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Juan Thomas: Candidate Profile

11th District U.S. Representative (Democrat)

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: AuroraWebsite: http://juanthomas.com/Office sought: 11th District U.S. RepresentativeAge: 41Family: Wife: AngelaOccupation: LawyerEducation: B.A. Morehouse College- Political Science J.D. University of Illinois M.A. University of Illinois- Educational StudiesCivic involvement: Fox Valley Girl Scouts- Board Member National Bar Association- National SecretaryElected offices held: West Aurora School Board: 2 terms Aurora Township Town Clerk: 2 TermsHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 JobsKey Issue 2 EducationKey Issue 3 Protection of Social Security and MedicareQuestions Answers What would you do to help ease partisan gridlock? Are you willing to compromise on sticking points including spending cuts and taxes to produce results' How can Congress move from being a "crisis-driven" institution?I would sit down with my Republican colleagues and would see where we could find common ground. In our country we need to realize that there are certain issues that are not Republican or Democratic but rather post partisan. Educating our young children and serving our veterans are issues that both parties must work together for. I would be willing to compromise on spending cuts and taxes because Congress must work together to put America on the right track. Congress must learn to work on issues before the issue becomes a crisis. Congress must stop looking at issues on a yearly basis but see the issue in the long term.Should tax breaks be extended? Why or why not? If so, for whom? What should Congress do to improve unemployment? Why do you support or oppose President Obama's jobs plan? What cuts or revenue increases do you support for deficit reduction?The Bush era Tax breaks should not be extended while the tax cuts for the working poor and the middle class should be extended. In a country like ours everyone must pay their fair share. If we are truly serious about the federal deficit we must allow the Bush era tax cuts to expire. I have a few ideas how to increase employment.The first step would to invest in our community by spending money to fix our schools, the national parks system, job training for the unemployed, and funding for our police officers, teachers, and firefighters. If we want to bring back the jobs that were lost in the recession we need to invest in what we currently have. Second, I would like to increase the Buy American's provision to seventy percent and this would be in use for all government contracts. Last, the United States needs to have a national Infrastructure Bank which will fund projects that will address our current infrastructure crisis. Infrastructure in our country is crumbling and without significant investments will continue to crumble. I would strongly support President Obama's jobs plan and would proudly vote on this legislation. There should be an equal reduction of spending cuts and tax increases. The spending cuts should come through a review of what programs are working and which ones are not. If a program is not working or no longer needed we should eliminate funding for it or reduce their funding. The way Washington is working now if a program got 5 million a year, the next year it usually receives the same funding or the funding increases. The same business as usual that Washington is currently practicing does not do the people of the United States any good.The increased revenue would come through the elimination of the Bush Tax cuts and by bringing our troops home. These two initiatives will not lead to solving the deficit but will make significant progress in getting the deficit more manageable. I feel we need to cut military spending to focus on other areas such as infrastructure and health care. The reduction in military spending would not make our country less safe but rather let the military structure itself to 21st Century warfare.What steps should the country now be taking in the war on terrorism? What policy should the U.S. have toward Iran and North Korea? What is your view of terrorism policies that pit public safety against civil liberty?The United States must take steps to keep our citizens safe. We must work with the nations around the world to prevent terrorist attacks from occurring and to not allow terrorist groups safe havens. To prevent terrorism from happening we should invest in education, infrastructure and job creation programs as a way to fight terrorism around the world. The United States must oppose any efforts by the Iranian regime to acquire Nuclear weapons. The world and particular our friends in the Middle East such as Israel are not safe if Iran was able to acquire a Nuclear Bomb. First, the United States must work with our allies throughout the world to provide a united front to thwart Iran's ambitions. Second, we must pursue economic, military and travel sanctions against the Iranian regime which should force them to reconsider their goals to have nuclear technology. Third, we must punish any nation that is actively helping the Iranian regime to acquire a Nuclear weapon by imposing the same sanctions that we are putting on Iran to them as well. Fourth, we should negotiate to see if there is a way that would abandon their quest for nuclear technology by offering them incentives such as energy for their economy. If they were only interested in nuclear technology they would take this generous offer and spare their people the consequences of their reckless goal of nuclear technology. Last, if negotiations and multilateral efforts fail the United States must be willing to protect our friends especially Israel at all costs. On North Korea, we must react to the change in power there and see if there is a way we can change the regime there. The people of North Korea are suffering and we must find solutions to the problems that are afflicting North Korea. The goal of our policy towards North Korea should be eventual unification of Korea as a free and democratic nation. Protecting our country must be a priority but our civil liberties cannot be undermined. National security cannot be an excuse to take away the rights that we Americans cherish. Steps to prevent terrorism do not have to be ones that intrude on the daily lives of law abiding Americans and we must act to protect our country at the same time we protect our rights.How should Medicare and Medicaid be changed overall to fix fund gaps' How should Medicare be changed for those currently enrolled? How should it change for the Baby Boomer generation?I strongly support Medicare which provides healthcare to our senior citizens and Medicaid which provides healthcare to the poor. In a society that is rich as ours, it is the responsibility of the government to take care of those who need help the most. Our senior citizens and our poorer citizens deserve the same health care options as those who have the means to provide it for themselves. In a perfect society everyone would be able to get their own insurance and look after their health care themselves but we do not live in a perfect society so it us to the federal government to step in. Ways to cut down the costs of Medicare would be to means test Medicare, this will allow Medicare to be used by those who truly are in need of government health care and lack the ability to pay for it on their own. If there is an unforeseen circumstance that person can instantly collect Medicare if needed. A way to cut down on the costs of Medicare would to crack down of Medicare Fraud. Due to the way the system is set up there is an incentive to commit fraud. Ways to stop this fraud would be to monitor the billing of Medicare so that Medicare does not have to pay for procedures the patient does not need. Also, if any doctor or hospital system is found guilty of fraud they lose their ability to be part of Medicare. To reform Medicaid since it is a joint federal-state program both the federal government and the states must come together to increase their funding for Medicaid. For the baby boomer generation it should be modified to find ways to cut the cost of the program but allow the benefits to stay the same. People who have saved up their whole lives do not deserve to have the program switched on them without proper notice.What is your position on concealed carry gun laws' How do you believe marriage should be defined legally? What is your position on abortion? What, if any, abortion exceptions do you support? Should abortion clinics receive government funding?I am strong supporter of stronger gun laws. I feel that we should not allow concealed guns in our communities. I feel states should be able to define marriage as they see fit but do it in way that does not discriminate. I'm pro-choice and abortion clinics should receive government funding to ensure the health and safety of the mother. <div style="margin:8px 8px 0 8px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.congressionalprimaries.org/static/primaries/js/widget_api.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">document.write(CongressionalPrimaries.donations("www", "www", "D1129646BCBE92C41681", "Juan", "Thomas"));</script></div><div style="margin:8px 8px 0 8px;"><script type="text/javascript">document.write(CongressionalPrimaries.tweets("www", "www", "D1129646BCBE92C41681", "Juan", "Thomas"));</script></div>