League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Santa Clara Counties, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues United States Representative; District 20

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. 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? Answer from Ronald Paul Kabat: We must revise our tax system to simplify it and make us more competitive in the world. We currently have the highest corporate income tax rate in the world. The corporate income tax is part of the company's cost of goods sold to our nation and the world. If the tax rate can be lowered, we may invite more manufacturing companies back to the USA and increase domestic manufacturing. This could increase sales which, in turn, could increase tax revenues. Our corporate income tax rate is so high that corporations have also been attempting to move their headquarters out of the USA (on paper only) in an attempt to lower their costs and become more competitive with the global economy. We must adjust Federal economic and regulatory policies (ie. EPA, DOE, IRS, Department of Agriculture, etc.) to help create an environment that will promote private sector job creation. We have experienced the highest tax revenue in the history of our nation. The IRS states that it is about 9% higher than our previous fiscal year. So, savings from waste, fraud and government mismanagement must also enter the picture. Over $300 million of waste this year is located in our Farm Bill's sugar industry. (See SugarReform.org) We must also become advocates for our unemployed citizens and address the illegal immigration issue which impacts our national and local medical costs, school costs and social program costs. If the President threatens Congress with giving 'green' cards to 8,000,000 individuals after the November election, he must be challenged otherwise our unemployed citizens will be unemployed until their unemployment benefits run out. Then, they will face financial ruin. I will cover this in Issue Questions #5. Regarding cheap energy and job production, please also review issue question #3. 2. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs? Answer from Ronald Paul Kabat: In Monterey County, individuals currently paying for Covered California health insurance are being serviced by only 60 physicians and -0- specialists. Stanford Hospital just dropped out of the system last month. I also received an e-mail from a voter in San Benito County who is also suffering from the lack of medical coverage under Covered California. What good is your health insurance if you have a heart or similar problem and have to go to San Francisco to see a specialist? How many counties Covered California insured will stretch the San Francisco medical specialists system to a point of breaking the system? Is it cheaper to drop the coverage and pay the A.C.A. penalty since your deductibles may be unaffordable and you get limited or no service because of the small fee Covered California pays physicians for their services? I have spoken with a Covered California specialist who said that 2015's premium increases will be small but 2016 will be as high as 60%. I have also spoken with a friend who has learned that he will be able to offer his 50+ employees health insurance in 2015 but not in 2016 because of the premium increases. They are near 60% higher. Tens of millions of individuals will lose their health coverage and doctors in 2016 because the President delayed A.C.A. large employer enforcement by one year and the premium increases tie in with the President's one year delay to 2016. It's time to eliminate the A.C.A. plan, select some of its good points subject to costs analysis, add across state line purchases of health insurance and tort reform. Input from all would be welcomed and studied for economic feasibility. 3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy? Answer from Ronald Paul Kabat: Cheap energy helps lower production costs, helps to increase employment and add to a robust economy. Expensive energy has the opposite effect. In an article by Ben Seifer of EnergyInDepth.org, President Obama recently praised our natural gas production. Mr. Seifer wrote: Only a few weeks after anti-fracking activists gathered in New York City to protest shale development and natural gas + the very fuel that's responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States + President Obama, at a speech at Northwestern University, offered a pretty stiff rebuke, touting the economic and energy security benefits of American oil and natural gas production. As the president put it: "Today, the number one oil and gas producer in the world is no longer Russia or Saudi Arabia; it's America. We're doing it so fast that two years ago, I set a goal to cut our oil imports in half by 2020 -- and we will meet that goal this year." In addition to increased energy security, President Obama highlighted shale development's role in revitalizing our manufacturing sector: "Meanwhile, our 100-year supply of natural gas is a big factor in drawing jobs back to our shores. Many are in manufacturing + the quintessential middle-class job." In addition, I would promote the passage of the Keystone XL Pipeline because I would rather we control the oil refining environmental controls rather than have Canada ship the oil directly to China where there may be no environmental controls which, in turn, could add more pollution that could come across the Pacific Ocean and impact our air quality. 4. What, if any, changes should be made with respect to our nation’s security, including our national defense or anti-terrorism measures? Answer from Ronald Paul Kabat: Start by securing the Southwest border. Please also read a report that was released on November 15, 2012 by the United States House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management. The title of the report is 'A Line In the Sand: Countering Crime, Terror and Violence at the Southwest Border.' This is a must read if you want to learn about the impact of Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America working with the drug cartels. Recommendations are laid out in the report. 5. What is your position on the issue of immigration reform? What, if any, changes to legislation or policy would you support? Answer from Ronald Paul Kabat: Start with securing the Southern and Northern borders. E-Verify must be used by all employers both large and small. Enforce financial penalties against employers hiring illegal aliens or attempting to get around the law. Employ and enforce felony charges against repeat offenders. Institute a 10% refundable tariff applied against all international money orders sent by individuals within the USA to individuals outside of the USA. The 10% tariff will be refundable only to US citizens and individuals holding 'green' cards. The refunds can be secured by filing a quarterly or semi-annual Federal tariff refund form. Inventory the individuals who are here. Part of my position holds the belief that we must promote advocacy for our Nation's unemployed. The California State University (CSU) released a report last month stating that 10% of all CA jobs are being held by individuals who are here illegally. I extrapolated California E.D.D. Labor Market Statistics, the C.S.U.'s report's statistics and F.A.I.R. statistics. I concluded that, in California, we currently have more than 338,000 non-farm jobs filled by illegal immigrants exceeding the 1.361 million unemployed CA citizens. The grand total of the 10% non-farm jobs held by illegals equaled approximately 1.699 million jobs. (Examples are auto repair, plumbing, construction, food service, truck drivers, gardeners, painters, etc.) We could have a negative CA unemployment rate if this issue was resolved and we could create a labor shortage which would cause higher starting rates for all unemployed CA citizens. Supporting illegal immigration provides no Social Justice to the family of the unemployed citizen whose unemployment benefits have expired! We must become their advocates and they must vote this November, especially if President Obama carries out his threat of issuing an Executive Order that will give 'green' cards to 8,000,000 individuals working here illegally. This could ruin the unemployed individual's marriage, family and finances. 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.