League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Diego, Orange County, CA June 5, 2012 Election
	Dick Eiden Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 49

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy?

Getting our economy back on track is a complex task which has three major components: 1) job creation; 2) regulation of the financial sector (no more "too big to fail") with consistent enforcement of rules and diligent oversight of banking and investing institutions, and 3) control of the federal budget to reduce the deficit and channel funds from wasteful defense expenditures into desperately needed domestic arenas such as infrastructure and education.

2. How should the federal budget deficit be addressed, now and into the future? How should budget priorities for defense and domestic programs be adjusted?

Like any financially responsible family, we must restructure our budget so that income covers expenditures. We need to create a fair and equitable tax structure (yes, this means a tax rate that demands more from the top 1%) and eliminate wasteful defense spending and redundancy in federal agency programs. Our highest priorities should be upgrading infrastructure, improving education, and ensuring that all have access to quality health care.

3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy? Should there be an emphasis on clean energy and reducing carbon emissions, and/or on reducing our dependence on foreign sources?

Green, renewable energy technologies can and should power our economy in the coming decades. We should accelerate development of solar, wind, and wave power while continuing to search for and develop new and even better technologies. We must reduce our carbon emissions for the sake of the environment and end our dependence on foreign oil as part of our efforts to create the conditions for peace.

4. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs?

All Americans should have access to affordable health care and thus be free of the fear of financial ruin due to soaring medical costs. I support a single payer system (Medicare for all) as the ideal solution to the inefficiency of our current health care structure. Until such a system is put in place, the individual mandate is a viable temporary solution.

5. What, if any, changes should be made to federal rules on campaign financing?

Effective campaign financing reform requires limits on the amounts that any single entity--whether an individual, corporation, union, or special interest group--may contribute to candidates or political parties. Ultimately, I believe we should consider a system of public financing of elections, but until that happens, we must do everything possible to create transparency by requiring that the identity of large donors be revealed prior to elections.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 26, 2012 19:12
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