Dennis Anderson: 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: GurneeWebsite: www.dennisanderson14.comOffice sought: 14th District U.S. Representative Age: 63Family: Married 41 years to Susan Glad-AndersonOccupation: RetiredEducation: University of Wisconsin, B.A., Economics and Political Science University of Wisconsin, Graduate Studies (no degree), Public Administration Loyola University Chicago, Graduate Studies (no degree), TheologyCivic involvement: Board of Directors, Dane Co. Humane (WI) Society, 1988 - 1995 Member, City of Madison (WI) Ethics Board, 1989 - 1996 Member, UCare (HMO) Grievance Committee, 1990 - 1991 Board of Directors, Southern Wisconsin Foodbank, 1995 - 1996 Volunteer, Warren-Newport Library, Gurnee, 2007 - Present Board of Directors, International Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 2007 - 2013 Volunteer Adult Tutor, Literacy Volunteers of Lake Co., 2010 - 2011 Board of Directors, Literacy Volunteers of Lake Co., 2011 - 2012 Gurnee Rotary, 2011 - Present Small Business Advocacy Council, 2013 - PresentElected offices held: No current or prior elective officesQuestions Answers Many Americans see gridlock as the greatest problem facing Washington today, and public opinions are at historic lows regarding the job their Senators and congressmen are doing. Specifically, what will you do to make Congress more productive and effective?I do not have all the answers to the problems that face the Nation, nor do I believe that any other person, or any one party, has all those answers. This is important. It means that I recognize that we need to listen to and work with one another to achieve best solutions. This current House is characterized by nothing so much as a failure to achieve virtually anything, due primarily to a lack of willingness to collaborate. I am running to represent not just Democrats, but all of the people of the 14th District. To find best solutions, I intend to collaborate with my colleagues, regardless of Party, so long as we all come to the table prepared to engage in serious discussion based on available facts. As Speaker Hastert once told the Daily Herald, "You get things done by finding compromise."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 have an impact in your district?"Enforcement first" has been a remarkable failure over the past 25+ years, years during which the Border Control budget has increased 10-fold, the benchmarks set in previous revisions to immigration law have been met, and still the number of unauthorized immigrants has tripled to an estimated 11 million. The comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate a year ago (S-744) is a good bill, but it has been held up in the House since. On immigration, as on most issues, the possibility of compromise exists including, perhaps, on how much to spend on border security, the numbers and character of the various types of visas to be available, and other issues. We won't know if compromise will happen until the House majority moves forward. Providing means for undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status will, by virtually all serious studies, provide a boost to the economy of the 14th District.How do you assess the state of the federal budget? Do you see a need for changes in how revenue is produced or in spending priorities? What specific changes do you consider necessary regarding federal tax policy and practice?We should strive for efficiency in government, including eliminating overlap and duplication wherever possible, and no area of the budget should be immune from review. Reducing the federal debt and deficit should not be viewed as ends, but should have as their primary goal boosting the performance of the economy. We must recognize that cutting SNAP benefits or unemployment insurance coverage during difficult times reduces aggregate demand and thus produces drag on the economy and on small businesses. Cutting taxpayer subsidy of immensely profitable industries, on the other hand, would improve market efficiency, increase available revenue and improve the overall economy. The effective corporate tax rate is often much lower than the statutory rate and we must proceed with caution in making any changes. Corporate tax policies should include meaningful penalties for inversions and the off-shoring of jobs. Income tax policy should favor labor.How would you work to produce a stable, affordable, effective federal health care policy? What shortcomings do you see in the Affordable Care Act, and how do you propose addressing them? If you favor scrapping the Act altogether, what do you propose as an alternative?Our fee-for-service system provides incentives for providers to deliver services that often contribute little to patient outcome. Experiments with "bundled payments" that encourage coordination among providers have demonstrated cost benefits. I support efforts to base reimbursement on bundled services. Pharmaceuticals remain a primary driver of high health care costs, particularly among the elderly, and we must take steps to control these costs. We need to find fixes for problems that have arisen concerning mutliemployer heath insurance plans, commonly used by small employers, to ensure that workers under these plans are eligible for subsidies as needed. We need to address the ACA's "family glitch", a problem created by the IRS' finding that employers who provide affordable care to their employees, but not to the employee's family, can result in unaffordably high unsubsidized premiums for family coverage. Senator Franken has introduced a fix for this, and I would support such a measure.What can be done at the federal level to aid Illinois' economy and your district in particular?Congress can improve the overall economy, including that of Illinois, by undertaking the massive infrastructure repair/upgrade proposed in the Administration's 2010 Jobs Bill, which has been held up in the House for nearly four years. In stark contrast to the House's much touted 40-some "jobs bills", this one actually has jobs in it. With a national backlog of some $3.2 trillion in needed work on bridges, highways, water systems, schools and more, undertaking this work will increase local employment, boost the local economy and businesses through the spending of those new wages, and improve the local business climate through improved transportation and other infrastructure. For those who are concerned about passing on debt to the next generation, passage of this bill should be a top priority â#128;#147; we can do the work now, or we can ignore the problem and let the costs mount for the next generation.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We need to reverse SCOTUS's disastrous Citizen's United and McKutcheon decisions. The voices of average Americans are being drowned out by special interests. Those who love our participatory democracy should be enraged by unnecessary voter I.D. laws, the shortening of voting hours, and reductions in the number of polling places. We must push back against limits on women's access to health care arising around the country and the potentially devastating effects on women and families. Climate change carries the threat of massive worldwide population movements, a threat to fresh water resources, and changes in crop patterns and disease distribution. These problems dwarf the potential cost of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past few years there has been a fair amount of legislation that threatens animal welfare, and legislation to protect animal welfare that has gone nowhere due to lack of Congressional support. I care about animal welfare.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Elizabeth Warren, who speaks loudly and unhesitatingly for average Americans.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Respect other people, whoever they are, whatever their background or circumstance.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would not have bought that Datsun in 1975.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. As George Santayana told us, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Respect other people, whoever they are, whatever their background or circumstance.