The Issues
Issues
Iraq
The Iraq War is one of the most pressing concerns facing our Nation. I do not agree with President Bush on how to conduct this war. We need to get our combat troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible. Troop withdrawal must, however, be accomplished in a reasoned and responsible manner. The Administration has had years to take the lead in pursuing a political resolution to this conflict. Hopefully, by the time I get to Congress, our policy of troop surges will have been replaced with an international and/or regional effort to win the peace and stabilize the region.
Normally in wartime it is the obligation of the Administration to set policy directives for the conduct of war. The war in Iraq has, however, been going on for four years with no apparent leadership. If the Administration is not going to lead, Congress needs to fill the void.
An exit strategy should have been in place before the Administration committed American soldiers to the region. Such a strategy needs to be put into place immediately, and should include a goal of completing troop pullout while allowing for forces conducting certain non-combat missions, such as training Iraqi forces, to remain.
We need to negotiate a political solution to the current morass, one that:
• Devises a fair plan to share oil revenues among ethnic groups in Iraq;
• Starts a reconciliation process to defuse sectarian tensions;
• Addresses the disastrous de-Baathification and puts Sunnis back to work; and
• Engages sectarian death squads and tears them out of Iraqi security forces.
We need to be taking steps to de-escalate our troop involvement in the civil war that has engulfed Baghdad. Those men and women can be re-deployed to surrounding bases, to other parts of the country, to Kuwait and Qatar, and to Afghanistan. Hopefully, many of these men and women can be sent home to their families. Finally, we should seriously consider the Biden-Gelb plan for a soft partition of the country. Tens of thousands of Iraqis a month are already moving from mixed sectarian neighborhoods.
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Energy
I am deeply dissatisfied with U.S. energy politics. The political agenda of the Administration needs to be replaced with sound scientific policy, without which America may continue to fall behind the rest of the world in addressing and developing alternative, non-carbon based forms of energy. Reducing our dependence on oil will not only reduce green house gas emissions, it will emancipate us from the whims of oil producing countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
We need to make major changes in policy to efficiently move Arizona and the Country toward energy independence. If done properly, production of energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind will:
(1) create sustainable jobs in Arizona Congressional District 1;
(2) decrease dependence on foreign oil;
(3) reduce green house gas emissions; and
(4) create a net gain for the State.
Arizona should be a major producer and exporter of energy that is not used in-state. Congressional District 1 is an ideal site for large scale solar and wind energy projects. We should be exporting energy, not importing it. Moreover, generation of solar and wind energy is not heavily water dependant, which should be of concern to all of us in Arizona.
We need a larger vision for a sustainable future. As your Congressman, I would work hard to end tax breaks and favors to big oil. I believe we also need to stop the heavy government subsidization of the nuclear energy industry and to divert these resources to the implementation and utilization of renewable sources of energy.
Parts of CD 1 are still struggling with the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining and processing from the World War Two era, not to mention issues with the disposal of radioactive waste from the energy process itself, with a half-life of hundreds of thousands of years.
Arizona could, and should, be the renewable energy capital of the Country. This makes economic, environmental and practical sense.
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Immigration
The only realistic way to regain control of our borders is to:
(1) fund stronger enforcement at the border; and
(2) put a program into place that encourages undocumented aliens currently in this Country to register as “guest workers.”
Secure the Border
No immigration policy will work unless and until the border is secure. This is a matter of national security. This means increased funding for the Border Patrol, using state-of-the-art technology against illegal immigration, and increasing enforcement against employers who hire undocumented workers.
Earned Legalization Program
There should be no amnesty but a means for some undocumented workers to earn the privilege of American citizenship. As a practical matter, we simply cannot round up and deport 12 million people who are not here legally. The cost of deportation would be an estimated $123 billion and would make America an un-American country by disrupting communities and businesses, and uprooting and splitting up families. To earn legal status, immigrants would have to work, pay taxes, learn English, obey our laws, and pay a penalty for violating the law. Completing the process would take several years.
Dream Act
It makes no sense to throw away our investment in the young people who have lived here and successfully completed school who now want to go on to college. We have already heavily invested in their education. It makes no sense to throw away our investment and deport these people to a country they have not been to except as little children. Let’s help them go to college, and offer them, not an immediate citizenship, but a path to citizenship.
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Social Security & Medicare
It is important that we protect Social Security and Medicare to ensure that our seniors have a retirement with dignity that includes access to affordable medical care. While each program faces challenges in the future, the solution to the challenges is not privatization but common sense.
Social Security is Solvent
The Republicans have sought to create a false panic over the solvency of Social Security in order to advance their privatization program even though they concede privatization does nothing to strengthen the program’s solvency. The fact is that the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of benefits through 2041 and 75 percent of benefits through 2081. Considering the fact that the cost of making the Bush Republicans’ tax cuts for the rich permanent is three times the Trust Fund’s projected shortfall, common sense dictates calls for sound fiscal management not radical reform.
Medicare Needs to be Addressed
The Medicare trust fund is only solvent through 2019 but Republicans refuse to address this issue because of the fact that the problem is exacerbated by the Bush Republicans’ prescription drug plan designed to benefit HMO’s and pharmaceutical companies not seniors. The Republican plan forced seniors into more expensive HMO’s and prohibited Medicare from doing what the VA does successfully – negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Common sense tells us that this is bad for seniors and bad for America.
We need to pass the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act to prevent taxpayers from being gouged by pharmaceutical companies. We also need to reform the prescription drug benefit to allow seniors to choose a plan administered directly by Medicare – efficiently guaranteeing a simple, secure benefit that will reduce drug costs and ensure comprehensive coverage. Finally, we must seek ways to control spiraling health costs particularly as the baby-boomers advance in years. This means abandoning ideological solutions and instead working with Democrats and Republicans, doctors and insurers and Arizona consumers to find practical solutions to this growing problem.