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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Qualification,
Priorities,
Private sector regulation,
Immigration,
Outsourcing
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)
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(No candidates submitted answers to this question)
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2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)
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(No candidates submitted answers to this question)
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3. What is the role of the federal government in regulating the private sector? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Eric W. Deaton:
The federal government initially had limited power and resources to regulate private enterprise in our country. As our nation industrialized the need was found to regulate large companies that controlled the market through monopoly status. During WW2 we had a government that regulated nearly every aspect of our economy through the war powers act, but this control slowly subsided and deregulation prevailed for about 50 years. We now are on the upswing with the government taking control of healthcare and the financial markets to the detriment of free markets and competition that made our nation so great to begin with. Our government`s role should be to simply protect the rights of the citizens and states as well as to provide for those things expressly granted to them within the U.S. Constitution. This model served a growing nation well and allowed us to be innovative and competitive in the global marketplace.
Answer from Rob Portman:
The federal government has a role in regulating private commerce to ensure that markets are fair and efficient. This demands a careful balance between appropriate federal regulation and the additional burdens on private enterprise. I believe there are areas that demand more regulation. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were allowed to straddle a regulatory border that allowed them to reap large profits while exposing the U.S. taxpayer to all the risk. However, these institutions were left out of the financial regulatory bill enacted this year, which was a missed opportunity for reform.
But all too often, Washington overreaches in it regulations. Washington is currently holding business hostage with the prospect of higher taxes, higher health care, and other regulatory burdens. The cost of this uncertainty amounts to over $1.8 trillion that businesses are holding back from investing + costing jobs at a time when we need them most.
Answer from Lee Fisher:
Through this economic crisis, we have let Wall Street run out of control. As your Senator I am going to make Main Street + not Wall Street + my priority and will work to ensure that we never fall back into this economic ditch.
The government must create an environment for job creation, and I have a plan for creating jobs here in Ohio. I will end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and create a federal job creation tax credit for companies that create good jobs in America. I will redirect stimulus funds to projects immediately creating jobs. I will create a $30 billion small business loan fund, and I will double the tax deduction for small business start-up costs. I will also make the clean energy manufacturing tax credit permanent and extend the research and development tax credit to keep and create jobs in Ohio.
Answer from Daniel H. LaBotz:
Corporations today dominate our economy, society, culture and politics. The irresponsible actions of Massey Energy and BP make clear that we must regulate every aspect of the corporations and their greedy, selfish CEOs and boards. Finances, health and safety, labor relations, production, and products must all be regulated. Corporations have too much power and do too much damage. The oil companies, for example, have controlled our economy, thwarted attempts to create better environmental policies and taken the US into foreign wars for their profits. We must bring corporations under the ownership and control of the American people. We need to transform the corporations into socially-owned and managed firms within the context of a national economic and environmental plan. Why should a corporate board have the power to shutdown and ruin a community as DHL did in Wilmington? We the people together can do better than that.
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4. How will you address the challenges and opportunities to the United States posed by unauthorized immigrants? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Eric W. Deaton:
Our response to undocumented immigrants and to terrorism should be to close the border through fencing and enforcement. The second step of repatriating these people would be to prosecute those hiring them so that when they can`t find employment, they`ll go home. The last step would be to create a fair and regulated process to bring in migrant workers and allow legal immigrants to come, be documented and followed with some accountability. We`ve required immigration since our nation`s beginning due to our fast growing economy`s need for workers. As a nation of immigrants we should have systems in place to reward those following the rules with the opportunities America has to offer. Immigration has made us a diverse and strong nation with many cultural flavors to enjoy and celebrate. I`ll work to give us an immigration policy that`s fair to Americans and to those called by our ―Beacon of Liberty‖.
Answer from Rob Portman:
The first priority of our immigration policy must be to enforce our immigration laws at the border and in the interior. This means adequate resources for border enforcement, but also doing more inside our own borders to ensure that those in our country illegally are not filling jobs that should be available to Americans. We must create a precise database for the mandatory verification of authorized workers and impose tougher sanctions on employers who break the rules.
But we must never forget that the United States owes its solid foundation to the hard work of generations of immigrants. We are strengthened by being a nation of immigrants. This means that we should keep the doors of America open to those who come legally and enrich our society and contribute to our economic prosperity while doing a better job enforcing our laws.
Answer from Lee Fisher:
Our immigration system is broken. Politicians in Washington have let us down and instead of reforming the system they have used the issue to grandstand for political benefit. First, we must secure our borders. Then, we must crack down on corporations that knowingly hire illegal workers. Finally, we must provide a way for those illegally in the country to become legal if they learn English, pay a fine and go to the back of the line behind those who have attempted to become immigrants legally. I also believe that allowing skilled workers to bring their abilities to the U.S. and help American companies thrive is important--we don`t want those skilled workers going to other countries to develop new technologies, new medicines and start new businesses when they can create new jobs and industries here in Ohio.
Answer from Daniel H. LaBotz:
Most of the 12 million undocumented people in the US came because they could not find work in their own countries that paid a living wage. Some U.S. corporations have gone to great lengths to lure workers and their families here, hiring them to work in their plants as factory workers and their offices as janitors. At the same time, the U.S. government has failed to make available enough visas for these workers, so that they must work under false names using false SS numbers. Many of these workers do not know English and do not know their labor rights. These corporate and governmental policies have permitted an inhumane and vicious exploitation of these workers. We must legalize all of the immigrants here now ASAP and give them residence and rights so that they can join with other workers in union campaigns to improve wages and benefits for all.
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5. What specific functions of the federal government can be performed better by contracting with the private sector? What specific functions of the federal government should not be contracted out to the private sector? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Eric W. Deaton:
The U.S. Postal Service is a good example of a government function that can be outsourced to the private sector, which has proven it can be profitable in delivering mail and packages. Other examples include National Park Services, Social Security processing and FEMA response initiatives. Defense and weapons development have for many years been contracted to private enterprise to develop and maintain equipment and systems successfully.
The military`s core service personnel should always be government employees. There have been many problems where government contractors that provide security details in war zones have made bad decisions and caused damaging press and troubles in our nation`s diplomacy. Combat and security details in a war zone should always be left to our soldiers who are under military command directly. Support operations such as water and fuel hauling, food preparation and equipment repairs can be contracted out when behind the lines in combat zones.
Answer from Daniel H. LaBotz:
Contracting out is a shortsighted policy that destroys the integrity and capability of government agencies, weakens actual citizen and government control over agencies, and harms unions and workers, as well as consumers and the general public. Governments and private employers often contract out to non-union companies or companies that pay substandard wages. We see the results in the poor performance of U.S. government agencies weakened and sometimes corrupted by contracting out policies. Consider the consequences of the FDA contracting out food surveillance to private companies: outbreaks of E. coli and other diseases. We can also see the result of contracting out in military`s hiring of private mercenaries such as Blackwater which engaged in irresponsible and criminal behavior both in the US and abroad. Contracting out often serves as the first step to privatization of government owned services such as schools and water. Contracting out undermines good government services.
Answer from Rob Portman:
Where possible, the federal government should leverage the efficiencies of the private sector to improve government performance at lower cost. This can be accomplished by contracting with businesses to deliver tailored services and provide subject matter expertise, through open and transparent contracting processes.
However, there are fundamental and inherent responsibilities of government that can only be fulfilled by individuals in positions of public trust. In matters of intelligence, national security, and law enforcement, , the need for the highest standards of accountability and fidelity to country necessitate calling on the service of individuals who ultimately serve their nation as government employees.
Answer from Lee Fisher:
Social security is a contract between our government and hardworking Americans, and I promise to protect social security and fight any risky privatization schemes to gamble social security on the stock market.
With respect to the delivery of human services, non-profits are often better providers. I also believe that public-private partnerships are essential to economic growth.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
