1) What is the No. 1 issue in your district and how would you address it?
Even though the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a year and a half in the fourth quarter, there is much more that needs to be done to turn our economy around and promote job growth in the nation and in my district. My district, particularly in Chicago, has a high unemployment rate, as adverse economic conditions often reverberate the most in less economically well off districts. As a result, job creation remains the number one issue facing my district.
Job growth in the 1st Congressional district will have to come from sectors that need a large number of workers who are from a wide cross-section of the population (age, educational attainment, household income). It will also be important for the district to leverage the skills and knowledge of its residents as they relate to five industries in particular that have shown themselves able to generate a number of fast growing companies supporting higher-wage jobs, including Information Technology services, Business Products and Services, Advertising and Marketing, Consumer Products and Services, and Software.
I would also expect to see the continued establishment and expansion of new and small businesses, which contributed almost 23,000 new jobs to the Chicago metropolitan region, especially those providing the professional, scientific, and technical services (18.6 percent of new business starts in 2011), administrative and support services (almost 10 percent of new business starts in 2011), and ambulatory health care services (estimated 6 percent of new business starts in 2011). As Congressman, I will continue to engage stakeholders to encourage growth of existing firms, seek out new growth industries and work fields, and design legislation that will spur business growth and job creation.
2) How would you promote job growth in your district?
Please reference Question #1.
3) Should the federal government cut spending and where?
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), which required automatic sequestration (or across-the-board cuts to entitlement and non-entitlement program spending) to commence in January 2013 due to the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the “Super Committee”) to reduce the budget by $1.5 trillion, have already improved the federal government's fiscal outlook. The BCA requires Congress to cut at least $2.1 trillion in deficit spending from 2012-2021. Despite this initial step, and the resulting pressure this will place on states to fund state education, energy, environment, transportation, and criminal justice programs, the federal government must make efforts to cut more spending as we grapple to contain some of our major cost drivers, including changing demographics and rising health care costs.
Some measures that I have supported to reduce our nation’s debt include requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prescription drug prices that are part of Medicare D plans (for up to a $156 billion savings over 10 years). Another area in which the government could curb costs is in the reduction of the Department of Defense’s budget which is currently so vast that even they do not know how much is being spent. We can also end subsidies to companies and corporations that are sending jobs overseas and that make more than $1 Billion.
Finally, the government can curb significant costs in how it manages and stores its nuclear wastes. There are currently three primary waste storage options of varying costs: on-site interim, centralized interim, and permanent on-site storage, which is probably the most effective but also the most expensive nuclear waste management option. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government has already paid $956 million, and future liabilities for managing and storing nuclear wastes are estimated to be at least $15.4 billion through 2020. On June 30, 2011, I wrote a letter to the Chairman of the House Energy and Power subcommittee, requesting that the subcommittee call a second hearing on nuclear safety to explore the various manners in which our nation’s nuclear waste is handled and their attendant safety benefits and risks. I will continue to urge my colleagues to examine these issues with an eye towards passing legislation that strikes the critical balance between safety and cost.
4) If Republican, which GOP presidential candidate do you support?
N/A
5) Give an example of something you’ve done that is bipartisanship in nature.
Most recently, as the Ranking Democrat of the House Energy and Power Subcommittee, I worked in a bipartisan effort to develop and pass out of the House, HR 2845, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011. This legislation, which the President signed into law on January 3rd of this year, substantially upgraded the nation’s pipeline safety and security regulations.
I am currently a co-chair of three bipartisan House Caucuses: Congressional Collegiate Sports Caucus,
Congressional JOBS NOW! Caucus and the House Congressional Biotech Caucus.Additionally, I am a co-sponsor of several bipartisan bills in this 112th Congress: H.R.721, the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2011 which amends the IRS code to incentivize railroad track maintenance through the expansion of eligible credits and extension of existing credits; H.R.1418, the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act of 2011 which amends the Federal Credit Union Act to allow select insured credit unions to make one or more member business loans that have the effect of raising the total amount of loans outstanding at that given credit union, up to 27.5% of its total assets; H.R.2674, the 340B Program Improvement Act which amends the Public Health Service Act to revise 340B drug discount program; H.R.1852, the Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2011 which reauthorizes support for graduate medical education programs in children's hospitals; and H.R.2864, the Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act which honored the 9/11 heroes with Congressional Medals for the Flight 93 victims, National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, and the Pentagon Memorial.
6) Name one good policy idea that comes from the opposing party.
Reducing the small business tax rate
7) How do you define family values?
Family values are the fundamentals that hold a family together. They can be summarized in three words: love, commitment, and service. The unconditional love you hold for your family is paramount to overcoming any difficulties or adversities you may face. The commitment to that love is what holds the family together. Love and commitment are the essence of service which allows family members to provide for, nurture and help one another.
8) What are your thoughts on the healthcare law?
Under the recently enacted healthcare law, America has taken tremendous steps towards improving the quality and delivery healthcare services, particularly for our nation’s most vulnerable populations. 2.5 million young Americans, who didn’t have health insurance before, have it now. Young adults, who are not offered insurance at work, may now stay on their parent’s plan until they become 26 years old. Individuals with pre-existing conditions and who had been unable to find coverage for at least six months due to a pre-existing condition can now obtain the health insurance they need, from the federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) (even if their state does not exercise the option of running PCIP or some variation thereof, as their own state plan). Approximately 4 million seniors who reached the Medicare prescription drug gap known as the “donut hole” in 2010 received a one-time $250 dollar, tax-free rebate check. States will be able to receive federal matching funds for covering some additional low-income individuals and families under Medicaid for whom federal funds were not previously available.
It is now illegal for health insurance companies to rescind coverage. These prohibitions are intended to curb undesired insurance companies practices, such as searching for errors and technical mistakes in applications as pretexts for denying and not paying for patient services. There are now ground rules for health insurance companies selling plans to individuals and small employers, requiring them to spend 80 cents of each dollar collected on health care services and health care quality improvements. The requirement is 85 cents on the dollar for large employer insurance plans. Where these floors are not met, insurance companies must provide rebates to consumers. In 2014, around 4 million small businesses will be eligible for tax credits to help them provide insurance benefits to their workers. The first phase of this provision provides a credit worth up to 35% of the employer’s contribution to the employees’ health insurance. Small non-profit organizations may receive up to a 25% credit.
9) Who is your political role model?
Mayor Harold Washington; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; President Nelson Mandela and President Bill Clinton
10) What’s on your iPod?
Miles Davis – “The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel” (1965)
