Voter Guide: Brendan Doherty Profile (1st District)
Monday, November 05, 2012
Voter Guide: Brendan Doherty Profile (1st District)
Birth date: March 14, 1959
Education:
Roger Williams University, Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAnna Maria College, Master of Science in Criminal Justice
Bio:
Brendan P. Doherty served as Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police and Superintendent of the Department of Public Safety from April 2007 to April 2011. Prior to returning to take the command at the invitation of the Governor, he had spent twenty-four years with the Division of State Police, retiring in 2004 as the Executive Officer and second in command of the Division at the rank of Major. Colonel Doherty held increasing positions of responsibility throughout his law enforcement career, and was the recipient of twenty-four commendations for outstanding police work.
Brendan founded a community outreach program that focused on working to make a difference in the lives of children from inner city neighborhoods. He has also coached youth sports and helped organize numerous initiatives to help young Rhode Islanders achieve their potential.
He and his wife, Michele, have two children, Matthew (25) and Shelby (22). In 1985, he and Michele moved to and embraced Cumberland, RI where they continue to live today.
On the Issues
How can you create jobs in Rhode Island?
We need to get out of the business of picking winners and losers and focus on creating an environment in which businesses can thrive. According to the latest statistic available, there were an estimated 93,333 small businesses in Rhode Island, making up 95.9% of all employers in the state and employing approximately 228,483 workers or 55.2% of the private sector workforce. To help drive our economy forward, therefore, it is imperative that we roll out the red carpet for our small business community.
Having traveled throughout Rhode Island's First Congressional District week after week since last May, I have heard time and again from Rhode Island small business men and women that short-term tax credits, temporary rate reductions and one time government grants are not the kind of help they need to allow them to hire more workers. Rather, these business men and women are adamant that they will hire when they are able to compete and succeed, which depends on the following: (1) fairness and consistency in the tax code; (2) lower and more predictable energy costs; (3) a smarter regulatory policy; and (4) reduced and predictable health care costs. By focusing on those areas, I believe the government can set the private sector free to usher in a new era of American economic expansion.
I am ready to work across the aisle for job creation and I have already identified a bill I want to champion: The Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act, which has been put forth by The Bipartisan Energy Working Group. This plan focuses on reducing our dependence on foreign oil as a means to reigniting national economic growth. It dedicates revenues from new energy exploration to slash our deficit, build clean-coal plants, clean up our air and water, increase our use of renewable energy, and rebuild our crumbling highways and bridges. Of equal importance, it provides common-sense solutions that are specific and achievable.
Social Security/Medicare:
America must maintain that ironclad commitment and seek credible solutions to our challenges, rather than use Social Security as a political tool to attempt to gain re-election. True leaders must emulate President Reagan and Speaker O’Neill in finding the areas where leaders of different parties can agree. The President’s Bipartisan “Simpson-Bowles” Commission has suggested the types of reforms that can protect Social Security for our parents and grandparents, while preserving it for our children and grandchildren.
In addition to those reforms, I am committed to rooting out the inefficiency, waste, and fraud in SSDI and SSI. There are limited checks and balances for awarding SSDI and SSI, allowing some to game the system at the expense of those who are truly in need.
Like Social Security, Medicare is a fundamental program that must be preserved in its current form and structure. I would not vote for any bill that privatizes Medicare or leads to its privatization. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the problems the Medicare program faces. Not only will the hospital trust fund soon be empty, but Medicare costs are expected to grow from 3.7% of GDP in 2011 to 5.7% of GDP by 2035, continuing growth thereafter to 6.7% of GDP by 2086. This is simply unsustainable and will put extreme pressure on the federal budget.
Despite this unsustainable growth, there are some that would use Medicare for political gain by refusing to address these concerns, but instead making false accusations of insidious attempts to “end Medicare as we know it.” I am committed to maintaining Medicare and I believe that both parties can get past the rhetoric and start with two areas of common ground from which to find bipartisan solutions: (1) Addressing system-wide health care costs. While the President’s health care plan addressed delivery and coverage, it failed to contain the costs in the system. We must revisit global health care reform to lower costs in the health care industry generally, thereby reducing the costs to the Medicare program. (2) Make the fight against Medicare fraud a national priority with greater information sharing, heavier sentences, and more boots on the ground to investigate and prosecute what the GAO estimates as costing Medicare at least $48 billion per year.
Affordable Care Act:
The Affordable Care Act certainly has some positive qualities, but the major problem with this Act is that it doesn’t effectively address cost. There are other very serious concerns with this law, including the individual mandate that requires every person to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty.
Another area of great concern to businesses all over the First District is the requirement that companies with 50 or more employees must provide insurance or pay a penalty. I hear time and again from local business owners that this mandate has made them reluctant to hire new workers.
Additionally, the law provides for federal subsidies for individuals without employer provided coverage. These subsidies are expected to cost $464 billion over the next ten years. The federal subsidies, however, could actually encourage small companies that now provide coverage to drop coverage and force their employees to buy the federally subsidized insurance. This would conflict directly with the purpose of the plan and could increase the $464 billion cost of the federal subsidies dramatically.
There is no doubt that our health care system needs reform, but we must do more than simply expand coverage – we must address cost and quality through transparency, choice, and competition. We must encourage states to pursue basic tort reform principles such as providing a safe harbor for doctors that follow evidence based standards of care. We should also seek to maintain some of the common sense provisions of the current health care plan that already have wide support, such as the use of electronic medical records, portability of health insurance coverage for workers who change jobs, coverage for college students and young adults who wish to remain covered by a family plan, and protections for workers with pre-existing conditions. Lastly, any reform should include interstate competition among health coverage providers, small business pooling plans, and minimum standards of care.
Abortion:
As an article of my faith, I am pro-life. I do believe that there should always be an exception for cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother. That said, I am socially conservative, but I am not a social crusader – I am not seeking to be a Congressman to push my beliefs on others.
Education:
America’s long-term success depends on how we educate our children. Unfortunately, since the 1970’s there has been little progress in the proficiency of our students in math and reading. This is unacceptable, especially in light of the $68 billion budget of the U.S. Department of Education. Furthermore, while well intentioned, the No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top initiatives have set unrealistic achievement goals and have created onerous and costly compliance requirements that take money away from educating our children.
I believe that parents should have maximum input in how their children are taught, and that is extremely difficult when education policy is legislated from Congress and dictated and administered by a Washington D.C. bureaucracy. Therefore, we must allow greater flexibility for states and municipalities to craft their own policies to boost achievement and create innovative reforms, while also streamlining the funding process to reduce compliance costs and preserve critical resources.
I will work in Washington to return education control to the state and local level, maintain the education budget, but reduce the amount of taxpayer money tied up in federal bureaucracy and wasteful and duplicative programs that do not advance the educational needs of our children.
Same Sex Marriage:
As an article of my faith, I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. However, I would support civil unions.
Afghanistan:
We need to expedite the process of bringing our troops home. The brave men and women of our armed forces have done what is necessary in Afghanistan and this country now has well-trained forces of their own. There is absolutely no need to stall the process of bringing our troops home.
Energy & the Environment:
Rhode Island needs a Representative in Congress who understands the challenges of scraping together enough money to pay the heat and electric bills and to fill a car or truck with gas to get to work every day and who will demonstrate the leadership we need to provide safe, clean and affordable energy.
I support the Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act, which has been put forth by The Bipartisan Energy Working Group. This plan focuses on reducing our dependence on foreign oil as a means to reigniting national economic growth. It has four major components, each of which has subsections honing in on methods that translate a lesser reliance on foreign oil into economic prosperity in the United States. Below are the bill’s major points, as described by The Bipartisan Energy Working Group: (1) Leasing and Energy Provisions (2) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Modification and Dedication of Revenues to existing conservation and Energy Research Programs (3) Cleaner Energy Production and Energy Conservation Incentives (4) Increase Diversification and Efficiency of America’s Transportation and Electric System.
A major reason I support this bill is because it supports our environment. Environmental restoration will receive funding for the overall health of the national ecosystem. Conservation efforts will receive funding for conservation efforts to conserve America’s natural resources. Carbon Free Technology Deployment and Nuclear Energy will receive funding dedicated to carbon free technology. Clean Water and Wastewater Infrastructure will receive funding to modernize and rebuild America’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
We need to focus on domestic energy production, but in a responsible way that has protections in place for the environment.
Illegal Immigration:
The United States is in dire need of leadership on the issue of immigration – we need comprehensive immigration reform to address issues of both legal and illegal immigration. In my view, the current administration’s failure to address comprehensive immigration reform has been disservice to the American people.
As Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, I have seen firsthand the dangers of illegal immigration, whether it is distribution of drugs, terrorist activity, or violent gang activity. Moreover, even those who have come to the United States illegally for the sole purpose of finding a better life for themselves and their families have threatened the integrity of our borders and have taken away an opportunity intended for someone who has played by the rules and waited for his or her turn to immigrate legally.
There is no easy answer to this problem, but the first step must be to secure our borders.
It has been estimated that as many as 500,000 people per year have crossed U.S. borders illegally. The Government Accountability Office estimates that we control of only 44% of our southwestern border. This is not just an immigration problem – it is a national security problem. In addition to increased border security, the United States government must provide the resources, information and cooperation necessary for states to identify and detain dangerous criminals who are in the U.S. illegally.
I also support reforming our immigration policies to eliminate arbitrary and outdated policies so as to make the American dream available for legal immigrants. I have consistently supported our legal immigrant community. I will fight for strict enforcement of laws to protect our national security, but also for fair laws that will allow legal immigration for those that would come here to fulfill their dreams for a better life.
DREAM Act:
The DREAM Act lists commendable outcomes that may look good on paper. However, it is another example of political gimmickry which I don’t think is beneficial. President Obama had four years to work towards comprehensive immigration reform, and yet we are still far behind on this issue. To push through an Act like this when it is politically expedient is an affront to our immigrant community. We don’t need these “feel good” type of Acts, what we need is comprehensive immigration reform.
Do you support right-to-work?
Right-to-work is a state issue. I support a state’s right to make that decision without interference from the federal government. That is why I would never support federal legislation that would force right-to-work on the states or would prevent states from making that decision. However, I don’t think that right-to-work is appropriate in Rhode Island.
Quick Hitters:
What is the single most important issue you want to tackle in 2013?
The economy. Rhode Island was recently ranked as the least business friendly state and we currently have over 60,000 Rhode Islanders out of work. This is completely unacceptable. I will do everything in my power as a Congressman to get our state and our country back to work.
Who is your favorite member of the opposite party?
I look forward to working with both Democrats and Republicans. One Democrat I’m especially looking forward to working with is Mike Ross of Arkansas. He’s the Head of Blue Dog Coalition. He’s fiscally conservative and has led an effort to end duplicity within government programs. I believe I could assist him in his efforts. More broadly, I’m looking forward to reach across the aisle on a wide array of issues, and focus on common sense solutions to our nation’s problems.
In one paragraph, why should voters support you?
Rhode Island needs Congressional representation with uncompromising integrity, untainted by scandal and owing no party or person anything. Throughout my career in law enforcement, I have prided myself on my integrity and understanding that true leadership is taking responsibility for what occurs on your watch. I am my own man and will always work to make the decisions that are in the best interests of the Rhode Islanders I represent. As I’ve said before, I will approach Congress as a public servant, not a party servant. Washington is broken right now and the only way to fix it is to bring leaders in who are interested in working in a bipartisan fashion. I believe Rhode Islanders will benefit from an independent-minded, honest leader. Perhaps most important, I will always tell the truth. As the Providence Journal noted in their endorsement of me, character counts.
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
