Jim Steiner
Jim Steiner is featured in today’s GraniteGok Congressional Candidate Q & A Series. He is another of the four worthy Republican candidates in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District. As with the others, we thank Jim for taking time to answer these questions and further continue to appreciate NH’s candidates acknowledging the growing importance of the readers here in the blogosphere.
Jim’s responses are below and as always, feel free to leave a comment!
===============================================================
QUESTIONS
1. If you could ask General Petraeus any question, but only one question, what would it be?
Jim Responds: General, what is the most important thing I and the Congress can do to help you and our soldiers perform their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan?
2. Do you favor Oil recovery in the newly found fields in Montana & the Dakotas?
Jim responds: Yes, as part of an overall plan at developing a national strategy for energy independence for this country, including the use of solar, bio fuels, wind and other technologies.
• Drilling in ANWR? Jim: Yes.
• Drilling in the deep off Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico? Jim: Yes.
• Creating a fast track process to license and build new nuclear plants? Jim: Yes, and to build new refineries as well.3. In the area of healthcare, are you in favor of:
• Giving tax credits for policies to individuals / families as well as businesses? Jim: Yes, particularly in order to provide incentive to individuals who must insure outside the employer arena.
• Allow policies to be purchased across state lines? Jim: Yes, and to be made portable so they can travel with an employee from job to job.
• Allow individuals to buy lower cost policies by "unhooking" legal mandates? Jim: Absolutely, I am vehemently against unfunded mandates contained in any legislation.4. British Prime Minister Brown said that the US must give up the idea of absolute sovereignty in order to better cooperate in the global community. Agree or disagree, and why?
Jim responds: I disagree. I cannot find where the Prime Minister stated this, or the context, but the United States remains a singular beacon in the global community not bent on empire building. When parts of that community are in trouble, recently or historically, the US is called upon to step in. And we are a fair-minded people who will continue to do that, even though the thanks we receive may be limited.
5. Guantanomo military prison:
• Keep it open or close it? Jim: Keep it open. We face a new form of warfare in the 21st century, lacking the traditional association of "state-sponsorship." Guantanamo provides such a secure facility given the murky nature of identifying enemy combatants in this asymmetric warfare arena.
• If closed – where would you send those enemy combatants? Jim: Excellent question; that is why it should be kept open.
• Would you be willing to try those enemy combatants in our civilian courts (with its accompanying mandatory rights as due to citizens)? Jim: No, enemy combatants are not entitled to civilian court rights. Their rights are limited and can be dealt with fairly by the military tribunal, which in and of itself should be far more limited as to issues and complaints than the circus unfolding at present.6. Should President Bush attend the Summer Olympics’ opening ceremonies in communist China?
Jim responds: Yes, the more we do to lessen the political use of the Olympics, the better. Let there be one forum where we look to minimize politics in favor of athletic competition.
7. Are you in favor of using eminent domain in taking private property from one owner to another in order to expand taxable property values?
Jim responds: No, and I was the lead attorney at the New Hampshire Supreme Court to fight a related battle on limiting takings of private properties by municipalities, and won. My record on this is a proven one. No other candidate has such a record.
8. Are you willing to sign an earmark moratorium?
Jim responds: Yes, I believe that any "emergency" legislation (as earmarks are often justified) can best be addressed through the traditional use of Roberts Rules of Order and parliamentary procedure by an open vote in Congress; the American people deserve nothing less!
9. You have a choice: raise corporate taxes or eliminate five Federal programs. Which is your choice? If it is “eliminate five programs”, please list them. (Feel free to list more than five if you think more could go)
Jim responds: I do not believe in raising corporate taxes. The engine that will drive our economy back to success is through small business. Accordingly, the programs I would eliminate include, as a sample, the following:
1. Dept. of Agriculture. The newly passed Farm Subsidy Bill. I agree this law provides the wrong kind of funding at a time food costs are rising.
2. Dept of Education. The TRIO Talent Program (an Education Department program that overlaps another similar program).
3. Dept. of Defense. The Vulture Weapons System Program (a fixed wing supplemental high-altitude communications system already vulnerable to enemy aircraft and missiles before it can be built and deployed).
4. Dept of Agriculture Single Family Housing Program. There are many other commercial loan programs available and the internet has reduced the likelihood that being rural means a lack of access to meaninful home mortgage options.
5. Dept. of Justice. State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. The program provided funding for overtime for correctional officers given a high population of illegal immigrants. If we streamlined deportation for illegals such funding would be unnecessary.10. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are “demographic time bombs” in waiting. What steps should be taken to avoid future failures of these entitlements?
Jim responds: These programs have to be addressed head on. As to Social Security, privatizing them to allow individuals to contribute and have more control will transition traditional social security into new social security for the coming generation.
Medicare and Medicaid likewise are on a track to disaster. More competition in the market place is necessary, directed at medicare programs, in order to reduce costs overall. Medicaid requires more individual focus on what entitlements are necessary, as opposed to continuing to provide entitlements in a vacuum.
11. How would you propose Congress and the president balance the federal budget?
Jim resplies: It is time to make tough decisions and not spend money we don’t have. In addition, absolutely "no" to earmarks, "no" to unfunded mandates, but the implementation of such cuts as are necessary in order to pass a budget limited to the projected funds available, period.
12. Would you vote for the “Fair Tax”? The “Flat Tax”?
Jim responds: I do not oppose either. Of course, if a flat tax were passed, it would be "in lieu of" an income tax, as this country does not need both.
~~~~~~~~ Visit Jim’s website at www.joinjim2008.com