Tammy Duckworth, Candidate for Congress (8th District)

Candidate Full Name: Tammy Duckworth

Office: U. S. House of Representatives U. S. Congressional District 8

Party: Democrat

Email Address: info@tammyduckworth.com

Web Site: www.tammyduckworth.com

Campaign Name: Tammy Duckworth for Congress

Campaign Office Mailing Address: 5105 Tollview Drive #120, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

Phone: 847-749-2662

Survey Questions (Character limit of 2,000 per response)

1. Do you support abolishing earmarks? If not, why?

Yes, earmarks and pork-barrel spending are a distraction to the practical solutions this country needs. Legislation should be based on practical solutions based on negotiation and compromise. Earmarks are too often used to barter for votes. Additionally, earmarks circumvent the appropriations and authorization process. Uncontrolled, they can drive up the deficit even more and be submitted anonymously, rewarding special interests and penalizing projects that deserve funding. Earmarks should be curbed as a way to control the deficit and rein in out of control spending.

2. Does the country need immigration reform? If so, what are your plans?

Yes, my father's family came to America before the Revolution and fought for Independence, but my mother is an immigrant who became a citizen in her 50s. My mother and millions of other legal immigrants have followed the rules. Their hard work and love of this country made us the strong, diverse nation we are today. Comprehensive immigration reform must be fair, practical and humane.

We need a pathway to citizenship. People who came here illegally should step forward, pay fines for violating our laws, pass a criminal background check, learn some English and pay their full share of taxes owed. They also must not be convicted of a felony. If an immigrant meets all of those requirements while continuing to be gainfully employed, he or she should be allowed to pursue legal status. The fines paid by those seeking legal status could pay for the investment required to process the requests and ensure cases are handled quickly and fairly.

I support the DREAM Act. I am very proud that Illinois was the first state to pass our own DREAM Act legislation. If a child from an immigrant family is brought here at a young age, grows up in this country and is willing to work to make this country better, he or she should be able to pursue legal status. U.S. citizenship is a precious thing and there must be a pathway for people to legally pursue that goal. I believe that it is in our nation's interest to have these young people become citizens and add to our economic growth, especially since they have already enjoyed free K-12 education at the expense of the American taxpayers.

3. Can the budget deficit be controlled only by spending cuts or does the federal government need to raise more revenue? If you favor more revenue, should there be a general tax hike?

The success of our economy hinges on how we handle our nation's increasing deficit. We cannot afford to do nothing  or to keep squabbling while millions of families continue to live on the edge. Just like a family trying to balance its household budget, we have to be smart about what we can and cannot afford.

Good governing is about making tough, but responsible choices to put our country's economy back on track. The budget deficit can only be reduced with a multi-faceted approach that includes cutting annual government spending, identifying additional savings opportunities and creating an equitable system that will balance the budget and forge a sustainable fiscal path for our economic future. I support letting Bush tax cuts for those making over $1 million expire and ending subsidies to the oil and gas industry that are enjoying record profits.

I will work with both sides of the aisle to develop a sensible plan to balance the budget. I will work to protect those in our society who are most vulnerable. I will preserve critical safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare and others like Pell Grants that give everyone a chance at the American Dream. I am also willing to look at much needed cuts. We must take a hard look at federal contracting excesses, our defense budget and tax loopholes that let companies get away with not paying the corporate income tax or ship jobs overseas without keeping any at home.

4. Do you favor President Obama's planned 2014 military withdrawal from Afghanistan? Why or why not?

Yes, I support withdrawing U.S. troops as quickly as possible while maintaining U.S. security. We have eliminated much of Al Qaeda's leadership, extinguished the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and rolled back the Taliban's advances. Our troops have done a tremendous job of training the Afghan National Forces. The drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan should begin as soon as the Afghan Forces are capable of adequately taking a larger role in defending their country. At the same time, we need to leave Afghanistan responsibly and in such a way that will ensure lasting peace and security.

While I support withdrawing American combat troops from Afghanistan, the United States needs to continue to oppose terrorism around the world. The war in Iraq was a distraction from the real threat posed by Al Qaeda and similar extremist groups, and the new focus on eliminating terrorist leaders and disrupting their operations has been more effective. We need to specifically and narrowly focus on threats and eliminate them with minimal risk to our country and our troops. We have to be smarter and more efficient about deploying the military so they can respond appropriately to individual threats.

5. Do you believe there is global warming? If so, is any of it man made and can we do anything about it?

Yes, the science is clear, global warming is real and there is overwhelming evidence that man-made causes are the largest contributing factor. Global warming, the environment and energy are major issues of concern for our country. We need to think creatively about how to build an economy that is less dependent on foreign oil and instead champions American clean energy innovations. We need to build the foundation for a clean energy economy.

My concern with preserving the environment started with my childhood. I spent parts of my youth in Thailand, Indonesia and other South East Asian nations. I will not allow the destruction of the environment that I witnessed as a child in South East Asia to happen in the United States. I was disappointed that the U.S. did not sign on to the Kyoto Accords and would work hard to make America a leader in any future international environmental agreements.

In the 8th District, updating the transportation infrastructure to one that is less petroleum based not only makes sense for the environment but will also help us become more competitive globally. I support efforts to build a modern power grid that can distribute energy efficiently and reliably, and make way for new and sustainable sources of energy. A new "smart grid" will help us meet the demands of our economy today and as we grow in the decades to come, while helping our energy producers to reduce the impact on our planet.

I strongly support clean energy innovations that begin with conservation, energy independence, and the ingenuity of American business before we irreparably harm the environment for our children and grandchildren.

6. How will you balance your personal views and beliefs with those of your constituents and the need to compromise for legislation to pass?

In Congress, first and foremost, I will be a voice calling for reason in search of practical solutions to our most pressing problems. I will work with anyone who loves this country as much as I do to get us moving forward again. I have a proven record of working in a bipartisan way to get things done. While Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, I started the first bipartisan Veterans caucus in Illinois with the help of a Republican and Democratic legislator, both of whom are military Vets.

We need to bring an end to the extreme rhetoric and partisanship that is dominating Washington and prohibiting anything from getting accomplished. Party extremism has pushed our government to the brink of failure because Congress has placed politics over sound policy and service to the nation. Based on my past successes working in a bipartisan way on Veterans issues, I know I can be effective in working across party lines on bipartisan legislation.

One of my top priorities once elected will be to bring reason and leadership back to Congress. We must balance our commitment to our values with compromise for the greater good. Members need to represent their districts rather than any rigid personal or political ideologies. Too many are placing partisan rhetoric ahead of the national interest. This is true of both Democrats and Republicans. I am running to represent the people of the 8th Congressional District of Illinois. I will be their public servant in Washington.

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