THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410270450
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
LENGTH: Long : 234 lines
Q: Should term limits be imposed on members of Congress? If so, how many years should members serve? Would you allow them to be re-elected after they remained out of office at least one term?
SISISKY: Under term limits, government would basically be run by people who are not accountable to voters - the permanent congressional staff and the permanent bureaucracy. Term limits would make Congress even more beholden to special interests, not less. I think elections are the best form of term limits, and they give voters the choice of voting for someone who's served them well.
SWEET: I believe term limits are necessary. I have personally pledged to serve eight years in the House of Representatives, but I would support a term limit bill which would allow for six terms in the House and two terms in the Senate. As to running again, I believe the biggest problem we face is the institutionalization of the Congress. We need new ideas, and the same people running, even with time off, would jeopardize that need.
Q: Do you favor/oppose a federal universal health care plan?
SISISKY: I sponsored the bipartisan health care reform endorsed by Ross Perot and the AMA. It had no mandates and no taxes on tobacco or anything else.
SWEET: There are some instances where, because of commitments made to the American people, we need to continue portions of the federal health system. However, I oppose the Clinton plan, or any plan that raises taxes to pay for government run health care.
Q: What are the five most important components any universal health care coverage plan should include?
SISISKY: The bipartisan reform I sponsored included administrative simplification, malpractice reform, insurance reform, antitrust reform, and used existing funds to create a system of community-run health clinics to serve the uninsured and under-insured.
SWEET: I support market reforms that provide incentives for portability and incentives for the public to be pro-active about taking care of themselves.
Q: What do you believe would be the most effective means of financing a universal health care plan?
SISISKY: The bipartisan reform I sponsored was financed with existing funds.
SWEET: I oppose any plan that raises taxes to pay for government run health care.
Q: Would you favor/oppose replacing the current income tax system with the so-called ``flat tax,'' by which every person would pay a set percentage of their income?SISISKY: I like the idea of simplifying the tax code. But the Dick Armey plan is estimated to increase the deficit by $200 billion every year. Now is no time to throw in the towel on deficit reduction. The Armey plan also lets wealthy people who live off their investments stop paying their taxes, but it takes away the home mortgage deduction from the middle class.
SWEET: I strongly favor the flat tax, and have made it one of the centerpieces of my campaign. . . . However, I firmly believe that there should be more money in the family budget and less in the federal budget, and the flat tax is a solid way to accomplish that.
Q: Do you favor/oppose any reduction in the capital gains tax (currently 29%)? Why/why not?
SISISKY: I have supported cutting the capital gains tax for investments in small business, because small businesses create most new jobs. The 1993 budget bill had a capital gains tax cut along these lines. I also want to look at indexing capital gains for inflation.
SWEET: Under the Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act, the main proposal to make the flat tax a reality, capital gains taxes would not exist. I strongly favor this act. When people are free to invest, without fear of massive tax liability, there will be more money in the supply. This will stimulate the economy in a positive direction.
Q: Do you favor/oppose a tax credit or federally-funded voucher system for parents who send children to private or church-sponsored schools, or educate children in the home? Why/why not?
SISISKY: I support private schools and public schools, but the money to pay for private school tuition vouchers would have to come from somewhere. I am against a tax increase to pay for private school tuition. And I am against taking money away from the public schools to pay for private school tuition. After we make sure that our public schools provide a decent, no-nonsense education free from drugs and violence, then we can consider spending taxpayers' money on private schools.
SWEET: I support tax credits, but not vouchers. Tax credits would allow parents to have control over their children's education.
Q: Do you favor/oppose a balanced budget amendment? If not, why not? If so, please explain how it would work.
SISISKY: Yes, I support the Balanced Budget Amendment. Congress would have to progressively cut the deficit until it's balanced, with safeguards for emergencies such as war.
SWEET: I strongly favor a balanced budget amendment. It is unfortunate that we need one, but we cannot continue to mortgage our children's future by spending money we do not have.
Q: Do you favor/oppose allowing the president to eliminate individual spending efforts from the budget through the use of a line-item veto? Why/why not?
SISISKY: I support one of several versions of the line-item veto.
SWEET: I strongly support the line-item veto, even when it means giving it to a president I do not favor. This allows the president to remove unnecessary spending and keep the budget in line. Further, it would make the president accountable for every line in the budget.
Q: As a cost-cutting measure, do you favor/oppose ``means-testing'' - basing federal benefits on financial need rather than entitlement - for such programs as Medicare and Social Security retirement plans?
SISISKY: If it means cutting off benefits for the middle class, then I'm against it.
SWEET: I do not support means testing for Social Security. . . I would look for waste and mismanagement in Medicare and Medicaid before I would start means testing.
Q: What initiatives do you favor, if any, to reform fund-raising and spending in election campaigns for federal offices?
SISISKY: I think our focus should be on limiting the amount of money that gets spent on campaigns, but taxpayers shouldn't be asked to pick up the tab.
SWEET: I would favor increasing the reporting requirements for campaign contributions, while making it easier for individuals to give to candidates.
Q: Do you believe that reductions in defense spending have been too deep, not deep enough, or just about right?
SISISKY: In the last two years I voted against cutting defense (in the FY 1994 and FY 1995 budget resolutions) because defense has been cut too much already. The world is still a dangerous place, and every day we see conflicts flaring up around the world that may threaten U.S. national security. We must not return to the ``hollow force'' of the 1970s.
SWEET: Reductions in defense spending have been way too deep - $88 billion less in available defense funds the last 12 years. I would vote for jobs and a better military.
Q: Should the U.S. continue to provide funds to assist former Soviet-bloc states in their transition to free-market economies?
SISISKY: On aid to Russia, we have to be thinking in terms of national security, rather than charity. If we can dismantle their military and help them buy U.S. goods, and at the same time make sure they don't start up another Cold War, then we should do that.
SWEET: We need to facilitate the transition of Soviet-bloc nations to free-market economies. However, funds given to that effort must be tied to tangible ways the U.S. economy can also benefit.
Q: Did you favor/oppose the U.S. Armed Services' role in the return of Jean Bertrand Aristide to power in Haiti? Why?
SISISKY: I was not in favor of invading Haiti because I didn't think U.S. national security was at stake.
SWEET: I opposed the U.S. role in returning Aristide to power. We had no compelling interest in Haiti, and it is a country with a history of instability.
Q: Should the United States have taken a more active military role in attempting to stop the warfare that erupted in the former nation of Yugoslavia?
SISISKY: While U.S. leadership on the war in Bosnia should have been more decisive, we need to be wary of undefined missions and indefinite commitments of U.S. troops.
SWEET: I would support a humanitarian effort, but not a military effort. There is no clear, vital national interest in Bosnia.
Q: Do you favor/oppose any political or economic initiatives to normalize relations with Cuba? Explain.
SISISKY: I do not support normalizing relations with Cuba. I think our focus should be on cutting off the flow of immigration.
SWEET: I do not favor lifting trade sanctions against Cuba. If we can facilitate the end of communism there through negotiations, I would support that. However, the end of communism in Cuba and the end of the rule of Castro are synonymous, in my mind.
Q: Should Congress approve the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT)? Why/why not?
SISISKY: The GATT agreement is enormous and I'm still studying it. My main concerns are: (1) giving the U.S. sovereignty; (2) how it's paid for; (3) what it does to the deficit; (4) how it affects peanuts; (5) how it affects textiles.
SWEET: While I was a strong supporter of NAFTA, I do not support GATT. We do not yet have sufficient guarantees of our ability to remain one of the lead players in a world body where we would have the same voting power as a small third-world power.
Q: Do you think that women should have the legal right to seek an abortion for any reason through the second trimester of gestation?
SISISKY: While I am personally opposed to abortion, I support the constitutional rules laid down by the Supreme Court.
SWEET: I am pro-life.
Q: Should the federal government assist in funding abortions as part of health benefits commonly available to economically disadvantaged women?
SISISKY: The health care reform I supported does not provide coverage for abortion services.
SWEET: I would not support the federal government funding abortions.
Q: Do you favor/oppose a parental-notification requirement for a minor seeking an abortion, if reasonable standards were in place to protect the child from physical abuse from the parent(s)/guardian(s)?
SISISKY: I think that the states are in the best position to decide the issue of parental notification - within the bounds of the constitution.
SWEET: I strongly favor parental notification for minors seeking abortion.
Q: Please offer your brief appraisal of the following initiatives enacted during the first 20 months of the the Clinton administration:
a. The federal budget and its tax increase on upper-income earners:
SISISKY: I didn't agree with everything in the 1993 deficit reduction bill, but it has been very successful in reducing the deficit - by almost $700 billion. More than 20 times as many families in the 4th district got tax cuts than got tax increases. Over 98 percent of all taxpayers saw their income tax rate stay the same or go down.
SWEET: The 1993 Budget Reconciliation Act cost the taxpayers $270 billion in new taxes, and it wasn't just on upper-income earners. It added 4 cents a gallon to gasoline. It increased taxes on Social Security benefits. The 4th district's share of that was $394 million in new taxes. It was a bad bill.
b. The crime bill:
SISISKY: I voted against the crime bill because it cost too much money. But it had some good ideas, like more police on the street, more prisons, and tougher sentencing.
SWEET: The crime bill was loaded with too much pork and not enough real crime fighting, and it passed billions of dollars in unfunded mandates down to the states.
c. The ban on certain semi-automatic weapons commonly referred to as assault weapons.
SISISKY: I opposed the assault weapons ban.
SWEET: I think that was little more than an attempt to appease the American people and make them believe that Congress was really doing something about crime.
d. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):
SISISKY: I opposed NAFTA. I thought NAFTA supporters had the burden of showing that it wouldn't cost jobs, and I don't think they did that.
SWEET: I support NAFTA. Free trade is good for all Americans.
e. ``Don't ask, don't tell'' policy for gays in the military:
SISISKY: I supported the policy drafted by Sam Nunn and endorsed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
SWEET: I oppose the ``Don't ask, don't tell'' policy for gays in the military.
Q: On issues of great national importance, are you more likely to vote your conscience or to vote according to the beliefs of the majority of the residents of the district who express their opinions on that issue?
SISISKY: I've found that when I vote my conscience, it almost always reflects the views of people in the 4th district.
SWEET: America is a free society where people can elect the person who most closely reflects their views. I trust that my beliefs will be consistent with those of a majority of my district.
Q: What role do you believe the Congress can play in reducing violent crime?
SISISKY: The best Congress can do is provide the resources to local communities, who know best how to prevent and punish violent crime.
SWEET: The greatest thing Congress can do to reduce violent crime is to give the states the ability to do something about it, and to stop sending unfunded mandates down to the states.
KEYWORDS: HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE 4TH DISTRICT CANDIDATES
INTERVIEW by CNB