U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., and Democratic challenger Al Kissling discussed a wide range of issues at a forum Tuesday. Here\u2019s what they said. Read the next blog posting for an analysis of the candidate forum.<\/p>\n
On leaving Kissling<\/span> Pearce<\/span> On health care<\/span><\/p>\n Pearce<\/span> Kissling<\/span> On education and the No Child Left Behind Act<\/span><\/p>\n Kissling<\/span> Pearce<\/span> On Social Security<\/span><\/p>\n Pearce<\/span> Kissling<\/span> On immigration and border security<\/span><\/p>\n Kissling<\/span> Pearce<\/span> On the economy<\/span><\/p>\n Pearce<\/span> Kissling<\/span> Top five priorities in 2007 if sent to Kissing<\/span> Pearce<\/span> U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., and Democratic challenger Al Kissling discussed a wide range of issues at a forum Tuesday. Here\u2019s what they said. Read the next blog posting for an analysis of the candidate forum. On leaving Iraq Kissling\u201cI do not believe that we should leave precipitously from Iraq,\u201d Kissling said. \u201cWe cannot leave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cI do not believe that we should leave precipitously from
The congressman said the war in
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. \u201cI never have favored government insurance for the entire population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kissling said he plans to propose \u201caffordable health care for everyone\u201d during his first year in Congress. \u201cWe don\u2019t have health care in this country,\u201d Kissling said. \u201cWe have sick care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe No Child Left Behind Act is probably one of the worst pieces of legislation ever sent through Congress,\u201d he said, adding that it unfairly hampers teachers, sets unreasonable standards and encourages teachers to teach students to take tests, rather than to learn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a time of tremendous competition worldwide,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that there is no current shortage of funds, but there will be a major problem in about 35 years. \u201cOur young people are the ones at risk,\u201d he said, adding that any changes will protect seniors but must also \u201cpreserve it for the next generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would oppose any proposal to privatize Social Security,\u201d 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 \u201cthose who are making more should be paying more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Republican Congress has not provided support for the Border Patrol, adequate support,\u201d he said. In addition, the current \u201chodge-podge\u201d visa program needs to be replaced with one that makes sense, and laws must be enforced, particularly against \u201cthe corporate interests that have been immune to regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there are three parts to the problem: border security, legal immigration and illegal immigration. The
The greatest threat today to the
He said the \u201cborrow and binge policies\u201d of Republicans, \u201cwithout regard to the consequences of the future,\u201d are the biggest problem. \u201cWe need to be responsible in our fiscal policies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Education reform
\u2022 Health care \u201cfor all\u201d
\u2022 \u201cVeterans\u2019 benefits given to the veterans as promised\u201d
\u2022 An \u201cexit strategy\u201d for
\u2022 A \u201csensible energy policy\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cSecuring the country\u201d while also dealing with fraud and waste in Homeland Security and other security-related programs
\u2022 A \u201ccoherent energy policy that makes us more independent\u201d
\u2022 Dealing with methamphetamine
\u2022 Water
\u2022 Growing the economy <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"