Pearce and Kissling on the issues

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., and Democratic challenger Al Kissling discussed a wide range of issues at a forum Tuesday. Here’s what they said. Read the next blog posting for an analysis of the candidate forum.

On leaving Iraq

Kissling
“I do not believe that we should leave precipitously from Iraq,” Kissling said. “We cannot leave without trying to fix some of the problems that we have created.” Kissling said one of his first priorities would be the development of an “exit strategy,” and said the United States is currently “creating terrorists there daily rather than removing them.”

Pearce
The congressman said the war in Iraq is part of a larger war on terrorism, and pointed out that the United States still has troops stationed in nations where wars were fought in the 1940s and 1950s. “The war on terror did not start in 2001. It started in 1972 in Munich,” Pearce said. “It’s going to be a very long time. What we’re trying to do is stabilize the world. … We need to stay engaged and fight terrorism to its finish.”

On health care

Pearce
Pearce said frivolous lawsuits that drive up the cost of health insurance must be dealt with and said medical savings accounts are a good idea. “I never have favored government insurance for the entire population,” he said.

Kissling
Kissling said he plans to propose “affordable health care for everyone” during his first year in Congress. “We don’t have health care in this country,” Kissling said. “We have sick care.”

On education and the No Child Left Behind Act

Kissling
“The No Child Left Behind Act is probably one of the worst pieces of legislation ever sent through Congress,” he said, adding that it unfairly hampers teachers, sets unreasonable standards and encourages teachers to teach students to take tests, rather than to learn.

Pearce
“We’re in a time of tremendous competition worldwide,” he said. “I know No Child Left Behind is a very hard standard, but I will tell you that it is an important standard because it tells you when schools are failing.”

On Social Security

Pearce
He pointed out that there is no current shortage of funds, but there will be a major problem in about 35 years. “Our young people are the ones at risk,” he said, adding that any changes will protect seniors but must also “preserve it for the next generations.”

Kissling
“I would oppose any proposal to privatize Social Security,” he said, adding that Congress made a promise it should keep. He said the system was designed for individual contributions to be raised as necessary and said “those who are making more should be paying more.”

On immigration and border security

Kissling
“The Republican Congress has not provided support for the Border Patrol, adequate support,” he said. In addition, the current “hodge-podge” visa program needs to be replaced with one that makes sense, and laws must be enforced, particularly against “the corporate interests that have been immune to regulation.”

Pearce
He said there are three parts to the problem: border security, legal immigration and illegal immigration. The United States must deal with them in stages. First, secure the borders. Then, deal with the problems with the legal immigration system and, in the end, figure out what to do about the illegal immigrants who live here.

On the economy

Pearce
The greatest threat today to the United States economy is the “long-term brain deficit … not graduating enough people in the maths and sciences.” Pearce said “tort reform” is also important. “If we don’t reform class action lawsuits in this country, there won’t be a Fortune 500 company here in 20 years,” he said.

Kissling
He said the “borrow and binge policies” of Republicans, “without regard to the consequences of the future,” are the biggest problem. “We need to be responsible in our fiscal policies,” he said.

Top five priorities in 2007 if sent to Washington

Kissing
• Education reform
• Health care “for all”
• “Veterans’ benefits given to the veterans as promised”
• An “exit strategy” for Iraq
• A “sensible energy policy”

Pearce
• “Securing the country” while also dealing with fraud and waste in Homeland Security and other security-related programs
• A “coherent energy policy that makes us more independent”
• Dealing with methamphetamine
• Water
• Growing the economy