Q&A with Democrat challenger Cheri Bustos – Galesburg Register-Mail

Q. Do you support President Barack Obama’s healthcare legislation? If efforts to repeal it continue, where do you stand on that vote?
A. There are parts of the bill that I support and others that I don’t. For example, I support the ban on discriminating against people who have pre-existing conditions. I believe that people up the age of 26 should be allowed to be on their parents’ health insurance plans. That’s made a difference for my family. I have two kids under 26 who are still on our family health care plan because they either haven’t been able to find jobs with benefits or can’t afford benefits. Like many parents, I am relieved that we can provide health care for our kids — especially when times are tough.
Health care is an important issue for almost every family, including mine.  My brother recently died from cancer, and he was refused the doctor-prescribed medicine he needed to survive because the health insurance company didn’t want to cover the cost. He had good health care and a good job, but when he needed it, his health insurance wasn’t there for him. This is wrong, and no family should have to endure situations like this because of a flawed health care system. That’s why I support the provision that stops denying care based on pre-existing conditions and why I oppose Independent Payment Advisory Board. Neither the government nor a health insurance company should be allowed to get between a doctor and a patient.

Q. What specific policies do you support to spur economic growth and create jobs in the district?
A. On Day 1, I proposed a jobs plan that uses our manufacturing hubs as an anchor to build up transportation and education. We can help our community colleges offer job training, and lift up our workers so they’re prepared to meet the economic needs of tomorrow. But it can only get done if we have an advocate in Congress who will make creating jobs a top priority.
A frustration I hear from people every day is that Washington has lost sight of what matters to regular people who want to get back to work or have confidence in the job they have.
Instead, Washington’s chief priority seems to be playing partisan games with issues that divide our nation.  Politicians from both sides are busy bickering and running up their partisan scores — as America falls behind the rest of the world in economic competitiveness. If we want to maintain our position as a world economic leader, the time to act is now. That is why I plan to get to work immediately on ideas that get our economy back on track — no matter which side you’re on.
We have to prioritize the rapid implementation of bipartisan actions that will foster private-sector job creation:
1.  I will push for the creation of an Infrastructure Bank financed through repatriated corporate profits currently held in overseas tax shelters. In the short-term, this bipartisan proposal will upgrade our decaying infrastructure and put people back to work. In the long-term, investing in infrastructure that creates efficient transportation routes such as Interstates 74, 80, 88 and 39 will lay the foundation for future growth and prosperity in the 17th District.
2.  To spur steady private-sector job growth, we must create a stable climate for demand. One effective way to drive up demand is to put more money into the pockets of Americans, particularly those in the middle class. That is why I support extending the payroll tax cut until our economy recovers sufficiently to support steady job growth through consumer confidence alone. Such extensions have been routinely cited by the Congressional Budget Office as strong job-creators, and have been estimated by private-sector forecasters to create as many as 1 million new jobs.
3.  We need trade policies that give American workers a level playing field, which is why I support the 21st Century Trade Act.  This common-sense legislation corrects some of the problems with current trade policy and restores Congressional oversight of trade agreements.  It also ensures that American trading partners play by the same rules as the United States.
4.  I also support the Bring American Jobs Home Act, another straightforward bill that ends tax breaks for outsourcers, and replaces them with tax incentives to reward companies who bring jobs back home.

Q. After job creation, what is one issue you hope to tackle in Congress?
A. We must protect Medicare and Social Security, programs which face an unprecedented level of risk. We also must start an honest conversation about Medicare by acknowledging two important facts. First, Medicare benefits are a hard-earned right, and beneficiaries are paying high out-of-pocket costs even with their benefit. Second, over the next decade, Medicare will be asked to absorb the single largest influx of program participants since its inception: the Baby Boomer Generation.
With these two realities, I do not support the argument that simply cutting Medicare benefits is an efficient way to extend the long-term solvency of the program. I refuse to support any plan that makes dangerous and arbitrary cuts to Medicare.
I am deeply troubled by the Romney-Ryan cuts to Medicare — and everyone else should be, too. Congressman Paul Ryan’s proposal cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans, and puts a greater burden on working families and seniors.  Specifically, the plan turns Medicare into a voucher and saddles seniors with an additional $6,400 in out-of-pocket costs. I don’t know many seniors who can afford another $6,400.
Playing politics with Medicare is irresponsible and is a betrayal of our commitment to America’s seniors. To reconcile the critical need to get our spending and our deficit under control, it will boil down to a question of priorities — and the proposed Ryan Budget is deeply flawed. Medicare beneficiaries are unfairly targeted, and for seniors on a fixed income, the Ryan Budget forces them to pay thousands more for their benefits.

Q. What is your preferred method of deficit reduction?
A. I favor a balanced approach toward eliminating the budget deficit that requires Washington to focus on the right priorities and work more efficiently, while making sure we protect the middle class and working families from higher taxes. The budget deficit is a serious problem that didn’t happen overnight and won’t get solved overnight.
The old ways aren’t working.  The same politicians who created the fiscal mess in Washington won’t solve it. That’s one reason I support holding Congress accountable – with a 10 percent pay cut for Congress and no pay raises until they balance the budget. We must also take a hard look at Congressional perks — funded by taxpayers — that can be eliminated. Just as Illinois families have had to tighten their belts – so too should Congress.
In addition to reigning in Congressional pay and perks, we should also implement the recommendations of a nonpartisan Government Accountability Office report issued last year that found widespread waste and inefficiency in federal programs that could save taxpayers more than $100 billion a year. For example, the federal government has 47 job training programs, 44 of which overlap. Consolidating redundant programs can save tens of billions of dollars while not impacting program quality. Significant cost savings can also be found in rooting out waste and fraud in government contracts.
I believe any revenue increases should come first from measures like closing corporate tax loopholes, ending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and rolling back any tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. We should also stop corporate handouts like tax breaks for oil companies, which have never been more profitable — reaping billions in profits while consumers are hit hard at the pump. I would be open to reforming the U.S. tax code. It needs to be simplified so average Americans can understand it. Also, right now we have a tax code where many of the wealthiest Americans are paying a lower rate than the middle class. If given the opportunity to restructure the tax code, I would fight to make sure this is not the case.

Q. What makes you the better overall candidate than your opponent?
A. It is not about being a “better” candidate, it is a about having the right priorities. I believe that Congressman Schilling simply has the wrong priorities for the district. He supported NAFTA style trade deals that will send more of our jobs overseas and he even supports tax break incentives for companies that want to outsource. What’s more he supports tax cuts for the rich while raising taxes on middle class families and saddling seniors with $6,400 per month in out of pocket Medicare costs. Again, voters need to ask themselves: are these the right priorities?