Questionnaire Response: Wayne Parker

Here are the responses to the Flashpoint Candidate Questionnaire from Alabama 5th District Congressional candidate Wayne Parker. In fairness to the other candidates who previously responded to the questionnaire it should be noted that Parker submitted his after the original deadline, allowing him the opportunity to have access to his opponent’s responses.

General

1. As a freshman legislator you may be limited in the amount of legislation you can personally champion. Please list two or three specific bills that are already pending or that you would introduce that you would personally fight for in order to secure their passage.

As a freshman legislator, I would co-sponsor and push for the passage of the Securing America’s Future Economy (SAFE) Commission Act. The SAFE legislation would require Congress to accept or reject, on an up-or-down vote, the recommendations of a bipartisan 16-member commission on programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The SAFE Act will ensure that the funding issues associated with these programs are confronted in a responsible manner.

I would also stand behind HR 1940, the Birthright Citizenship Act. Under this law, if a child is born to a foreign national who is in the United States illegally, that child would not automatically become a United States citizen. Birthright citizenship is one of the primary causes of illegal immigration into this country and creates a tremendous drain on taxpayer provided services.

2. NASA’s annual budget is approximately one half of one percent of the total federal budget. Do you believe this is adequate to meet the challenges they have been issued to return to the moon and eventually send a manned vehicle to Mars? There appears to be a looming gap between launch requirements and launch asset availability – how would you address this issue? Should their mission and/or funding be altered in any way?

Marshall’s Ares 1 and Ares 5 will be the backbone for a long term return to the moon and further manned space exploration to Mars. Space exploration must be a national priority, and we must work with the administration and key members of Congress to ensure appropriate funding.

It was encouraging to see the NASA reauthorization clear its first hurdle when it was approved by the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. The legislation would authorize 19.2 billion in fiscal 2009. This bill includes provisions that would authorize additional funding to accelerate the Constellation Program that replaces the shuttle program and includes Ares rockets.

NASA must have a budget that is consistent with the Constellation Program and our return to the moon. Manned space exploration has always provided the greatest return in terms of research and development along with countless advances in technology.

3. Please provide a description of what you feel would be appropriate Constitutional gun restrictions.

The Constitution uses the words, “shall not be infringed.” I believe the founders intended to apply that freedom to individuals and I would support a strict adherence to that language.

4. What makes you the best prepared candidate to represent the interests of Redstone Arsenal?

My family has watched Huntsville’s transformation from a quiet Alabama town to one of the most recognized cities in the South. Huntsville is consistently ranked as a one of the best places to live, a top technology city and a leading city for business. Not only are we famous for our contributions to defense and technology, but these industries are vital to our economy.

Redstone Arsenal directly employs over 14,000 federal employees and more are on the way. While the recent BRAC decisions have favored our area in a magnitude that is unprecedented, we cannot rest on our past success. We must continue to fight for the resources we need to ensure that Redstone Arsenal continues to lead in providing defense technology for our great country and a strong economic base for the 5th district.

Economy

5. What is the role of the federal government in the Economy?

Our tax policy should encourage and reward innovation and productivity, not discourage it.

We should always be looking for new ways to find markets for American goods and services. However, we must ensure that any trade agreement we enter into is a fair agreement that allows American exports to compete on a level playing field.

6. During campaigns candidates are eager to talk about programs they want to create or expand, but something has to give. Would you be willing to eliminate or curtail any programs and/or raise taxes to address budget problems? Please provide specifics.

Being willing to “trim the fat” through eliminating and curtailing programs deemed ineffective, duplicative or unessential is a must. That is why I support H.R. 3654, The SAFE Commission Act which will require Congress to take action, through an up or down vote, on the recommendations of the commission.

7. What is your position on free trade? How would you vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement? Do you support continuing NAFTA?

Free trade has to be fair trade. Most Americans understand that our current economy is global and we have to compete within that framework. Countries that unfairly restrict the market for our goods and who dump products on our shores below cost are not countries with which we should freely trade.

From my understanding of the bill as it is currently written, The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would create American jobs. Virtually all of Columbia’s products enter our markets duty-free, while our goods enter Columbia with tariffs as high as 35%. This agreement would level the playing field by ending most of the duties on our goods entering Columbia while at the same time helping an ally in the region. Estimates say that U.S. exports will increase by $1 billion dollars as a result of this agreement and create export-related jobs.

Government Ethics & Corruption

8. What efforts would you make to increase the public’s trust in government?

Trust is a vital component of any successful relationship, whether it is between a parent and child, business partners, or between citizens and their elected leaders. Unfortunately, many have lost their trust in our government. They have felt disappointment after witnessing waste, dishonesty, and broken promises from those placed in positions of power. As your representative, I will work to restore that trust. I will fight to ensure that the political process is performed transparently and efficiently.

9. Would you pledge to abstain from seeking or accepting earmarks as a member of Congress? Note: According to Citizens Against Government Waste there were five senators and ten representatives who received no earmarks in FY2008.

The 5th District has unique needs that are sometimes best addressed by specific funding allocations directed to the programs that operate exclusively in our area. For this reason, I cannot pledge to abstain from ever seeking any earmark for our district. However, I recognize that earmarks often lead to wasteful federal spending and I strongly support comprehensive earmark reform that brings greater transparency and accountability to the congressional budget process. As a first step toward reining in the current out-of-control earmark process, I would support a one year moratorium on earmarks.

Social Security

10. What are your thoughts on Social Security? Is it in trouble, if so, how do you propose to fix it?

My thoughts on Social Security are best reflected in a letter from David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, to a member of Congress dated March 13, 2008. [Note: Waiting on copy of letter from candidate.]

National Security/War on Terror

11. What country or group do you believe poses the greatest threat to the United States? What actions would you take to secure our safety from this particular threat?

National security begins with secure borders and giving law enforcement and our national intelligence agencies the tools they need to accomplish their jobs. Border security agents need the proper equipment to effectively patrol the border. We need to take a close look at the size of our standing army to make sure that it is sufficient to meet our nation’s defense needs.

Islamic terror groups continue to call for and seek the destruction of the Unites States and our allies. We have to take them at their word and our national intelligence should focus on penetrating those organizations. Our military should stand at the ready to engage terrorists groups when the use of force becomes necessary.

Our economic security is also threatened by our national debt. Currently China holds over $1 trillion dollars in American debt which poses a grave threat to our economic stability and has the potential to be used as leverage against us.

Education

12. Does the country need more or less involvement from the federal government in educating our children? Do you support market based school choice programs such as vouchers or tax credits?

Education is best left up to local officials and individual states. I support vouchers and tax credits for private and home schooled children.

Health Care

13. What responsibility does the federal government have for health care? What are your thoughts on addressing the issue?

The federal government has the responsibility to maintain standards in the health care arena and promote the study of science so that our researchers may continue to find treatments and cures for disease. Regulatory functions, such as the integrity of our drug supply and the accreditation of our medical schools are legitimate federal roles in our country’s health care system.

I strongly oppose government taking over 16% of our nation’s GDP. Government administered universal healthcare would be inefficient, costly and the quality of care would diminish.

Our nation’s current health care system is deeply flawed. Health insurance coverage decisions should rest more in the hands of those who are insured, not employers. This will make health care more personal and encourage a market-based approach to health care by shifting the decision-making away from third parties. This change will help employers and consumers alike. Our tax policy should not punish individuals who purchase their own health insurance rather than obtain coverage through their employer.

Health insurance policies should be more portable. American’s change jobs with much greater frequency than previous generations and our health insurance policy should be modernized to reflect this shift.

Iraq

14. What is your position on the Iraq War? Are we winning? When should we leave?

We must do everything we can to ensure that Iraq has a stable, functioning government before we leave. Our national interests are too important to just leave based upon an arbitrary timetable. General Petraeus has put us on the right track with his strategy of first securing areas of the country in order to allow the political and democratic process to function.

Lost in much of the negativity surrounding Iraq and Afghanistan, is the fact that we have had some success. Saddam Hussein is no longer with us and al Qaeda in Iraq is currently in retreat. Terrorists no longer can enjoy a guaranteed, open safe haven in that country.

Taxes

15. What specific measures would you support to change our federal tax code?

The federal tax code is overreaching, cumbersome and far too complicated.

I support a long-term solution that favors lowers taxes, will greatly simplify our tax code, and reduce the amount of paperwork involved in tax preparation.

I support making permanent the tax cuts from 2001 and 2003. I support indexing the AMT to inflation to correct that recurring problem.

Immigration

16. What should the federal government do about immigration? What impact have illegal immigrants had on Alabama?

Illegal immigration is a national crisis. We need to secure our borders immediately. For far too long our government has failed to enforce our existing laws against illegal immigration and has failed miserably to secure the border. That must change/stop immediately.

There are two pieces of legislation that I would support to win the fight against illegal immigration. First, I would co-sponsor HR 1940, the Birthright Citizenship Act, to stop the practice of giving citizenship to children born to foreign nationals who are in this country illegally.

Second, I would co-sponsor the bipartisan Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act is a common sense 3-part plan developed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to improve the security of our borders. The SAVE Act is a designed to drastically reduce illegal immigration by implementing stronger border security, employer verification, and interior enforcement. It will provide the tools, resources, and infrastructure necessary to enforce existing laws, increase investigative abilities of immigration enforcement, and provide assistance for state and local law enforcement.

Abortion & Other Social Issues

17. Which term best describes you: pro-life or pro-choice?

I am strongly pro-life. We must respect all human life and defend the most vulnerable among us at every stage of life.

18. Would you address the issue of human trafficking and slavery in the US and worldwide?

Much of the human trafficking and slavery in the US takes place in households and in communities where we have large segments of illegal immigrants. Fixing that issue will go a long way towards eliminating that problem in America.

Slavery and servitude is still fairly common in many cultures around the world and we should apply economic and diplomatic pressure to governments in those areas to outlaw those practices. Many NGO’s are active in fighting and monitoring those types of activities and our government should work closely with them as well.

American citizens involved in, or using the services of, these types of illicit activities should be actively investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

19. Would you support an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman?

Yes.

Energy

20. What should the federal government do, if anything, to decrease fuel prices and what should the government do to develop and promote sustainable alternative energy sources?

America is blessed with abundant natural resources. At a time when oil and gas prices have gone through the roof, there is no excuse not to use the resources we have here in our own country to reduce our dependence on foreign countries for our energy needs. We must engage in responsible drilling in ANWR and in other areas where oil is abundant. Our demand for oil is not going to going away in the near future. In conjunction with this we need to remove the barriers to building new refineries and encourage investment in technology that will make us more efficient.

Nuclear power production needs to be expanded to meet our growing demand for electricity. I believe that a network of smaller, identically constructed nuclear reactors will offer the safest and most efficient use of that technology.

At the same time, we need to continue to promote conservation and invest in newer, cleaner, more efficient technologies. We do have a responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation for future generations. But it is extremely important that while we work towards those goals, we should not put ourselves and our economy at the mercy of those in other lands who do not have our best interest at heart.

Softball

21. Are there any questions you wish we had asked? Go ahead and answer it.

No response from the candidate.