Q&A with Bean

1. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what? What will be your main priority?

I'm honored to represent Illinois' 8th District in the U.S. Congress. I'm running to continue my focus on accountability and fiscal responsibility, family safety and economic growth, and to pass my existing and new legislative initiatives. These include my Congressional Accountability Initiative that includes bills on voting record transparency and earmark reform, Internet safety legislation, my Green Innovation Initiative, and capital market reforms. Additional priorities will include: Regulatory reform: Serving on the house financial services committee my top priority will be in crafting regulatory reform as congress seeks to stabilize the economy. Energy: Should energy independence legislation not become law this Congress, I look forward to working with my colleagues to reduce our dependence on foreign oil with a comprehensive energy plan that will achieve short-term relief and long-term independence. Health care: The challenges of finding affordable access to health care coverage, or "health care security," for families and businesses in my district has been a top concern since I came to Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the next president to seriously address the inadequacies of our health care system and reduce the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans.

2. For incumbents and non-incumbents. If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are not an incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.

I'm proud of the significant contributions I've made in this Congress to moving legislation focused on accountability and fiscal responsibility, family safety and economic growth. To improve accountability and fiscal responsibility, I was one of the leading voices calling on our majority leadership to return to "pay as you go" budget rules in the House, introduced a Congressional Accountability Initiative including bills on voting record transparency and earmark reform, have voted for over $50 billion in tax cuts each of the last two sessions, and voted to cut spending by more than $300 billion. My efforts to protect families in the 8th District have included working with local communities and Washington in opposition to the CN rail proposal, and securing FEMA disaster recovery funds for areas affected by flooding. At a legislative level, the bills I introduced on pool safety and consumer product safety, and the 9/11 Commission Recommendations that I originally co-sponsored, have all become law, and my Internet Safety initiatives, including SAFERNET, have passed the House. As Chair of the Small Business Subcommittee on Tax and Finance and as a member of the Financial Services Committee, I've been able to lead initiatives promoting the economic growth critical to the future of our nation's economy. I authored the provisions in January's stimulus package doubling the amount small businesses can write off their taxes if they make capital investments this year. To preserve affordable access to capital for small businesses, I introduced and passed my 7A loan bill through the House. I introduced provisions to reduce risky lending practices, such as negative amortization, and to decrease taxpayer liability in the mortgage reform bill and housing bill, respectively. Both bills passed the House with those provisions and the housing bill became law.

3. In which ways, if at all, would you alter U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan? How would you characterize the effect of the U.S. "surge" in Iraq? What objectives, if any, must the U.S. still meet before it begins to withdraw troops?

I support responsible phased redeployment of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, with a shift of focus for remaining troops from policing Iraq's civil and sectarian conflicts to fighting terrorism and training Iraqi forces towards self-sufficiency by the summer of 2010. Our redeployment will force the Iraqi government to take responsibility for their own future and sovereign security. As the Iraqi forces step up, U.S. forces can stand down and return home. The combination of increased U.S. troop strength, the cease-fire declared by Moqtada al-Sadr, and shifting from U.S. forces to Iraqi special ops for improved cooperation with Iraqi tribal leaders has created reductions in violence and instability. This has already allowed a transition to Iraqi force responsibility in Anbar Province and other areas, and have created what may be a temporarily amenable environment for redeployment. Seven years after September 11, 2001, the United States needs to refocus our military efforts on the war in Afghanistan. Over the last several months, U.S. military leaders in Afghanistan have requested three additional combat brigades and intelligence resources to meet the growing challenges the U.S. and our NATO allies are facing. Unfortunately the administration has not met their requests. As combat brigades are redeployed from Iraq, I support increasing our troop strength in Afghanistan. However just as in Iraq, more troops may lead to military progress, but military progress alone will not create a self-sufficient state. Our military and diplomatic forces should engage more extensively with local leaders outside of Kabul and the provincial capitals to give those leaders reasons to oppose al Qaeda and the Taliban and to resist any alliance with them.

4. What short-term steps, if any, would you advocate to keep gasoline prices in check?

There is no silver bullet that will lower gas prices sharply overnight, and rhetoric on both sides of the debate has been misleading. We have seen some relief at the pump due to changes in consumer behavior and after Congress directed the Administration to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR. Recently, I voted for passage of H.R. 6899, which will bring further gas price relief by directing the Administration to release 70 million barrels of easy-to-refine light, sweet crude from the SPR and replace it later with heavier, cheaper crude. I have also supported the passage of legislation to crack down on price setting by OPEC, as well as legislation that will give the federal government the ability to prosecute those attempting to price gouge.

5. Please list the key elements of your preferred long-term energy policy. Rank or rate the relative importance of domestic oil exploration, conservation and alternative-energy development. What part, if any, should ethanol play in U.S. energy policy?

With over half our nation's oil imported from overseas, it is imperative that the U.S. finally enact a comprehensive long-term energy plan. I support a balanced approach that increases our investment in, and incentives for, conservation, renewable and alternative energy sources, and increased expansion of on- and off-shore drilling, including on the Outer Continental Shelf. That is why I recently voted for passage of H.R. 6899, which opens over 300 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling, requires 15 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, and makes a meaningful investment in the development of alternative energy. By moving from our oil-only strategy of the past to a long-term balanced approach that includes wind, solar, and geothermal, we can ensure the United States has the energy resources it needs to fuel our future growth. I also believe that ethanol will play a role in our energy portfolio in the future, and I worked to bolster the Renewable Fuel Standard to add billions of gallons of advanced alternative fuels (such as cellulosic ethanol) to our fuel supply, moving our nation away from its dependence on foreign oil without diverting food for fuel.

6. What steps, if any, should Congress take to promote economic recovery? What steps by the federal government might make the nation's economy worse?

As mentioned earlier, capital markets regulatory reform is a top priority for the Financial Services Committee and for all of Congress. The mortgage reform bill that we passed in the House needs to become law to curb to curb the irresponsible lending practices that contributed to the current financial crisis. This year, Congress passed an economic stimulus that provided rebate checks to millions of American families and included a provision I authored to temporarily double the Section 179 small business tax deduction from $125,000 to $250,000. Small businesses are the engine of our economy, and by encouraging them to invest immediately, this provision will help spur job growth. I supported this first package because it included provisions that would have a stimulative effect on both consumer spending and business investment in the short term. A second economic stimulus bill is being considered and could include infrastructure projects, LIHEAP, Medicaid, extending unemployment insurance and additional tax rebates. I'll be weighing the taxpayer price tag against proposed benefits. The next president needs to address America's global competitiveness and investment in education, transportation and energy infrastructure. Such investments are also critical to job creation in our faltering economy.

7. Do you favor or oppose a larger federal role in health-care? Either way, why and what should the federal role be? What, if anything, should be done about rising health care costs and Americans who do not have health coverage?

While the United States has the best-trained health care professionals, who lead the world in research and innovation, over 45 million Americans do not have affordable access to our health care system. We need to bring more people into the pool of insured, including younger and healthier workers. This will spread and reduce costs and risks for individuals, families and businesses, while increasing care. Unfortunately, we're moving in the opposite direction, as the number of uninsured continues to rise. Healthcare is one of the issues of greatest concern to all Americans, and certainly my constituents in the Eighth District. Both presidential candidates have outlined proposals to address the deficiencies in our healthcare system, and I'm hopeful the next administration will prioritize this issue and renew serious debate. We must eliminate waste and fraud in programs like Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare to ensure their solvency and ability to care for our most vulnerable and elderly. I support legislation to speed the implementation of health information technology, to improve the quality of care, reduce costly and duplicative paperwork, and eliminate dangerous errors caused by poor or outdated patient records. We also must address problems resulting from chronic disease and refocus on preventative care.

8. Would you maintain or scale back federal tax cuts made during the past eight years? Either way, why? How, as specifically as possible, would you try to reduce federal budget deficits and the national debt?

Since coming to Congress, I have consistently voted to cut taxes, including reforming the alternative minimum tax to protect average families, eliminating the estate tax, renewing the Savers Tax Credit for eligible IRA contributions, extending lower rates on capital gains and dividends, supporting tax-deductible Medical Savings Accounts for eligible health care expenses, enhancing deductions for higher education expenses, and renewing the research and development tax credit to help businesses grow and create jobs. I voted to enhance the child tax credit and eliminate the marriage penalty. However, as many of our nation's major tax policies are set to expire in 2010, Congress will need to work with the next President on potential tax reforms. At a time when our national debt is a staggering $9 trillion and our economy is struggling, we must be mindful of our nation's fiscal health while also fostering a growth economy. That is why I will continue to support stimulative tax cuts along with cuts in wasteful spending.

9. The current Congress could not agree on immigration reform. What would you do to advance reform in a divided Congress, and, briefly, what should the key policy elements be?

While America is strengthened economically and culturally by those Americans who immigrated to our country legally, it is imperative that we secure our nation's borders in the interests of our national security. In the 109th Congress, I voted in favor of the House immigration bill to build border fences, increase patrol agents, and toughen penalties on those who break the law. I also voted to strengthen requirements on employers to confirm the work status of their employees and to toughen penalties against companies that hire illegal workers. In addition, I voted to end the flawed practice of "catch and release" by increasing funding for detention capacity. Recently, I worked with Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC) to introduce The Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act. This bipartisan legislation will improve border security by adding 8,000 new Border Patrol Agents, enhance enforcement by increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and crack down on the number of illegal immigrants working in the United States by requiring employers to check for specific forms of identification before granting employment.

10. In what ways is the U.S. government successfully defending citizens against terrorism, and in what ways is the U.S. failing in that regard?

I was proud to join my colleagues in the 110th Congress to pass the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations. Following strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, the president signed this bill into law in August (P.L. #110-53). These recommendations will enhance airline passenger and cargo screening, implement risk-based homeland security grant funding, increase government-wide information sharing, and provide additional funding for improved communications among first responders. Given recent intelligence failures, I was proud to support legislation that improves cross-functional communications, provides additional human intelligence capability and enhances language and translation capabilities. While those bills were a crucial start, we should do more to protect American passengers and the airline industry from the threat of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. I remain committed to promoting legislation I co-authored and introduced last Congress to equip passenger jets with dependable and proven missile-defense systems like those already used by our military. Our first responders are our first line of defense to future terrorist attacks. To ensure they are prepared to meet these threats, they need additional training, better equipment, and improved communications systems. I will continue to work to ensure that our local police and fire departments have the resources they need, after securing roughly $1 million in grants for departments this year.