production; and revising financial regulations to spur private-sector investment.

Finally, I believe we must confront threats posed by extremist groups at home and abroad.  We've been fortunate not to have suffered a major attack since 9/11, but threats still exist.  National security cannot be taken for granted.