Raja Krishnamoorthi: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: SchaumburgWebsite: www.RajaForCongress.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: 8th Congressional District Age: 43Family: wife, Priya, a physicianthree childrenOccupation: President of Sivananthan Labs and Episolar Inc., small businesses in the national defense and renewEducation: B.S.E., Mechanical Engineering, Princeton 1995; J.D., Harvard 2000Civic involvement: * Issues Director to then-U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama;* Co-founder of InSPIRE, a non-profit organization encouraging inner-city children and Illinois veterans to pursue careers in solar technology;Elected offices held: * Member of Board of Illinois Housing Development Authority, Chair of Audit Committee;* Special Assistant Attorney General, Public Integrity Unit for State of Illinois;* Vice-Chair of Illinois Innovation Council;* Deputy Treasurer of Illinois;Questions Answers How will you work to make Congress more productive and effective? What actions are needed to produce a healthy federal budget? Specifically, what changes do you advocate regarding how revenue is produced or what our spending priorities are? In particular, what effect does current policy have on your district and what changes, if any, are needed?There is too much blind partisanship in Congress, which has blocked progress on critical issues. Too many Members view compromise as weakness rather than the essence of our democracy. This has to end. We need comprehensive tax reform to close the huge loopholes that enable the largest and wealthiest corporations to escape taxes while small businesses pay more. We need to cut unnecessary weapons programs like the F-35 fighter plane that cost trillions of dollars and don't even work. We need to invest in our crumbling infrastructure to create jobs and remain economically competitive. For instance, because of partisan gridlock in Washington, I have proposed a Federal Infrastructure Bank (paid for by ending certain oil and gas subsidies) to fund local transportation projects, such as completing the Elgin-O'Hare and establishing the Metra North Star Line.Ultimately, much of the dysfunction in Congress is due to the impact of big money, which drowns out the voices of working families and leads to the special treatment of special interests. Examples of special treatment are the huge tax loopholes (such as the "carried interest" loophole) that favor hedge-fund billionaires. The U.S. Supreme Court exacerbated the problem with its Citizens United ruling that allows unlimited campaign contributions by special interests, much of which doesn't even need to be disclosed. I support a constitutional amendment to correct that terrible decision, and will work in Congress to limit the ability of big money to distort our democracy.What immigration policies do you support? Where, if at all, do you see room for compromise to produce an effective policy on immigration? How will these policies affect your district?The current debate over our nation's immigration policy is very personal to me. My parents came to the U.S. as legal immigrants from India to pursue a better life for themselves and their children. Through hard work and perseverance, they were able to succeed. I am running for Congress to help ensure that the American Dream realized by my parents and family remains within reach of families across the 8th Congressional District of Illinois.I support comprehensive immigration reform that combines better border controls and enhanced enforcement of visa limits with a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers currently living and working in the U.S. who have not committed crimes and are otherwise law-abiding residents. Those individuals must pay all fines and taxes, learn English and go to the back of the line to receive their citizenship - behind those like my parents who followed the rules. This was the essence of the so-called Gang of Eight proposal, which passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis. Unfortunately, that legislation was never allowed to receive consideration in the House.I also strongly support Senator Durbin's DREAM Act, which would grant a pathway to citizenship for the children and young people born to undocumented workers who have staked meaningful roots in the U.S. For many of these individuals, the U.S. is the only country they've ever known. We need to provide them with the opportunity to go to school, start a career and contribute to our nation's future.What should be the top priorities in Congress related to the Affordable Care Act? If you want changes, what specifically do you recommend? If you want the act entirely eliminated, please address these questions: Is that politically feasible? If it proves infeasible, where do you see the potential for compromise? If it is eliminated, what would you replace it with, if anything?Congress must continue to monitor the successes and failures of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and work to improve it. What we simply cannot allow is a return to the situation that existed before the ACA, in which millions of people and families lacked coverage and were literally one illness away from losing everything that they had.While any new program will have problems in its early phases, the ACA been successful in expanding coverage for almost 20 million people. In addition, numerous people have benefited from provisions allowing young adults under the age of 26 to join their parents' plans, and other provisions barring insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.A major portion of those left uncovered reside in states whose governors and legislatures have refused to extend Medicaid coverage to those without insurance, even though the federal government picks up almost all of the additional costs. I am encouraged that some of those states are willing to use those federal funds instead to subsidize private health insurance for the uninsured.Some people I've met during this campaign are experiencing sharply higher prices for their insurance premiums under the ACA. One way to address this issue is to encourage more young people, who are generally healthier than the wider population, to join the health insurance exchanges so that the costs of health insurance are spread across a larger pool of people. Thus, we must look at ways to entice these younger folks to join the exchanges.What military or diplomatic roles should the United States play to promote peace and stability in the Mideast? Under what circumstances should we have military forces actively operating?I believe the U.S. can and must contribute to military operations aimed at destroying ISIS and other terrorist organizations. But as we have learned through our involvement in two recent wars in the Middle East, U.S. soldiers should not be leading those operations. Rather, we should support the efforts of those who live in the region through training, logistical help and coordinated air strikes. The return to a combat role for U.S. troops would only aid ISIS in characterizing this as a religious war and help in its recruitment efforts. We should instead focus our efforts on building and supporting a military force comprising residents of the region.Ultimately, the best way to end the fighting - and the stream of millions of refugees from the region - is to pursue diplomatic solutions, such as a negotiated end to the civil war in Syria. I am under no illusion that this will be quick or easy. But a political solution, involving our allies and other countries in the region, is the only way to end the killing and start the reconstruction of that nation. We should continue to pursue such negotiations -- and include all those with influence in the region, such as Iran and Russia. The only beneficiaries of the continued fighting in Syria and throughout the Middle East are radical, terrorist organizations like ISIS who fill the political vacuum and provide an outlet for those driven by religious hatred and despair.Will you uphold the international climate change treaty? If not, what alternative steps would you advocate? If so, what steps will you take to meet U.S. obligations under the accord?As president of a small business that researches solar energy technology, I know that a cleaner environment and a stronger economy are not competing goals. Instead, nations that lead the way in developing clean energy technology will gain a competitive advantage in creating the good jobs of the future. This is why I helped to establish a non-profit program called InSPIRE, which works to educate and train inner-city students and returning veterans in solar technology. Congress can aid in this effort by supporting green-tech education and training programs, many of which can be channeled through our existing network of community colleges, to produce workers with the skills and knowledge to hold these good-paying jobs.The recent international climate change treaty ("Paris Agreement") among 195 nations provides a framework for global action on the climate, and the U.S. is well positioned to lead the way. Unfortunately, the current Congress is attempting to block this progress, with many members claiming that the human contribution to climate change is unproven. This is absurd, as the vast majority of scientists and experts agree that global climate change is man-made. It is also short-sighted, as it will hinder our nation's ability to compete for the green-tech jobs of today and tomorrow. Now is the time to act to combat this global threat in a way that saves our environment while preserving and creating jobs.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I believe that campaigns for office ought to be about ideas. In this campaign, I have proposed a Working Families Agenda that includes policies such as raising the federal minimum wage, providing paid sick and maternity leave, and mandating equal pay for equal work for the millions of women in our national workforce. I have proposed a College Affordability Plan that will help more middle-class families pay for college while reducing the huge college loan burden affecting so many young graduates attempting to start their careers. I also have proposed a Federal Infrastructure Bank to help fund needed national improvements, including critical transportation projects affecting Chicago's Northwest suburbs. In each case, I have provided specific ways to finance these initiatives or offset their costs without increasing the federal debt.Meanwhile, the epidemic of gun violence is a threat to public health as well as a disgrace to our nation. No community is immune, as recent mass shootings have shown. We need Members of Congress who are willing to put the safety of our families and communities first. My agenda for common-sense gun laws includes: expanding background checks to all gun sales and building a better information system on those who should be blocked from weapons purchases such as convicted criminals, suspected terrorists, those subject to orders of protection, and those with severe mental health issues; reinstating the ban on semi-automatic weapons with no civilian or hunting purposes; and ending the congressional ban on research into gun safety and gun violence.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis because of his incredible humility and service to humanity.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My parents always taught me that if you get an education, work hard, and have faith, you can do anything in this great country.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I probably would have taken time to study abroad during my college years to learn more about more foreign cultures and people.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math helped me immensely in engineering school and now in our small business.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?In the service of your family and community, dream big, act big, and do big things!