Name: Marsha Blackburn Online profile: http://bit.ly/1xXbJSl Name: Dan Cramer Dan@DanCramerforCongress.com Online profile: http://bit.ly/1s2jWBp Name: Leonard D. Ladner Eighteenwheels4581@yahoo.com Online profile: http://bit.ly/1oKjTVX 1. Do you agree with President Obama's current plan to combat Islamic extremists? What, if anything, would you do differently? BLACKBURN: President Obama must be more aggressive and forthright when it comes to his strategy for destroying ISIL. The President has failed to fully identify our coalition or clearly define the mission. We must leave all options on the table in our fight against ISIL. CRAMER: Dealing with terrorists and extremists is of course part of the county's overall security plan. It was good to see bipartisan support for the president's plan, including Rep Blackburn's "yes" vote. My only concern is that US citizens are not knowingly targeted with drone strikes without due process. LADNER: I disagree with Obama sending American troops anywhere, to fight anybody for any reason unless Congress declares war. The problem is that the war making powers of the United States have secretly but openly handed over to the United Nations. Every since WW 2 has been instigated controlled and the outcome directed by the UN. 2. What are the biggest challenges you believe are facing senior citizens, and what would you do to help them? BLACKBURN: Seniors are looking toward Washington and wondering when their elected officials will keep their promises. That's why I've fought to stop the Administration from raiding Medicare, protecting the solvency of Medicare, protecting Medicare Part D from government intervention, and increasing incentives for research for detrimental diseases such as Alzheimer's. CRAMER: The biggest challenges facing senior citizens right now is the GOP's strong desire to privatize Social Security and Medicare. These programs are "trusts" that working Americans have paid into during their lifetimes. These programs need to be protected and not raided to pay for unfunded wars or corporate welfare. LADNER: The biggest challenge facing senior citizens is the constant confiscation of their savings and money by the Federal Government and by the State Governments to support federally mandated programs. 3. Is America living up to its commitment to military veterans? What, if anything, would you do to change that? BLACKBURN: The VA is unable to provide for our Veterans. I've cosponsored and introduced legislation to correct problems at the VA. I continue to fight for the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act. America's heroes should not have to wait for care. CRAMER: America is struggling to meet its obligations to veterans. When I retired from the Army included long wait times. I would like to see the system changed so that veterans get full benefits until they are evaluated rather than none, so there is pressure on the VA to work quickly. LADNER: NO. It is not living up to its commitments. I would correct this by having the Congress take away any and all money being used by the military in foreign countries. Withdraw from NATO, CENTO, CETO and the rest of those organizations. 4. Do you believe a tax increase will be needed during the next Congressional term, and if so could you support it? BLACKBURN: Tax increases will not be necessary. What America needs is tax reform, not more taxes. Our debt problems can be solved by reducing government spending and decreasing burdensome regulation, which will allow the economy to thrive. CRAMER: You cannot "cut" away 17 trillion dollars of debt. But before any middle class American sees a penny of tax increase we need to remove corporate give a ways and close tax loop holes. No bill should be passed that does not include full funding within the bill. LADNER: Every agency of the Federal government has expanded every year. Every agency giving money to the states has expanded every year and has caused the States governments to increase their taxes. We would have to raise taxes, unless the House of Representatives votes no on any bill which would expand government.. 5. Do you believe further academic reforms are needed for the nation's public school systems? Explain. BLACKBURN: Common sense reform is needed in the nation's public school systems. Accountability is vital, but parental involvement and school choice is paramount to student success. America's students aren't fully benefiting from the current system and I look forward to a robust debate in structural changes in years to come. CRAMER: The "reforms" we need in education start by reversing the cycle of cutting school budgets, complaining that schools are failing, and looking to private companies to save us. If a school is not performing within the budget it is given how will a corporation do better and still make profits. LADNER: NO. We don't need academic reforms. What we need is for the House to abolish the Dept. of Education. Get the Federal Government out of the school system. So that the largest agency involved in education would be the state government. 6. GM recently announced it would move production of a Cadillac from Mexico to Spring Hill. Do you believe America can reverse the long trend of losing manufacturing to other countries, and if so, what can be done to expedite that process? BLACKBURN: Jobs will come back to America when we eliminate burdensome government regulations that make it more difficult and more costly to produce goods at home than abroad. The corporate tax rate in the U.S. is 35 percent, the highest in the developed world. CRAMER: Some of the worst corporate giveaways involve corporate tax incentives to off-shore jobs. The Obama Administration did a great thing when they adjusted the regulations defining what a "foreign" corporation is so that corporations like Burger King can't continue to operate as tax cheats. LADNER: The taxation problem in this country is what is causing the companies to move overseas. If you start abolishing these agencies the taxes will go down and the companies will stay here. The poor people who are unemployed will have jobs. 7. What one thing do you think would most help create jobs in the the U.S. and particularly in Southern Middle Tennessee? Explain. BLACKBURN: The regulatory environment created by this administration has tied the hands of our job creators. Environmental regulations alone under this Administration total 24, 915 pages. That is thirty-eight times as long as the Bible. We need to help our job creators by reducing regulations and cutting taxes. CRAMER: Tennessee, especially the rural and suburban areas of the state, need infrastructure protection and investment. New business will not move into communities that have no high speed internet, stifled by laws written by lobbyists; or no hospital; or no educated work force, caused by a lack of modern standards in schools. LADNER: Cut the size, cost, reach and power of the Federal Government. Get rid of those regulatory agencies. (When GE dropped its attempts to build dozens of nuclear power plants in this country. They said they have spent more money trying to get through EPA regulations than what it would have cost to build the plants. 8. The national budget deficit has shrunk dramatically since 2009. Should reducing it further still be a priority of the Congress, and if so, what new steps would you propose to achieve this? BLACKBURN: The deficit has not shrunk enough. We must get our fiscal house in order and balance the budget. The United States national debt currently stands at 17.8 trillion dollars. Congress should take more steps to reign in its irresponsible spending. We need a Balanced Budget Amendment. CRAMER: Reducing the deficit is one of Obama's greatest accomplishments over the last six years. The complete squandering of the surplus George Bush started with is what prevented America from dealing with the recession and probably caused it. Reducing the Debt and elimination the Deficit should be Congress' biggest priority. LADNER: Reduce the size, cost, reach and power of every regulatory agency in the reverse fashion in which they were expanded. 9. The oil industry drilling technique called "fracking" has produced an energy boom but also widespread fears in the public, including groundwater contamination and earthquakes. Do you believe this is a safe practice, and do you support expansion of its use? Explain. BLACKBURN: There are no documented cases of hydraulic fracturing contaminating groundwater. It is one of the reasons behind the "energy boom" in the United States, which is spurring economic growth, creating jobs and strengthening our national security by lessening our dependence on energy from volatile parts of the world. CRAMER: How can anyone really evaluate weather fracking is safe as long as no one knows what is being pumped into or through our ground water. I support complete disclosure of all the materials being pumped into the ground in the same way emissions into our water and air are disclosed. LADNER: The principal use of the gas produced by fracking is to put it in ships and send it overseas as rapidly as possible to deplete the supply here. WE are importing oil. Oil is fuel. Then why are we exporting it? An energy crisis will be produced thus necessitating more government controls. 10. What do you believe is the solution to the nation's illegal immigration problems? How would you personally work to achieve that solution? BLACKBURN: Our broken immigration system is the result of President Obama's amnesty. I introduced (H.R. 5272) to freeze the President's unlawful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and am pleased that it passed the House. DACA is the magnet that has been drawing Central American children here. CRAMER: The first step is you have to be willing to do something, anything. The current system is obviously broken so why are we content to do nothing instead of something? There is no realistic way to arrest and deport 11 million people, so we have to deal with that reality. LADNER: What I would do is to encourage companies who wish to locate in other countries. To locate their manufacturing facilities in Latin America. So that the productive activity would be there and their citizens would stay there. Eg: The shoemaking industry was shipped to China. The textile industry was shipped to China. 11. Do good legislators have a responsibility to seek solutions through compromise, or is it better for them to stick closely to the ideology or party lines their constituents expect? Explain. BLACKBURN: Legislators have a responsibility to stick to their principles and represent constituents; however, they should work with other Legislators whenever possible. Many of my bills have Democrat original co-sponsors. CRAMER: The genius of our Constitution is it provides a system of government that functions with people of differing opinions. Holding your breath until you get your way is not how adults solve problems and trying to govern that way is not supporting the constitution. Take the Government Shutdown for example. LADNER: Except for the entitlement programs which we will deal with later. I will vote no on any bill which would increase the size, cost, extend the reach or power of government. Which is what the bills do. Using a smokescreen of solving a problem that their previous actions have created. 12. Would you support a federal increase in the minimum wage? If so, under what circumstances? BLACKBURN: I do not support an increase in the minimum wage. President Obama's proposed minimum wage increase would eliminate thousands of jobs and cause employers to stop hiring. This hurts the most vulnerable people in the job market and makes it more difficult for the unemployed to find work. CRAMER: If someone works full time then they should not end up in poverty. If you work 40 hours a week and still need taxpayer money to eat, pay the rent, or see the doctor then all of us taxpayers are subsidizing your employer and their low wages. LADNER: NO. If the previous things that I said I would do are implemented. Taxes will drop dramatically. Workers would have more take home pay. That is an increase in wages. 13. Besides combating terrorism, what do you believe is the top foreign policy concern facing America, and what steps would you take to address it? BLACKBURN: I am concerned about Russian aggression towards Ukraine. Russia is leveraging regional dependence on natural gas to expand its influence further west. We can mitigate that influence by streamlining the approval of American liquid natural gas exports, which the House took action on by recently passing H.R. 6. CRAMER: There are a number of important foreign policy issues that all need to be addressed. Free and fair access to foreign markets for US manufacturers, an immigration policy that allows for legitimate refugee asylum, international banking cooperation to curtail tax cheats, encouraging trends towards limiting the spread of nuclear capability. LADNER: The top policy foreign policy problem facing us is having the Federal Government gradually surrender American power, piece by piece, step by step to various international organizations. Centered in the so called United Nations. So that America would no longer exist as an independent country. 14. America faces what some experts are calling an "infrastructure crisis," with crumbling roads, bridges, waterways. What solutions do you suggest and how would you propose to pay for them? BLACKBURN: Our government should deal with the infrastructure crisis by prioritizing its spending. The government collected a record amount of tax revenue in 2014. We do not need new taxes, we need to make better decisions about how we spend taxpayer money. CRAMER: Roads, bridges, and waterways are in real need of repairs abut we also need to expand and update our data transmission, power generation, and restore a foundation of pure research as well. Elimination of tax giveaways to hugely profitable corporations is the first place we should look for funds. LADNER: A solution is to start reducing the Federal Regulatory agencies. Which would automatically reduce the taxes collected in the states to pay for these regulatory programs. and you would have more money to be spent for infrastructure. By the way, where is the money collected on Fuel Taxes going? 15. Do you believe space exploration is still important to America, and if so, what goals would you like to see achieved? BLACKBURN: Space exploration is grounded in American innovation and ingenuity. It's important to our economy, our national security, and our American story. As we make the shift to commercial cargo and human space flight, we look toward the day our innovation and ingenuity take us to new heights. CRAMER: Space exploration is important because focuses our national vision into science and research. We didn't go to the moon to develop satellite communications, freeze dried foods, or faster computers but they came from the space program. We should pursue large projects commercial agencies cannot accomplish, like manned flight to Mars. LADNER: I'm not an expert in that area. Get me some experts and let me hear what they have to say. I will probably agree with their findings but in no way would I accept a solution that would increase the size, cost, extend the reach or power of government to solve that or any other problem.