The Republican lawmaker from Florida's Space Coast irritated House leadership by proposing a 72-hour "cooling-off" period before floor votes after Democrats rammed through the 1,200-page stimulus bill in the wee hours. He was a vocal opponent of federal health-care legislation and has called out the Obama administration on what he sees as an "eternal gap" in U.S. space capabilities.

Most notoriously, the Brevard County resident has been branded a "birther" for his bill that would require all incoming presidents to furnish a bona fide copy of their birth certificate.

A Florida state senator for eight years, Posey was elected to represent the 15th Congressional District in 2008 after Republican Rep. Dave Weldon retired.

Prior to his two terms in the state Senate, Posey was in the Florida House of Representatives and served for 10 years on the Rockledge City Council.

Posey, now 62, worked at the Kennedy Space Center until he was laid off at the end of the Apollo program. He then founded Posey & Co. Realtors and later became a director of the Florida Association of Realtors and president of the Space Coast Association of Realtors.

In an interview with Sunshine State News, the congressman discusses the upcoming elections, pending issues on Capitol Hill, and what's at stake for Florida.

Q. Now that health care has passed, what's the No. 1 issue in Congress right now?

A. The No. 1 issue is still the same: jobs and the economy. Unfortunately, for all of 2009 and the first part of 2010, the leadership in Washington has failed to focus on the No. 1 concern. Instead, they focused on health-care reform; all the while our economy continued to flounder and another 4 million Americans joined the unemployment rolls. The majority of Americans said they wanted Washington to focus on our economy and not health care but Washington did what it wanted instead. I think this was a big mistake.

First and foremost, Washington should do now what it should have been doing all last year: focus on creating the right kind of economic environment so that businesses, both small and large, can grow and create jobs. I happen to think that the folks in charge have been living in a fantasy world when it comes to job creation. Not only has the current leadership in Congress added to the tax and regulatory burdens of businesses everywhere, making it more expensive to start and expand a business, they are spending taxpayer dollars at an unsustainable rate while making promises that they know they cannot keep.

Washington needs to focus on two things: creating a regulatory and tax environment where businesses are encouraged to create jobs, and equally as important is cutting government spending, which is threatening the long-term health of our economy. The national debt has increased from $8.7 trillion to more than $14 trillion in just three years. Not only in this unsustainable, but it is immoral to saddle our children and grandchildren with such a costly burden.

Q. What's the biggest issue that Floridians should be concerned about on Capitol Hill?

A. I believe it is the failure of Washington to understand the cumulative effect of their policies on our economy.  The health care bill contains over $500 billion in new taxes on businesses and individuals and additional expensive mandates. The Cap and Trade/National Energy Tax that congressional Democrats and the president continue to push would add another $1 trillion in taxes on American businesses.

Additionally, the small business tax relief that will be allowed to expire at the end of this year will further raise the tax burden. These will cost Americans jobs. Estimates are that the health care bill and national energy tax will result in the loss of six million American jobs.