COEUR d'ALENE - Republican Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador acknowledges the economy has improved in the past year-and-a-half as the unemployment rate has been declining steadily.

In his eyes, the better economic times are a result of Republicans' strength in the U.S. House of Representatives, not what President Barack Obama has done.

He predicts that if Republicans can take the U.S. Senate following the November general election then businesses will begin investing more and the economy will improve much faster. Republicans can create the environment that will foster that expansion, he said.

He said the large Republican freshman class of 2010 showed up just in time, he said.

"What the gridlock means is we've stopped things in Washington," he said.

By "things" he means borrowing, spending and government regulations, he said.

He also believes Republicans can reduce gas prices by increasing drilling on federal lands.

He said the number of permits on federal land has gone down "dramatically," by 10 percent to 15 percent since Obama became president.

While U.S. oil production is at its highest, that's only due to what's being extracted on private lands, he said. Oil speculators will react to what they believe will be less production in the future due to declines in permits on federal lands, he said.

"Things we can do is allowing more drilling, allowing more permits, and doing things like the Keystone (XL) Pipeline," he said.

Labrador is out meeting with business groups in North Idaho as he seeks re-election, and stopped by the Coeur d'Alene Press on Friday to discuss what he has accomplished in his first term and what his plans are for a second, if he can get re-elected.

"I've been lucky enough to have a national voice for Idaho," he said. "I've been on a lot of national television shows."

He has appeared often on the conservative Fox News Channel and other cable TV networks. He has also appeared on popular Sunday morning TV shows like "Meet the Press," getting far more national exposure than former Idaho Reps. Walt Minnick, a Democrat, and Bill Sali, a Republican.

That exposure has allowed him to highlight what's important to Idaho, he said.

He said he has received positive feedback from Idaho voters, who feel like he has been successful communicating their views.

Even though he's making a name for himself nationally, he said, "I haven't allowed Washington to change me."

He has recently spoken on TV about the U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning Chantell and Mike Sackett, of Priest Lake. The Sacketts are battling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has been blocking construction of a home because part of the property is said to be wetlands.

Labrador got a lot of exposure, especially on Fox News, for his confrontation with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder over the so-called "Fast and Furious" operation, which involved the government trying to trace guns as they made their way to Mexican drug cartels. Labrador has called for Holder's resignation.

What else has Labrador done? He has kept his promises, he said.

"I said the No. 1 problem we have in America is spending," he said.

He went to Congress determined to cut $100 billion from the budget in the first year.

"I fought really hard to make sure that it was as close to the $100 billion as possible," he said. "That's how I first kind of got a name nationally."

There's plenty of hard work left.

Like Democrats, he said, he believes tax reform must happen.

"We have too many deductions, too many loopholes in our tax system," Labrador said. "And it makes it fundamentally unfair, because we have about 50 percent of Americans that are not paying taxes, any form of tax."

He said major corporations also are getting away without paying taxes, while making huge profits.

He said the current House budget plan has elements of tax reform.

He wants to reduce tax rates and broaden the base. Dumping loopholes will broaden the base, he said.

Any tax law reform "has to be revenue neutral," he said.

Cutting spending alone is not the solution to speeding growth, he said.

What has he changed his mind about since being elected to Congress?

He believes in term limits.

Serving in Congress shouldn't be a career, he said.

"We have people who every decision they make is based on whether they're going to get elected or not," he said.