League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Contra Costa, Solano County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	George Miller Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 7

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy?

We must continue to invest in our economy, our education systems, and in research and technological innovation to grow the economy and create jobs. We must ensure that corporations no longer can use the tax code to ship American jobs overseas, and we must strengthen America's small businesses and large manufacturers so that we make goods in America, not overseas. We must invest in the green energy sector -- the most promising economic sector for American job growth. And we must not repeal the historic health insurance law we enacted this year -- it is estimated to create as many as 400,000 jobs a year in a variety of fields, including health care, IT, and administration.

2. How should federal budget priorities be changed, now and into the future? How will you balance the costs of military action overseas and national security with the costs of domestic needs?

I strongly support Pay-As-You go budgeting and was the first Member of Congress to advocate this successful policy tool that helped turn record deficits into record surpluses under President Bill Clinton. I helped enact student loan reform that will reduce the deficit by more than $10 billion over ten years, and the health care law, that will reduce the deficit by more than $100 billion over ten years. Congress should cancel George W. Bush's tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 per year -- they already ran up the deficit over the last decade and if we extend them it will increase the deficit by more than $700 billion. I support Defense Secretary Bill Gates' call for cutting $100 billion in defense spending. And we must ensure that all federal services and programs are scrutinized for fraud and inefficiency.

3. What, if anything, should be done by the federal government to address our dependence on fossil fuels or spur the use of clean energy?

I strongly support investments in clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency to create jobs, spur economic growth, and reduce carbon emissions. We must protect California's historic AB32 climate change law from attacks by Texas oil companies. I oppose drilling for oil of our coastlines. Congress should pass a climate change bill. And the U.S. EPA should issue regulations to reduce carbon emissions in Congress does not act.

4. What, if any, changes should be made to current federal policies or programs that promote or provide health coverage for Americans.

I am proud to have co-authored the Affordable Health Care Act, signed into law in March of this year, the most important domestic policy enacted in generations. One of the key elements of our new law is that we emphasize health outcomes, not procedures, and we ensure that all Americans will have access to affordable health care. We must preserve and strengthen Medicare for future generations while at the same time stopping billions of dollars worth of fraud that plague this vital program.

5. What, if any, changes should be made to federal rules on campaign financing or disclosure of political expenditures?

I am a longtime and strong supporter of campaign finance reform. I strongly supported the McCain-Feingold law, and I have long supported public financing of elections to reduce the influece of special interests in elections. I also support the DISCLOSE Act to ensure that campaign activities by corporations and unions are fully transparent to the public and to ensure that foreign corporations cannot influence American elections.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. No candidate may refer to another candidate in the response.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 17, 2010 21:18
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