League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Citizen Education Fund
	Essex, Middlesex County, MA November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues United States Representative; District 6

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Massaschusetts and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Trade and Unemployment, Global Warning, National Security Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What is the government's role in regulating trade and to what degree is that role dependent on the current balance of trade and the rate of unemployment in the United States? Answer from Richard A. Baker: Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution assigns the responsibility to regulate commerce with foreign nations to the US Congress. This was a simple task in 1790 when the Constitution was written and most foreign trade arrived via a small number of sailing ships. Today, commerce is conducted over the Internet and products arrive in the USA through a myriad of channels. Global corporations exchange goods and technologies freely among hundreds of nations. We have become a member of a true world economy, and the American economy is highly dependent upon the world economy. Having worked in global corporations headquartered in Germany, France, and the United States, I have personal experience with international commerce. The US government can no longer impose restrictions or tariffs on trade without a severe impact on the world and the American economies. As a result, Congress and the US Government must take a minimal role in regulating foreign trade. Instead, the US government must identify the competitive advantages of the American workers, and maintain the laws that support these advantages. For instance, Americans are among the most creative workers in the world. The freedom offered in American allows us to innovate new technologies that can be used to fuel our economy. Last year, the US House of Representatives passed the Patent Reform Act of 2007 which would have diminished American inventors' rights to protect and profit from their inventions. This would have had a negative impact on our unemployment rates and on our balance of trade. Answer from John F. Tierney: The federal government, and the Congress specifically, is constitutionally empowered over trade activities between states and with foreign countries. It should exercise that power in promoting U.S. economic growth and technological advancement and remain mindful of our need to strengthen relationships with other nations as may be appropriate. It is important that issues of environmental and safety concerns, as well as labor considerations, be taken into account within trade discussions and be given the same emphasis and enforcement weight as other major provisions in agreements. Doing so will allow consideration of employment conditions, especially when coupled with domestic education, health care, and training initiatives for unemployed individuals. 2. Scientists warn that the U.S must begin to cut global warming pollution during the next 10 years and reduce pollution by 60%-80% by 2050 in order to mitigate the most severe impacts of global warming. What three legislative proposals would you present to reduce global warming's short-term and long-effects? Answer from John F. Tierney: #1. Legislate a sensible cap-and-trade policy on emissions. #2. Encourage the development of non-fossil fuel powered vehicles or, in the short term at least, raise mileage standards. #3. Require electricity to be generated from no less than 15-20% renewable sources by 2020. Answer from Richard A. Baker: First of all, there is little evidence that the current trends in global warming is more severe than other normal variations in the earth's temperature that have occurred throughout history. The Medieval Warm Period (c. 1100-1450) and earlier periods were likely as warm or warmer than the present. The earth was cooling as recently as the period from the 1940s to the 1970s, giving rise to fears of a coming ice age, until temperatures began to increase in the mid-1970s up through the present day. While it is possible that mankind's activities have made a contribution to warming, current temperatures are within the range of natural variability. In any case, there are three steps that we can take to be better stewards of our environment. First of all, Congress should repeal the Ethanol requirements from the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Ethanol made from corn is very inefficient to make, drawing significant amounts of nutrients from the soil and requiring substantial energy to convert the corn to Ethanol. When burned in gasoline engines, Ethanol creates more smog than straight gasoline. Furthermore, Ethanol decreases gasoline mileage and clogs the carburetors of lawnmowers and boat engines. Second, Congress should facilitate the building of more nuclear power plants in the United States. Nuclear power is much cleaner and has a smaller impact on the environment than coal, oil, or gas plants. Many European nations safely produce the majority of their energy using nuclear power. Congress should review the regulations related to the nuclear power industry and remove any unnecessary regulations that discourage the construction of new nuclear power plants. Finally, the US Government needs to encourage research and development in alternative energy by maintaining strong Intellectual Property laws. As an inventor, I have seen the innovative skills that American engineers can bring to a problem when allowed the freedom to seek solutions. 3. What do you believe are the most pertinent threats to national security and what do you propose to do about these threats? Answer from John F. Tierney: #1. Nuclear proliferation remains a significant threat. We should strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime and expand on the Nunn-Lugar program to reduce and eliminate existing nuclear weapons and materials. #2. Nations competing for increasingly scarce resources such as oil, water, minerals, and food, is a growing challenge. We should expand efforts to coordinate actions in order to peacefully deal with environmental challenges and shortages. Such efforts include technological solutions, trade agreements that allow nations to progress, and policies - beyond just military means - to promote responsible development and education and health initiatives. #3. Acts of terror around the globe and potentially here at home remain a serious threat. We must continue to follow up on legislation recently passed that would implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations to secure our ports, rail transit, and nuclear power plants and chemical facilities, while ensuring that health, law enforcement, intelligence, military activities (where appropriate), and disaster planning and response are coordinated and in place. Internationally we must ensure that our now depleted military services and equipment are restored. We should implement a "whole of government" approach to security efforts, which encompasses not just military capacity, but also intelligence, diplomatic, and developmental efforts by which we can work with other nations to successfully confront and defeat terrorists, as well as create conditions inhospitable to their future recruitment of others. Answer from Richard A. Baker: The largest threat to the national security of the United States is illegal immigration. One of the theories behind the American immigration policy is to maintain a law-abiding population. If someone comes to the USA illegally, then by definition they do not respect our laws, and should be required to leave the USA and not return. Furthermore, Congress should remove any economic incentives for illegal aliens to remain in this country. Illegal aliens must be prevented from receiving free health care, prevented from receiving welfare, prevented from receiving free education. Employers who hire illegal aliens must be severely penalized so that few jobs for illegal aliens will be available. Legal immigration quotas should also be increased to backfill the work currently being done by illegal aliens with immigrants who respect our laws. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.