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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Economy and Jobs,
Health Care,
Energy Policy,
National Security,
Immigration Reform
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. In this time of high unemployment and budget deficits, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy and sustain job creation?
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Answer from Mel Levey:
The two most important steps that Congress should take to help improve our economic outlook are 1: balance the budget and 2: remove harmful regulations that hurt job growth. With the wars overseas ending, there is a real opportunity to balance the budget and reign in reckless spending. Much of that spending can be stopped if we rid our government of fraud, waste, and abuse. By tightening the budget, we can force administrators to actually lead - making the hard decisions that impact their organizations. It is what business owners do everyday. Stopping wasteful spending and cancelling ineffective and costly programs will allow us to put our nation on a solid footing to begin to pay down our debt in a meaningful way. The second part involves creating a environment conducive to business growth and job creation. Government cannot create jobs, but it can create certainty in terms of the expenses that businesses can expect and reduce the burden that falls on them in the form of taxes, fees, and regulations. This must be done - it is imperative.
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2. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs?
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Answer from Mel Levey:
I oppose the Affordable Care Act and believe it must be repealed. Repeal does not mean undoing every facet of the law - like allowing children to stay or their parents insurance until they are 26 or barring customers with pre-existing conditions from purchasing insurance. The law is not meeting its goal of providing insurance for uninsured Americans. The disruption it has caused to the insurance marketplace has been enormous. Premiums have increased and many people have lost insurance due to their policies being canceled or having their work hours limited. None of the promises of keeping your plan and doctor and seeing lower premiums have come to fruition. I would prefer to see high-risk pools backed by government funds which would provide insurance for people with pre-existing conditions and credits for lower wage workers to purchase health insurance. These much smaller programs accomplish our goal of insuring more Americans without over-involving the government in the healthcare system.
Answer from Jim Costa:
The Affordable Care Act is not perfect, and we ought to work in a bipartisan manner to improve the law. However, I do not support the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, because repealing the law means allowing insurance companies to charge women more for health insurance and deny coverage to Valley residents due to preexisting conditions. As a result of this law, more than 9,000 young adults in our district are now covered under their parent's health insurance policy, and 80,000 seniors in our district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. Up to 54,000 children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers, and hundreds of small businesses can take advantage of tax credits to help maintain or expand coverage for their employees. Repealing the Affordable Care Act means repealing these benefits that Valley residents are already enjoying.
Further improvements to the law and our health care system can and should be made. Since passage of the health care law, I have voted several times to repeal and rework certain provisions that don't address the unique challenges of the Valley's small businesses, farmers, and agriculture workers. We must do more to ensure every Valley resident has access to quality and affordable health care. I will continue to support commonsense reforms to the law that reflect the Valley's needs.
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3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy?
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Answer from Mel Levey:
The U.S. has the resources and ability to become a leading energy exporter to the world. We should make every effort to see that reality come true. Untapped resources both below and above ground represent an opportunity to create jobs in America and safeguard our national energy needs. Harmful regulations must be removed. The Federal government must act a partner with the private sector to ensure that businesses can create energy and innovate for new technology. A national energy plan should be created and reviewed every four years, drawing in agencies across the government to include the Departments of Defense and State. It should be vetted through Chamber of Commerce organizations and environmental groups to create a way ahead that reflects the complexity and interconnectivity of the energy needs for our nation. Such a plan requires leadership and if the Executive Branch will not lead, Congress must step up.
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4. What, if any, changes should be made with respect to our nation’s security, including our national defense or anti-terrorism measures?
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Answer from Mel Levey:
The recent decisions to drastically reduce the size of the U.S. military must be reversed. The world is not becoming less dangerous and the need to protect ourselves and our allies is not going away. Today's military is composed of the most battle-hardened generation of warriors we have ever fielded and we need to leverage that experience to deter future aggression and safeguard our national interests. This does not mean we should balloon the Defense budget. In fact, there is plenty of room to reduce spending through smarter program implementation and reduction of waste. A prime example can be found in our intelligence community. We must better align our assets to ensure that the proper oversight is given to activities conducted by the NSA, CIA, and other agencies. The presence of terror threats should not mean the dissolution of our privacy rights and proper leadership is needed to ensure that does not occur.
Answer from Jim Costa:
One of my top duties in Congress is to keep our country safe. This means strengthening our national security, supporting our troops at home and abroad, and completing our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno is vital for our national security and our Valley's economic security. The location of the 144th Fighter Wing on the West Coast helps our nation maintain air superiority in the Southwest region of the United States and around the world, and with more than 1000 guardsmen and women stationed at the wing, the 144th is a central part of our local economy.
That's why I fought so hard to stop proposals by other states to end the 144th fighter wing and halt the transfer of new F-15s to the wing. On a bipartisan basis, I rallied more than half the California Congressional delegation in support of the wing, and we were successful. The new F-15s are at the 144th, and the base is safe from any proposed elimination.
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5. What is your position on the issue of immigration reform? What, if any, changes to legislation or policy would you support?
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Answer from Jim Costa:
Immigration reform has long been a priority of mine, and we must work in a bipartisan fashion to achieve true Comprehensive Immigration Reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. That is why I am a proud co-sponsor of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (H.R. 15). This bill will modernize our broken immigration system for the 21st Century by securing our borders, uniting families, and providing an earned pathway to citizenship. The legislation will also decrease the nation's deficit by nearly $1 trillion. Continuing the status quo is not acceptable for the sake of our economy, the future of the San Joaquin Valley, and the 11 million people living in the shadows. We need reform now.
Answer from Mel Levey:
Political games in Washington have become such a priority for both parties that it has severely hampered any ability to pass meaningful legislation. If elected, I will work on areas of immigration reform that have bipartisan support and use that success as a foundation to build trust toward comprehensive immigration solutions. Americans want to see results and that would be my top objective. Current immigration laws are outdated and do not meet the needs of our economy. The status-quo arbitrarily limits many high skilled workers that wish to work in the U.S. which is not good for our economy in the long term. The lack of sensible immigration policies also hurts the agriculture industry. The true challenge for immigration reform will be how to ensure that people who want to move here and live and work as our neighbors can do so in a timely manner. With more secure borders and an efficient immigration process, we can reduce illegal immigration and improve our nation.
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.
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 California Education Fund
