Q&A with Kirk
1. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what? What will be your main priority?
Representing the 10th District of Illinois remains the honor of my life and I am eager to continue serving our community, our state and our nation. I grew up here and live in the district. I served Congressman Porter for six years, spent five years with the House International Relations Committee, two years with the State Department, a year at the World Bank and 18 years as a Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer. Since my last election, I continued to fight for the people of this district. We opened a new VA-Navy hospital, stopped BP's quest to pollute Lake Michigan, established a federal-local gang taskforce in Waukegan, saved Impact Aid for our communities, started work on the Route 60 bridge, reopened the 22nd Street gate in North Chicago, and expanded literacy education for Latina mothers. Upon re-election, I will continue my work to prevent Governor Blagojevich from squandering billions of federal transportation dollars; to pass legislation to end America's dependence on foreign oil, lower gas prices and protect America's long-term national and economy security; and to crack down on gangs, drugs and illegal guns.
2. For incumbents and non-incumbents. If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are not an incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.
A number of provisions I authored became law this Congress, including legislation to secure Impact Aid funding for local schools; crack down on fake security badges at O'Hare; fund a national disabled veterans memorial; track gang activity; require a national study on mercury pollution; and provide assistance to the Christians of Iraq. I spearheaded the first-ever foreign deployment of American product safety officers to China; led the effort to open the largest Holocaust archive in the world; won concessions on weapons sold to Saudi Arabia; and secured an advanced radar system to defend Israel. My legislation to combat invasive species in Lake Michigan, require new Great Lakes mercury testing, bolster the hunt for Osama bin Laden, protect tropical forests, and focus on the threat of narco-terrorism have passed the House. I was re-elected as the co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group, bipartisan Kidney Caucus, Iran Working Group and U.S.-China Working Group. I am also honored to work with Mayor Bloomberg as co-chair of the Task Force on Illegal Guns. My Suburban Agenda Caucus continues to push legislation to establish 401(Kids) family saving accounts, protect kids from online predators, extend health insurance for life, repeal the AMT and reduce traffic gridlock.
3. In which ways, if at all, would you alter U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan? How would you characterize the effect of the U.S. "surge" in Iraq? What objectives, if any, must the U.S. still meet before it begins to withdraw troops?
I am a cosponsor of the Iraq Study Group (ISG) Recommendations Implementation Act. While most surge coverage surrounds the military component, much of General Petraeus' success is owed to the implementation of several key political and diplomatic ISG recommendations. By following the ISG recommendations, the surge's success can continue. U.S. forces should continue to hand over more responsibility to the Iraqi security forces and wind down U.S. presence in Iraqi cities. While some are backing a surge to Afghanistan, we cannot mistake Afghanistan for Iraq. Afghanistan is a narco-economy, home to the world's heroin heartland. Profits from the sale of opium paste and heroin provided hundreds of millions of dollars to the resurgent Taliban now fighting NATO in 29 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. In this environment, a surge of Americans to Afghanistan would put more troops into a remote region to face an enemy with access to rising drug profits. Advocates for an Afghan surge should be cautioned that a NATO strategy that does not first attack the drug trade will simply pit two well-funded opponents - NATO versus the Taliban - into a more intense conflict. To prevail, we must not only defeat Taliban terrorists but also dry up their income.
4. What short-term steps, if any, would you advocate to keep gasoline prices in check?
We must boost public transit, raise car fuel efficiency standards, eliminate boutique fuel monopolies, expand exploration for American energy offshore and prosecute price gouging. My legislation - the Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization To Encourage Ridership (COMMUTER) Act - would provide a 50% tax credit to businesses that provide free transit benefits to their employees and save commuters up to $1,620 in gasoline costs annually. This year, I voted to increase oversight of energy commodities trading in order to curb excessive oil speculation; set civil and criminal penalties for gasoline price gouging; prohibit oil cartels from artificially increasing the price of gasoline through supply restrictions; and temporarily suspend the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to allow more oil to enter the market. I cosponsored and voted for legislation raising fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 30 years and cosponsored the Boutique Fuels Reduction Act to end costly fuel monopolies. However, short-term steps cannot replace long-term solutions. We must end our dependence on foreign oil by investing in alternative fuels and conservation. My legislation - the Apollo Energy Independence Act - would do just that.
5. Please list the key elements of your preferred long-term energy policy. Rank or rate the relative importance of domestic oil exploration, conservation and alternative-energy development. What part, if any, should ethanol play in U.S. energy policy?
I introduced the Apollo Energy Independence Act, H.R. 6385, a $23 billion initiative that provides market incentives to produce and use clean, American energy. The Apollo Energy Independence Act would permanently extend investment tax credits for renewable energy such as: wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, marine power, trash combustion, solar, fuel cell, micro-turbines, and nuclear energy. My bill permanently extends a number of energy efficiency tax incentives; provides permanent tax credits for new energy sources and alternative fuel vehicles; increases the hybrid tax credit by 50 percent; establishes an advanced vehicle technology manufacturing tax credit for plug-in electric drive, fuel cell and flexible fuel vehicles; increases and makes permanent the alternative fueling property credit; provides grants for green school improvements to save schools millions in energy costs; and eliminates ethanol tariffs to lower the price of gas blended with ethanol. By spurring new energy technology, resulting spin-offs promise to generate thousands of new "green collar" American jobs. The United States spent $19.5 billion to land an American on the moon. We should invest in a similar national effort that will be equally important for the economy and security of our country to end our dependence on foreign oil.
6. What steps, if any, should Congress take to promote economic recovery? What steps by the federal government might make the nation's economy worse?
After passing a fiscally irresponsible bailout to the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac, some in Congress want to borrow billions more on a second economic stimulus package without first addressing rising energy costs and stabilizing the housing market. Such legislation would be misguided. In January, I proposed the temporary reinstitution of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), one of Congress's most successful efforts to protect homeowners from foreclosure in the 1930s. The HOLC would acquire defaulted loans from mortgage lenders and offer sustainable refinance options for homeowners, preventing further foreclosures. Reinstituting the HOLC would put us on a path to stave off a mortgage-default spiral and bolster our economy. We also need a balanced, comprehensive energy policy that reduces gas prices and ends our national addiction to oil. This policy should focus on alternative and renewable energy, conservation and offshore exploration for American energy. Long-term economic security can only be achieved through energy independence. My Apollo Energy Independence Act can help us realize this goal. We should not be raising taxes in the midst of economic uncertainty. My opponent favors raising the capital gains tax from 15% to 35%. I strongly oppose raising the capital gains tax.
7. Do you favor or oppose a larger federal role in health-care? Either way, why and what should the federal role be? What, if anything, should be done about rising health care costs and Americans who do not have health coverage?
While a government-sponsored HMO approach would prompt major tax increases, rampant cost inflation and a significant drop in the quality of medical care, it should be the goal of the federal government to provide universal access to health care for all Americans. First, we should expand the number of Americans with access to employer-provided health care. I am a cosponsor of the Working Families Wage and Access to Health Care Act, which would establish Association Health Plans and make it cheaper for small businesses to offer their employees health insurance. Second, the Congress should expand access to care for Americans without employer-provided insurance. I am a cosponsor of the Tax Equity and Affordability Act, which would establish an advanceable, refundable tax credit for individuals and families without employer-based health insurance. Third, as jobs become more portable, so should access to health insurance. I cosponsored the Health Insurance for Life Act, which would remove the current time limits on COBRA continuing coverage. Fourth, we need to pass common-sense measures to bring down health care costs. I support legislation to accelerate electronic medical records, enact federal medical liability reform, and create incentives for hospitals to reduce their infection rates.
8. Would you maintain or scale back federal tax cuts made during the past eight years? Either way, why? How, as specifically as possible, would you try to reduce federal budget deficits and the national debt?
At a time of economic uncertainty and rising energy prices, we should not raise taxes. In Illinois, we are seeing what happens when fiscally irresponsible state and local governments tax their way into economic decline. Governor Blagojevich raised taxes to bailout the CTA. Todd Stroger made Chicago the highest taxed city in America. People are fed up with the Blagojevich-Stroger tax and spend policies - and they certainly do not want to see their federal taxes increase. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 along with the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 provided significant tax relief to all Americans - $2,975 to the median-income 10th District family. This relief should be made permanent. To reduce the deficit, we must attack projects, programs and systemic problems. As the congressman who killed House funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere," I was the first House appropriator to swear off earmark projects. We should end sugar, ethanol and other agricultural farm subsidies. We should change House rules to require a supermajority vote to spend beyond our means. Most importantly, we need a bipartisan consensus to reform entitlement spending - the largest and fastest-growing part of the federal budget.
9. The current Congress could not agree on immigration reform. What would you do to advance reform in a divided Congress, and, briefly, what should the key policy elements be?
One of the primary duties of the federal government is to control the border and know who is entering our country. Border security equals homeland security. Most illegal drugs and nearly all foreign drug gang members illegally cross our borders. Now with Mexican drug cartel violence spilling over the border, the urgency for comprehensive border security has never been greater. Until we control our border, hold employers accountable and properly engage Mexico, no immigration reforms will work. Last year, I voted to provide $9.4 billion for customs and border protection, including funding for 3,000 additional border patrol agents and $1.6 billion for border security fencing, infrastructure, technology and facility construction. I also voted to fund unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, and cameras. I signed a discharge petition to allow debate on the SAVE Act - legislation that would mandate employment verification, expand the Criminal Alien Program and establish a rewards program to crack down on the manufacture and sale of fraudulent documents. To promote economic growth in Mexico and Central America, I voted for CAFTA and oppose calls to pull out of NAFTA. If we accomplish these objectives, our families will be safer and many reforms become possible.
10. In what ways is the U.S. government successfully defending citizens against terrorism, and in what ways is the U.S. failing in that regard?
I voted for the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act to keep homeland security a top national priority. In 2007, our Appropriations Committee approved $32 billion for homeland security, including $4 billion for first responders, $400 million in port security grants, $694 million in air security upgrades, $210 million for cyber security and $10 billion for Customs and Border Protection. This year, we passed bipartisan legislation modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing our nation to wage a 21st century fight against terrorists without undermining the Constitution. We must do more. I authored the legislation that increased rewards for terrorists and expanded the hunt for Bin Laden. Our program saw initial success with the capture of narco-terror financier Haji Bashar Noorzai. But until the Senate takes up my legislation to allow rewards to Afghan or Pakistani government employees, we will not gain the intelligence we need to capture the world's most wanted man. We must implement the $750 million, five-year humanitarian assistance program in Pakistan's tribal areas. We must increase funding to Afghan counter-narcotics to dry up al Qaeda's funding sources and we must get Radio Deewa - the Pashto-language service I helped create - up and running.