By Steve Contorno
Gannett Wisconsin Media 

GREEN BAY — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson campaigned as a staunch, fiscal conservative, but when he had the chance to vote on spending cuts he promised voters, he balked.

So why didn't he side with many Republican colleagues who voted to raise the debt ceiling and cut $2.4 trillion in federal spending over the next decade? The bill didn't go far enough, he said.

"We were never going to default. That was never in the cards," Johnson said in an interview Tuesday with the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "The reason I voted against it was basically an acknowledgment, to send a message that we're not seriously addressing the problem."

In that regard, maybe Johnson is more like his predecessor than either would like to admit. While on the opposite end of the political spectrum, former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold often spurned his party and bipartisan bills because they weren't as a strong as he liked, including last year's Wall Street reforms.

Johnson, the owner of a manufacturing company in Oshkosh, ousted Feingold in November in a strong election year for Republicans. Since taking office more than seven months ago, he has remained a steadfast conservative, sticking to the points that made him popular among tea party groups on the campaign trail.

His focus remains on repealing last year's health care reforms, President Barack Obama's signature achievement and the largest factor in Johnson's motivation to run for office. But he wouldn't stop there.

"We should repeal the entire Obama agenda," he said.

As debt reduction talks shift to a bipartisan committee of six Republicans and six Democrats, Johnson's expectations are low. He believes any significant changes proposed won't take effect until later in the decade and by then they largely will be ignored.

Instead, Congress should work on meaningful reform for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. While he wouldn't change benefits for current retirees or those entering the system within the next 10 years, younger generations should be subject to means testing and a higher retirement age to receive benefits.

That's often a dicey issue, but Johnson said it's a necessary conversation.

"We need to save those things. We need to restructure those," Johnson said. "Younger people have no expectation of having any Medicare or Social Security. So I don't really fear bringing that up as a political issue."

Like many Republican — and Democratic — lawmakers, Johnson believes the tax code needs to be updated and simplified by eliminating loopholes that allow some corporations and wealthy individuals to pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.

However, he said he would stop short of ending some subsidies, like those for oil companies. Without those incentives, fewer companies will be interested in digging wells, which would have a residual effect on the economy, he said.

"Silly me, I like to have oil flowing so that we can produce gasoline so I can fill up my tank in my car," he said.

"If we eliminated that tax treatment, what would happen? I would argue you're not going to get as much oil exploration. You won't have as much oil. You'll have less supplies and just as much demand so prices will spike. You'll harm our economy, harm economic growth."

Additional Facts
RON JOHNSON FILE 
Name: Ron Johnson
Political office: Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin
Age: 56
Home: Oshkosh
Education: Bachelor's degree in
accounting, University of Minnesota, 1977
Professional experience: Owner of Pacur LLC, a maker of plastic packaging
materials; member, Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce
Family: Married, two daughters, one son

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