The Economy

As the country struggled through hard economic times, Flores' campaign touted his pro-business record. As his campaign web site emphasized, "During his thirty years leading these businesses, Bill helped create more than 500 AMERICAN jobs with AMERICAN companies that helped and produce much needed AMERICAN energy resources to help fuel our economy."

Flores also proposed reducing pay for federal employees-including lawmakers-when the government is running a deficit.

Energy

A longtime energy executive, Flores opposed the moratorium on offshore oil drilling after the spring 2010 BP oil spill that affecting the Gulf of Mexico, saying it cost people jobs.

Because of his energy-friendly credentials, Flores opposes cap-and-trade legislation, which would limit the amount of greenhouse gases businesses are allowed to emit.

But in oil-friendly Texas, even Flores's 2010 opponent, Edwards, opposed the cap-and-trade bill that passed the House in June 2009.

In his 2010 campaign, Flores also supported exploring alternative energy sources, including solar and nuclear energy. Flores and his wife installed solar panels on their home, according to his campaign web site.

Immigration

Flores believes the federal government should enforce laws already on the books to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.

He said he supports sealing the U.S. border, and opposed unconditional amnesty for all illegal immigrants in the U.S.

"Essentially what we ought to do is to seal the border and then basically say, 'Everybody freeze where you are,' he told the Star News Group's editorial board. "Let's figure out who you are, and if you're here illegally, figure where you came from, why you're here, what sort of public assistance you're on, are you a criminal, whatever, and get those people out of the country as quickly as you can and then try to figure out what to do with the rest."

He said deporting all illegal immigrants currently in the country isn't feasible because it would be too harmful to the workforce. "I mean, we would see some drastic improvements in crime if we were able to do that," he added.

Health Care

Flores signed the Club for Growth's pledge to repeal the health-care reform legislation passed by President Obama in March 2010.

In a 2010 primary debate, Flores argued that the Veterans Administration's health-care system is broken, and that veterans should be given vouchers to obtain private health care. "Typically, the care in the private sector is better than the government sector," he said.

Edwards quickly pounced, saying Flores' plan would put the local Waco veterans' hospital and the jobs it created at risk.

Social Conservative

Flores is against same-sex marriage and abortion rights. In 2010, the Texas Right-to-Life campaign, an anti-abortion rights group, endorsed him.

"This is a very pro-life district, a very conservative district," Flores said. "There won't be a vote of mine that doesn't align with what's best for those national priorities."

Flores also said he'd like to end federal funding of certain programs he sees as socially liberal in order to reduce the deficit. In a 2010 primary debate, he proposed the government should "stop spending money on Planned Parenthood" and "get rid of the pornographic National Endowment for the Arts."

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