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Goode, Perriello questioned about issues
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 9:19 AM EDT
Editor's note: In an effort to inform voters about the Nov. 4 election, the Star-Tribune in Chatham recently asked congressional candidates Virgil H. Goode Jr. and Tom Perriello to answer questions about their background and issues facing the 5th District and nation.
Where were you born and raised?
Goode: I am a lifelong resident of the 5th District of Virginia. Outside of the years I was in college and law school, I have lived in Franklin County my whole life.
Perriello: Albemarle County, right here in Virginia's 5th District.
List the schools you have attended and any degrees obtained.
Goode: I graduated from the University of Richmond with a bachelor's degree. While a student at the University of Richmond, I was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies.
My juris doctorate is from the University of Virginia, where I was a member of the UVA Law Review.
Perriello: Bachelor's degree, Yale University, 1996; juris doctorate, Yale University, 2001.
What is your occupation?
Goode: Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, I had a private law practice in Rocky Mount, Virginia. I also served in the Virginia State Senate.
Perriello: National security consultant and founder of faith-based organizations.
Please list any elected offices held and length of service.
Goode: Virginia State Senate, 1973-1996; U.S. House of Representatives, January 1997-present.
Perriello: None. I'm not a politician.
Have you ever served in the military? If so, what branch and rank?
Goode: I served in the Virginia Army National Guard, 1969-1975. My rank was E-5.
Perriello: I have not served in the military, but I have been on the ground in conflict zones like Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Darfur.
In those places, I was working with intelligence agencies and nonprofit organizations to come up with national security strategies.
When I returned from these missions, I would brief Democrats and Republicans in Congress with our strategies.
If married, what is your wife's name and occupation?
Goode: Lucy Dodson Goode. Campaign volunteer.
Perriello: I've had many blessings in my family life-including two wonderful parents, three siblings, and seven nieces and nephews-but I am not married.
Why do you feel you are qualified to continue serving or serve in the U.S. House of Representatives? Please include any information you feel is relevant to your qualifications.
Goode: I have slightly over a decade of experience and work well with both Republicans and Democrats on the Appropriations Committee.
Through my efforts and cooperating with others, I have been able to work successfully to help many jurisdictions and entities located around the 5th District.
Perriello: Perhaps the thing that makes me most qualified is the fact that I don't come from Washington.
Washington is desperately broken right now and only new leaders who aren't bought and sold by the special interests can restore the basic principles that made our country so great.
Our economy is in freefall, gas prices are at an all-time high, and the middle class falls further and further behind. We can't afford politics as usual.
My life's work has been about service. From an early age, my faith called me to serve and brought me to dangerous conflict zones like West Africa, Darfur, and Afghanistan to help bring warlords to justice.
In 2004, I founded several faith-based organizations here at home to bring evangelicals, Catholics and other people of faith together to work on our common goals of reducing poverty, improving healthcare, and reducing the number of abortions.
I want to replace the culture of corruption in Washington with the Greatest Generation's culture of service.
And we're not waiting until we get to Washington: through our campaign's volunteer tithing initiative, we donate 10 percent of our volunteer time directly to local charities throughout the 5th District.
What are the most important issues facing the district and what would you do to address those issues? Be specific.
Goode: The important issues facing the 5th District are jobs, energy, and the economy.
Our area has been hit hard by NAFTA, and certain other so-called free trade agreements.
I have opposed these measures and fought for investments in our area to attract different types of businesses and industries to this region.
The list below covers some of the initiatives that I have been successful in bringing to Southside to assist our communities in attracting jobs and enterprises.
If re-elected, I will continue these or similar efforts and continue campaigning for new jobs in Southside Virginia.
Some of the measures that I have passed which benefit our area include:
_ Funding for PATHS for health care for low-income persons and the uninsured;
_ Funding for the NASA lab in Martinsville;
_ Funding for improvements at Piedmont Arts;
_ Funding for buses for Danville;
_ Funding the for Martinsville Dental Clinic, which serves low-income individuals;
_ Funding for improvements to the old Henry County Courthouse and to the Basset Heritage Center;
_ Co-sponsor of legislation to provide assistance for healthcare coverage for those laid off from work because of free trade;
_ Funding for New College Institute;
_ Supporting and advocating for new and expanded G.I. educational benefits, not only for the soldier but also for the spouses and children of career soldiers.
_ I also was one of the lead sponsors of the tobacco buyout legislation. As a result of the buyout legislation, quota holders and growers in the flue-cured tobacco area will receive between $450 and $490 million during this 10-year period.
These buyout funds come from all tobacco manufacturers, who will pass the cost on to the consumers. These funds will help the economy of Southside during this decade.
_ Senator Allen, Senator Warner, and I also worked very hard for the $6 million grant to help with the broadband initiative.
_ The Tobacco Commission also put considerable funding into making sure Southside Virginia had the best infrastructure it could to attract businesses and industries that depend upon high-speed, broadband Internet access.
_ I was one of the chief sponsors of increasing funding for the Firefighter Assistance Grants and COPS grants for law enforcement.
Through my seat on the Appropriations Committee, I have also been able to get funding for many economic development initiatives for Southside Virginia such as:
_ Millions for the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research;
_ Infrastructure for local governments, which must have water and sewer for new business and industry;
_ Cultural attractions such as the Prizery, Crossing the Dan, the Langhorne House, the North Theatre, and others;
_ Danville Regional Airport;
_ Training programs for Danville, Southside, and Patrick Henry Community Colleges that are vital for needed workforce training.
Perriello: The most important issue facing the 5th District is that middle-class families who work hard and play by the rules are falling further and further behind.
We have an economic crisis, an energy crisis, and a health care crisis that are all taking a major toll on middle class families.
As your representative, I will put the 5th District at the forefront of the new energy economy in developing second-generation biofuels.
Virginia farmers can be the new freedom fighters in our struggle for independence from fossil fuels.
They have the ingenuity and the drive; now all they need is a partner on the federal level to support them with the right incentives and investments.
Like winning the race to the moon, America must commit to energy independence in a generation.
Our leaders should have made this commitment on Sept. 12, 2001. Seven years and zero progress later, the urgency remains.
Three steps are:
_ Reward companies and consumers who invest in energy efficiency in their factories, automobiles, and homes;
_ Shift subsidies from Big Oil to alternative energies;
_ Support interim measures such as increased drilling and tax rebates to families to survive winter heating bills.
Is immigration a problem in the United States? If so, what should the country do to address the issue?
Goode: Illegal immigration must stop. Our borders must be secure.
I have supported and co-sponsored legislation to stop illegal aliens, terrorists, drug smugglers, and other criminals from coming across our southern border.
We need to utilize troops, fences, and other measures to stop the invasion from Mexico.
I was the first to sponsor legislation providing for a fence along the southern border.
Although fence legislation has now passed, we must continue the fight for funding and the continual construction of the fence.
Illegal immigration costs the United States billions every year through increased health care costs, social service utilizations, emergency room fees, and in other areas.
I am against allowing illegal immigrants to access services meant for Americans.
Amnesty encourages more illegal entry into America.
Perriello: Illegal immigration drives down wages of American workers, punishes business owners who play by the rules, and undermines the rule of law.
But there's no fence you can build high enough to keep illegal immigrants out as long as the supply of jobs is here.
We must crack down on employers who break the law.
Rep. Goode has made headlines for his remarks on immigration, but never for producing results.
He voted on multiple occasions to curb the penalties on powerful corporations that hire illegal immigrants.
He has a pattern of sponsoring tough bills that have no chance of passing; he could not even get his proposal out of committee when his party was in power.
I care more about solving this crisis than scoring political points with a speech.
What, if anything, should Congress do to make health care more affordable and available?
Goode: I have supported Medicaid, Medicare, and community health centers, which help the under-insured or uninsured.
However, I do not support socialized medicine like that of Mexico and Canada.
People from Mexico and Canada come all the time to the U.S. because they cannot get the quality care that they need in their own countries.
We need to improve our current system, not destroy it.
Perriello: Congress can - and must - fix the broken healthcare system in our country.
But as long as Congressman Goode takes money from the drug companies and HMOs, we won't see a serious challenge to the status quo.
In our first forum together, Congressman Goode said there was nothing seriously wrong with our health care system.
But the 47 million Americans without healthcare disagree, as do the 200 million of us who pay too much only to learn that our HMO has some excuse for denying care.
Healthcare is a very real crisis for the middle class and for the competitiveness of our businesses.
One place to start is by getting the cost of prescription drugs under control.
Last year, Congressman Goode was the deciding vote against allowing the Medicare program to negotiate lower drug prices, which is why drugs for seniors are 50 percent more expensive than those at the VA.
This basically amounted to a $600 billion handout to the drug companies.
Being able to negotiate better drug prices for our seniors is plain, common-sense policy that was derailed because of the corruption in Washington.
All of America wants the war in Iraq to end and the troops to come home. How can that be best accomplished?
Goode: We are making progress in Iraq and I want to see us withdraw in a responsible way so that we achieve a victory for our armed forces.
I do not support an ironclad date certain for withdrawal, but I do believe we can withdraw from Iraq reasonably soon.
Perriello: There are solutions in Iraq but every general has agreed that they are political, not military solutions.
For the past three years as a national security consultant, I have worked on a strategy for Iraq called the N.E.W. plan (Negotiate with all internal non-Al Qaeda factions, Empower the international community to mediate the talks, and Withdraw responsibly within the context of a new power-sharing arrangement).
Both parties have been wrong to focus on troop size as an end in itself. The goal of commitment to full withdrawal is to bring the Sunnis back to the table and reset the rules of governance.
The military has done its part in Iraq, but the politicians have failed miserably to provide a strategy for victory.
Congressman Goode has consistently rubber-stamped President Bush's failed policies there without understanding the enemy we're facing.
There is no duty more sacred for an elected official than ensuring our troops are provided with a strategy for victory, protected in battle, and supported as veterans.
Our support for troops must continue when they come home.
I was an ardent and early supporter of Sen. Webb's 21st Century GI Bill to ensure educational opportunities that our veterans deserve; Congressman Goode voted against it because it included a half-percent tax on millionaires.
I will also fight for a new VA Hospital in Southside with a focus on mental health services.
Watching Congress, it seems there is a lot of bickering and partisan politics, and very little cooperation between leaders of the two parties to help citizens. Congressman Goode: Tell about something you've done with Democrats to help citizens in the 5th District. Mr. Perriello: Tell about a project in which you have worked with a diverse group of people to solve a problem.
Goode: I was a long-time advocate of tobacco buyout legislation so that our tobacco quota holders and tobacco growers could get some payment for their numerous years of investment.
I, along with a number of others on both sides of the aisle, sponsored tobacco buyout legislation, and success was finally achieved when the buyout measure was included in a larger package and signed by President Bush.
For Southside Virginia, the payments will mean over $450 million over 10 years (2005-2014) for tobacco quota holders and tobacco growers.
These payments will significantly help the economy of Southside Virginia.
These payments do not come from the federal taxpayers, but they do come indirectly from the consumers of tobacco products.
Perriello: In much of my faith-based work, I have brought diverse ideologies and religious people together to confront the problems that we all face.
I have worked with Catholics and evangelicals on the pressing moral issues that unite us all such as children's health care, the genocide in Darfur, and reducing the tragic number of abortions that happen in this country.
Unfortunately, Congressman Goode has become part of the partisan gridlock in Washington. He regularly blames problems on Democrats instead of talking about how to solve them.
In a recent debate, he kept trying to link me to Nancy Pelosi so much that I had to remind him that I'm not Nancy Pelosi.
In fact, I think Democrats in Congress have just as many problems as Republicans. Both parties are owned by the same special interests and both have sold out the middle class.
I believe that it is time for a politics of right and wrong instead of right and left, and that this new politics will be based on the concept of the common good.
I believe that we are better off when our neighbors have health care and make a living wage.
The challenges of a global economy, oil dependence and terrorism are not going to be met without an America that is inspired to ask what we can each do for our country and our fellow man.
Gas prices are high. Food costs continue to go up. Businesses are laying off workers or closing plants. What will you do to help the economy in the 5th District? Be specific.
Goode: Energy independence is vital for the economic future of the U.S. and the national security of our country.
We cannot continue to spend $700 billion per year in the Middle East, Nigeria, Venezuela, and with other countries that do not like us.
We must utilize drilling in this country, alternatives, and conservation so that we are free of foreign fuel.
I support offshore drilling in the outer continental shelf and in ANWR in Alaska.
Drilling here and now in the U.S. will have a positive impact on gasoline and diesel fuel costs.
In addition to drilling, we must pursue alternatives such as the Switchgrass Project in Pittsylvania County, and the Canola Project in Henry County.
I voted for tax incentives for persons who purchase hybrid vehicles.
I have had the opportunity to drive an electric and a fuel cell vehicle.
I would like to see the cost of these types of vehicles come down and fuel sources more readily available so that more citizens can take advantage of those technologies.
Perriello: Bringing good jobs back to Virginia will be my number one priority in Congress.
In July, I launched a seven-point plan for economic revival that focuses on support for small businesses, infrastructure, and workforce development.
Under Rep. Goode's watch, Southside has lost over 10,000 jobs. The failed policies of the Bush-Goode economy have left the middle class getting crushed by skyrocketing energy and health care costs.
We are in an economic crisis that earmarks, while helpful, won't be able to solve alone. Virginians want a hand up, not a handout, and that's what I will fight for in Washington.
Here are the seven points of my economic R.E.V.I.V.A.L. plan:
_ Relief for small business, including immediate tax breaks for healthcare and energy costs.
_ Energy solutions that put the 5th District at the forefront of the new energy economy.
_ Vocational and skills training and a national teacher recruitment program to make our workforce competitive.
_ Infrastructure investment, including in transportation, broadband and our historic downtowns.
_ Putting Virginia workers first by punishing employers who hire illegal aliens and ending billions in tax breaks to companies that move American jobs overseas.
_ Protecting agriculture by making sure small farmers are helped, not hurt, by subsidies and regulations.
_ Providing leadership that will serve the middle class instead of drug companies, oil companies, and big corporations.
So many of these initiatives already have a great groundwork in Southside. At Danville Community College, machinists' program graduates are hired at a 100 percent rate.
Farmers in Brunswick and Mecklenburg Counties are innovating how to produce their own energy to sustain their farms.
The citizens of the 5th District are ready to step up to the plate.
But there needs to be a partner on the federal level to make sure these programs are not just a handout, but a hand up for the economy of the next 20 years.
Congressman Goode: Your opponent has accused you of accepting campaign contributions from political action committees and special interests, including "Big Oil." Is this true, and, if so, how do you respond?
Most of my donations are from the 5th District. Compared to most federal candidates, I have accepted few contributions from PACs and from the PACs of oil companies.
My opponent does accept PAC donations such as $5,000 from the AAJ PAC (American Trial Lawyers), $5,000 from the AFL-CIO, $5,000 from the Steel Workers PAC and $2,000 from the Global Solutions Fund.
For someone who claimed that he would not accept "one dollar" (Franklin News-Post August 18, 2008) from PACs, he seems to have no problem accepting thousands from PACs that he likes.
He has also received over $160,000 from liberal donors in New York and over $100,000 from Californians and Hollywood donors.
Mr. Perriello: Congressman Goode has accused you of accepting campaign contributions from political donors outside the district, including California and New York. If true, what is your response?
Perriello: First, voters should know that the majority of our donors are from the 5th District.
We have received donations from all 22 counties and municipalities of the district and so Congressman Goode's attacks are a misleading-though not surprising-attempt to paint me as an outsider.
Many of our donors from other parts of the country are childhood friends from Virginia who have moved away; others are people I have worked with in my national and international career.
But they are all individuals, whereas the majority of Virgil Goode's funding over his career has come from corporate PACs and lobbyists. In fact, he has taken over $1.5 million in special interest money.
And I hardly think Congressman Goode is in a position to lecture me on the ethics of campaign finance when the top contributor of his career is a convicted felon for bribing members of Congress. (I am referring to Mitchell Wade, the former CEO of defense contractor MZM.)
Why should people in the 5th District vote for you?
Goode: I am a Southside Virginia native who will work for our area by fighting to:
_ Save our economy by reducing fuel costs by drilling here and now and utilizing alternatives;
_ Save America and secure our borders;
_ Save Social Security;
_ Save America's health care system with reform - not socialized medicine;
_ Save marriage between one man and one woman;
_ Save our Second Amendment rights.
Perriello: Washington is broken. The middle class falls further and further behind, and all we see in Congress is lethargy and partisan bickering, and nothing gets done.
I plan on fighting, and changing, a Washington attitude of convenience, pandering, and corruption.
I have a seven-point plan for economic revival that focuses on support for small businesses, infrastructure, and workforce development.
I pledge to work a double shift every day in Congress to bring good jobs back to Virginia.
My grandfather taught me that taking care of yourself is important, but it's what you do for your community and country that really defines you.
I will take on Washington and fight for you.
Congressman Goode is well liked, and I respect his long history of service to the district.
But under his watch, Southside has lost over 10,000 jobs, been crushed by gas prices, and witnessed a disastrous national security policy that has left America less safe.
So ask yourself: Are you more loyal to a member of Congress or to your own family?
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