Susan L. Hathaway-Altman: 2022 candidate for 11th Congressional District

Bio

Party: Republican

Office sought: U.S. House, 11th District

City: Unincorporated Geneva

Age: 55

Occupation: Vice President, Global Business Development, ATTG

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

What needs to be done to get Congress to work constructively, whether that be senators and representatives of both parties working with each other or Congress itself working with the president?

The key to working collaboratively is to focus on solutions. With change ahead (both party and priority driven) extremism will no longer be tolerated. Radical ideals strongly touted as our new culture are definitely not the ideals of everyday Americans, and certainly not those of the 11th District of Illinois. The voters will speak, and when they do, these values and priorities will be heard, and a shift will occur to become more balanced. As one of the public's servants, I will author bills and vote on others with these values in mind, and more importantly, from the voice of the people. I have a great deal of experience and skill in working collaboratively with people in over 100 countries, from my background in corporate America. In my 30+ year career I spent a majority of the time in contracts and negotiations, crafting deals that worked well for both sides. I will use these refined skills to work constructively with fellow Senators, Representatives, and even the President.

What is your position on changing voter access?

State voter access law revisions since the pandemic demonstrates the great divide in our country, and the deepening of bipartisan polarization. I will approach this subject outside of this glaring issue. I am truly happy to see more and more states tightening up voting requirements and making it more restrictive on identifying who is voting. Most of us have heard the classic joke in Illinois "my uncle never voted until after he passed away." I feel that simple and consistent verification of the person's citizenship and age is not just critical, it should be automatically assumed. Requiring this verification will begin to restore confidence by Americans in our voting system's integrity. As stated in the Constitution and several of its Amendments, every voter must be a citizen of the United States to vote, as well as 18 years of age. It is essential that voters are identified as both citizens of the US as well as satisfy the age requirement of 18.

Do you recognize that the election of Joe Biden as president in 2020 was legitimate and fair? If not, why?

I really cannot determine whether the election of Joe Biden was legitimate and fair. As a normal citizen, I do not have access to the type of information required to make that determination. I do, however, know that there are about 80 million people in the U.S. that are truly upset about this issue, and question the legitimacy of the election in 2020. For that reason, when I get to Congress, I am going to do everything that I can to ensure that America has confidence again in our election process and devote the necessary time and attention to election integrity, so that in future elections, every vote that's cast is a good vote.

What, if anything, should Congress do to prevent another violent attack such as the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol?

I believe in the First Amendment right to assembly peacefully and protest as stated in the Bill of Rights. I was not at the Capitol on that day, and this incident is so highly charged that it is difficult to discern exactly what happened. I do not believe, however, that larger government is the answer to an insurrection of any kind. We must stand behind law enforcement, and allow police to enforce our laws, which would have proven the right thing to do in the violent insurrections that happened in Portland, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, and about every other large city in 2020. We should not be so one-sided in this country and allow one party with one set of beliefs to be unpunished while another party with another set of beliefs gets punished. We need to get back together as one nation before our Constitution is jeopardized, and our freedoms disappear - let's not be conquered by division.

What do you consider America's role in world affairs? In particular, what should our role be regarding current points of tension involving Russia/Ukraine, the future of Taiwan or other threats of Chinese expansionism and the Middle East?

I feel we need to clean our own house first in order to be a help to other nations. We need to fix our failed economy through energy independence, increased U.S. manufacturing, and reduced tax base. We must permanently fix the supply chain issue, by correcting bureaucracy at check points, through innovation and digitalization of supply functions, and sewing up our porous Southern Border. I speak to district business leaders who feel we can do more to aid this issue by creating jobs and producing more on U.S. soil. As for world affairs, we need to focus on peace. The Abraham accords created both a better economic outlook and a future that encourages peace and relations between states. This and other peace treaties need to be refined and expounded, and we need to create more. We also need to stop making China so incredibly rich that they are in a position of great power with a supreme military that they can easily conquer any nation they want and eventually, ultimately, come for us.

Do you acknowledge humans' role in causing climate change? What steps should government be taking to address the issue?

Burning fossil fuels with a high degree of CO2 with Delta 13 isotopes is the biggest problem. China is causing most of the CO2 Delta 13 isotope burn in the world today. If you've ever gone to Shanghai (which I have several times) you would liken it to Pittsburgh at the turn of the 20th century. Conversely, the United States with the help of the EPA has almost eradicated pollution of this type in our country. Our burn is some of the cleanest in the world, due to innovation as well as regulation of steel mills, energy plants and other industries. This retrofitting came at a high price, causing a ripple effect of industries such as steel to be sold out to the likes of lower-cost China. CO2 emissions are not harmful to humans, unlike carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, still emitted in China today. The U.S. shouldn't abandon reasonable efforts of sustainability, nor abandon energy independence, but instead look at major offenders first.

Please define your position on health care reform, especially as it relates to the Affordable Care Act.

As someone who works part time in the insurance field and is licensed as a health and life insurance producer in Illinois, I do feel a conflict of interest in answering this question, and I do not want it to be construed as answering to benefit me personally vs. the great citizens of the 11th District of Illinois.

What immigration policies do you support? Where, if at all, do you see room for compromise to produce an effective policy on immigration? Does the government have any responsibility toward Dreamers who were brought to the United States illegally as children and are now adults? How will these policies affect your district?

Federal immigration laws need to be enforced. No country can survive with insecure borders. Our nation's security is deeply at risk. Recently 23 people detained were found to be on the terrorists watch list. We have a huge drug problem permeating from our Southern border and killing over 750,000 people per year. I am sympathetic to border control agents, as they cannot keep up, and operate under a "hands off" policy with illegal migrants. If our administration really cared about this problem, they would be at the border. This is a clear and transparent attempt by the administration to harvest millions of votes. As far as the Dreamers are concerned, they should not be overlooked. They are mostly college-aged now, and I feel that they should be required to have some conditions put in place to becoming citizens (sort of a fast-tracked naturalization process), but should not be deported nor held at bay forever. It's not their fault that they were caught up in this political catch 22.