Speaking from a suburban Burnettown home as part of a South Carolina campaign stump Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback espoused strengthening the family unit as the means to secure the nation's future.

"It is easier to end a marriage of 10 years with two children than it is to fire someone who has worked for you for one year," the U.S. senator from Kansas said.

Thirty-six percent of infants are born out of wedlock, and replacing the family unit with government programs is a poor trade-off, Mr. Brownback said.

Though careful not to disparage single parents, Mr. Brownback said "the best place to institute values in children is in a family."

Government should introduce welfare reforms that encourage marriage instead of threatening couples considering marriage with loss of their benefits should they wed, Mr. Brownback said.

As president, he said he would also strengthen faith by banning lawyers from collecting legal fees in lawsuits against governments on religious matters.

"You shouldn't run faith out of the public square," he said.

"Governments have tried to run nations without faith and failed," Mr. Brownback said, citing the former Soviet Union as an example.

Mr. Brownback said he also wants to reduce government waste by establishing a congressional commission to examine government programs and recommend those that should end.

A cancer survivor, Mr. Brownback said such spending could be put to better use on legitimate causes, such as cancer research.

"We're looking at a tsunami of cancer coming on" as the baby boomer generation continues to age, he said.

Citing his visits to Israel, Darfur and Rwanda, Mr. Brownback said he was the candidate best equipped to lead the nation in foreign affairs.

He likened U.S. conflicts with Muslim terrorist groups to the Cold War.

"We're in a generation-long fight with militant Islamists, regardless of what happens in Iraq," he said.

Although he said he supports continued humanitarian efforts in Africa, Mr. Brownback said military intervention might one day become necessary if the continent continues to be a hotbed for terrorism.

On other foreign policy issues, Mr. Brownback said that if China continues to ignore intellectual property rights it might become necessary to impose tariffs on their imported goods.

"It will be painful, but I think it's past time to do it," he said. "China is our biggest trade problem today."

Burnettown was just one of many stops Mr. Brownback made Saturday in the early-voting state.

South Carolina's Republican primary is set for Jan. 19.

Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 823-3424 or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.