League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne Counties, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues United States Representative; District 19

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Economy, Federal Budget, Energy, Health Care, Campaign Financing Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy? Answer from Loraine Goodwin: Jobs are priority one. President Obama gave stimulus funds to the states to reduce unemployment. Stimulus funding was a ONE TIME process (over a period of months). This 2008-2009 national and global financial collapse is historic and we were paving new ground for resolving the problems. We were led into this collapse by Wall Street greed and their use of trillions of dollars in risky derivatives leveraged at 30 to one and forty to one levels, which were great in good times, but were disastrous when the markets fell. This is the same as gambling, but when the businesses lost, all of the loses were transferred to the public, you and me, and all of the gamblers - winners and losers - won and left with tens of millions to many hundreds of millions of dollars as rewards for driving their corporations into the ground. Private losses were transferred to shareholders - who had no idea what the investors were doing - it was all done in "blind faith" and the public lost. High debt, loose fiscal policy and low interest rates after 9/11 all contributed to the historic crisis. Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) was a bad idea and businesses got 100 cents on the dollar - money was making everyone on Wall Street rich. "Cash for Clunkers" would have been better had we required the replacement car be an American built car (GM could have used a few sales). Unprecedented funding kept the American economy from sliding from a recession into a full-blown depression. I'm told we have recouped a significant amount of our TARP funds and GM will probably be able to see a profit when it decides to go public sometime in the future. There were many financial "smart people" involved in the government payout decisions and too much money spent. We must never follow "too big to fail" again and plan for future Wall Street gambling scams and bankruptcy procedures which hold the executives accountable - not transfer it to the public. Now, the STIMULUS SPENDING IS OVER and we must put Americans back to work and decrease our national deficit. In Congress, I will not support continued federal spending. I will support not increasing taxes, especially for those earning less than $250,000. As the congressperson for CD 19, I will encourage business development and entrepreneurship. By creating jobs, we reduce the federal burden of unemployment insurance benefit payments and the increased use of other medical and social services. Jobs, in addition to other things, produce taxable income, which is used to decrease the national debt. The valley has been without leadership from Radanovich and state legislators, so we failed to create jobs and our unemployment and under-employment rates are high. The federal government sent ARRA funds to California. Unfortunately, some of the federal stimulus money was held up in Sacramento because of the state's $19.1 billion deficit and the $500 billion retirement shortfall. State legislators failed us, again. California has the highest debt and lowest credit rating of all 50 states. The state legislators should have been recalled. Other federal stimulus money was sent to the local governments, but was spent on projects performed by regular government workers who were never in jeopardy of job loss. So projects were completed, but there was no impact on reducing CD19 unemployment. Radanovich and state legislators were supposed to ensure the money was spent to fulfill the federal intent - jobs. I, as your CD 19 congressional representative, will ensure that any future federal funds are spent to help residents of CD19 by creating jobs and reducing unemployment in the district. I actually live and work in CD19, so I want the district to prosper. I will focus on widespread CD 19 development. I started the Madera Unified "Farm-to-School" Program in 2007 which provides free fruits and vegetables to our young students via federal grants. The kids love the program, and it helps fill empty tummies, so kids come to school more frequently, increasing our ADA and,thus, school funding. Parents are also more inclined to ensure students attend classes, because they know the kids will be fed wholesome foods. The Farm-to-School Program also helps highlight our large agricultural economy and provides an additional sales outlet for farmers. I will ensure the Farm-to-School Program is in all CD 19 schools. NAFTA trade policies have also created difficulties for American workers as jobs were sent abroad where people will work for 30 cents an hour. I will protect U.S. workers and the American way of life. I will help develop global markets for exporting our goods to improve the trade imbalance. We must increase our exports. http://www.drgoodwin.info 2. How should federal budget priorities be changed, now and into the future? How will you balance the costs of military action overseas and national security with the costs of domestic needs? Answer from Loraine Goodwin: We need to ensure our military troops are heading back to the U.S. Training Iraq military may help Iraqi's, but it may also hurt us in the long run as Iran uses increased military against its citizens Terrorists have been planning future assaults inside the U.S. for years. Irag has untapped natural and financial resources and it should pay for its own nation-building. We need to redirect our money to the U.S. for national debt reduction, job production and other national needs. We need to reduce our national debt interest payments. We need to improve our infrastructure, security and safety.Our California bridges, levees and reservoirs have been ignored for many years and are in significant disrepair. As seen by the San Bruno gas leak tragedy, ignoring infrastructure leads to extreme tragedies. An earthquake or other assault could have devastating effects. We need to bring manufacturing into the U.S. so that our veterans will have jobs. We need to ensure our veterans have mental health care, medical care and addiction services to ensure they can return and enjoy a full community and family life. Our border security needs to be improved and I will work to do that. http://www.drgoodwin.info 3. What, if anything, should be done by the federal government to address our dependence on fossil fuels or spur the use of clean energy? Answer from Loraine Goodwin: Our government must ensure American funds are used to meet current American needs. GM wasted TARP funds creating a $45,000 electric car. During a recession, people do not want to buy a $45,000 electric car. This is an example of the fraud, waste, greed and abuse that got us into this recession in the first place. First, we need a reasonable product and then we need to promote it strongly to the public. This could have been done by GM with the TARP funding. http://www.drgoodwin.info 4. What, if any, changes should be made to current federal policies or programs that promote or provide health coverage for Americans? Answer from Loraine Goodwin: The Health Care Reform Bill has been in the making since the 1980's when the government told physicians and hospitals to discharge patients in a timely manner from hospitals or forego federal payments. Now, we are in a period when the "Baby Boomers" are retiring, developing illnesses and expecting job and government benefits, along with other social services. This massive influx of aging Americans mandates that we alter the manner in which we dispense medical care. We must improve the HCRB, We must NOT REPEAL THE HCRB. At this time in our history, the HCRB is a must. Unfortunately, when the HCRB was being developed the representatives fought tirelessly along party lines and led to paralysis, dysfunction, emotional rhetoric and a bill with loopholes, waste and potential for abuse. This bill must be fixed and I will work to fix it using my education, training, skills and experience in the medical field, if I am elected to represent you in Congress. We can not afford to elect to continue this dysfunction, paralysis, failure and contamination in Congress. I have the education and background to get this bill fixed so all Americans can have health care, leaving Medicare for seniors as it is. Americans who have an insurance policy they want to continue, may do so. I have delivered many babies over the years. Our obstetric abilities have improved tremendously over the years. I know regular prenatal care saves lives and improves outcomes. The HCRB will provide women and kids with prenatal and postnatal care. By having healthier babies, we will save billions of dollars in related hospital and other health care costs. All people, especially women and children, should have access to medical care. The current HCRB will SAVE the U.S. $143 billion dollars from 2010 to 2020, and save 1/4 % GDP from 2020 to 2030. By improving the bill, the savings and debt reduction may be greater. http://www.drgoodwin.info 5. What, if any, changes should be made to federal rules on campaign financing or disclosure of political expenditures? Answer from Loraine Goodwin: The FEC must enforce laws already on the books. Once candidates recognize enforcement is lax, they ignore the laws. Laws without enforcement are just suggestions. I believe in full governmental financial transparency. I have requested that our state legislators publicize charges on their state governmental credit cards to ensure no abuse, greed, or waste. There are many businesses and individuals trying to exert undo influence in our government. Reasons could be against U.S. interests and include greed and self-promotion. As a matter of national security, we need to know where the money is flowing. http://www.drgoodwin.info Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. No candidate may refer to another candidate in the response. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.