Voter Guide: Sheldon Whitehouse Profile (U.S. Senate)

Monday, November 05, 2012

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv News Editor

Voter Guide: Sheldon Whitehouse Profile

Birth date: 10/20/55

Education: Yale University (B.A); University of Virginia (J.D.)

Bio:

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For more than two decades I have been honored to have the trust of the people of Rhode Island, working for Gov. Sundlun as Director of Business Regulation, as President Clinton’s U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, and then as Rhode Island’s Attorney General, where I fought to protect families, consumers, and small businesses. Since Rhode Islanders elected me to the U.S. Senate in 2006, I have worked every day to protect the cornerstones of the middle class: Medicare, Social Security, and Pell Grants. I’ve sponsored legislation to end the tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas, and supported measures that would help bring manufacturing jobs back home. I fought to close the Medicare Part D prescription drug “doughnut hole” that costs seniors thousands of dollars, and helped to craft the healthcare law that will extend coverage and services to millions of Americans. And I wrote the Buffett Rule, to make sure that billionaires don’t pay a lower tax rate than middle class Rhode Islanders.

My wife, Sandra, and I live in Newport with our two children.

On the Issues:

How can you create jobs in Rhode Island?

There are three areas we should focus on to put Rhode Islanders back to work. First, we need to invest in infrastructure. Rebuilding our roads and bridges, and updating and expanding our ports – as we have in Quonset and Providence – will put Rhode Islanders back to work right away and make our state a more attractive place for companies to invest and do business. Second, we should take steps to revitalize our manufacturing industry, which has always been an extremely important part of our state’s economy. To do that, we need to end the tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas and encourage businesses to bring jobs home. I’ve sponsored legislation to do that. Third, we need to promote innovation so that entrepreneurs are able to build new businesses and hire new workers. That will mean expanding access to capital and expanding training and educational opportunities for Rhode Islanders to do the increasingly technical and skilled work required in a knowledge economy.

Social Security/Medicare:

Social Security and Medicare benefits are cornerstones of the middle class and I will never allow them to be cut. I am a cofounder of the Defend Social Security Caucus in the Senate, a group that stands in united opposition to any cuts to Social Security. Social Security has trillions of dollars in its trust funds and will be solvent through 2033. To extend Social Security’s solvency, we should take one simple step: raise the cap on payroll taxes for those making more than $250,000 per year. By asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a fair share into the program, we can substantially extend the life of Social Security. As for Medicare, I will never allow cuts to seniors’ Medicare benefits. Indeed, we should take three steps to strengthen the program: allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies, which could generate $250 billion over ten years; crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare system; and improve preventative and primary care to lower the costs of healthcare overall. Rising costs are not unique to Medicare, they are system-wide, and we should treat them as such.

Affordable Care Act:

I voted for and support the Affordable Care Act (ACA). When fully implemented, the new healthcare law will extend care to millions of previously uninsured Americans and reduce the burden of healthcare costs on middle class families and small businesses. The law closes the Medicare Part D “Doughnut Hole,” expanding prescription drug coverage and putting money in the pockets of our seniors. In fact, Rhode Islanders have already saved nearly $14.5 million on prescription drugs since the law was enacted. The ACA also allows 3.1 million young Americans to remain on their parents’ healthcare plans, including over 9,000 right here in the Ocean State. The ACA ends unacceptable insurance practices like denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions or lifetime caps on care. For years, these practices forced families to make unimaginable choices, and I’m proud that we’re putting an end to them. This essential reform will benefit countless Americans for generations to come.

Abortion :

I am pro-choice. I believe that medical and family decisions should be made between a woman, her family and her doctor, and government should not interfere with that choice.

Education :

I believe that we have a duty to provide the best possible education to our children. That means protecting and strengthening Pell Grants for our college students and making sure that our children receive the best possible instruction at every level of the system. Since Rhode Island’s Claiborne Pell successfully fought for their creation, Pell Grants have proven an absolutely essential part of paying for college education in America, and I will always defend them. I have also been proud to support Rhode Island’s successful Race to the Top bid, which among other things is currently providing funding for crucial early and pre-school education. I advocate for strengthening middle school education, because I have seen how important those middle years are in the development of our kids.

Same Sex Marriage :

I support same-sex marriage because everyone should be able to marry the person that they love.

Afghanistan :

I support the President’s plan to withdraw our troops by the end of 2014, and at every opportunity I have pushed the Administration to hasten our withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan in a safe and responsible way.

Energy & the Environment :

It is a pivotal moment for our environment. One of the most significant challenges we face as a society today is dealing with human-made climate change. We need to pass comprehensive legislation to curb carbon pollution and create incentives for industries to emit less carbon into the atmosphere. Living in Rhode Island – where we depend on the ocean for jobs, recreation and so much more – it is also essential that we prepare for changes to our coasts and marine ecosystems and protect and restore our ocean and coastal resources. That is why I sponsored a measure that would create a National Endowment for the Oceans, to spur initiatives and fund research to better prepare us for rapid changes brought on by climate change.

We need to pursue clean, renewable sources of energy like wind and solar so that we burn less carbon-based fuel and spend less on energy. These common sense policies will create good jobs here in Rhode Island, like in Quonset where work for offshore wind production is already commencing. We should promote energy efficiency, which will decrease our dependence on foreign and carbon fuels, while creating jobs and improving our economy.

Illegal Immigration :

I am an advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that protects our borders and Americans’ safety, but also allows us to attract the best and the brightest from around the world to fill the positions that allow Rhode Island businesses to grow.

DREAM Act :

I am a cosponsor of the DREAM Act. I believe that children, who were brought to America by their parents through no fault of their own, deserve a chance to earn an education and give back to their communities. These children are part of our community, and deserve the right to achieve their dreams.

Do you support right-to-work?

I support a worker’s right to organize and collectively bargain for fair pay and good working conditions.

Quick Hitters:

What is the single most important issue you want to tackle in 2013? Jobs.

Who is your favorite member of the opposite party? John McCain, who I have worked with on campaign finance issues.

In one paragraph, why should voters support you?

Rhode Island has been hit hard by this recession. At over 110 community dinners that I’ve held, at small business tours, and at other venues I’ve listened to the concerns and ideas of the people of our Ocean State so I can better represent them in Washington. And one thing is always clear – we need to grow our economy from the middle class out. That means standing up against the Republican forces in Washington who want to privatize Social Security, turn Medicare into a voucher program, and strip funding from Pell Grants. There are people – like my opponent – who want to return to the failed Bush policies that brought our economy to its knees and cost us millions of middle class jobs. We cannot let that happen, and if Rhode Islanders continue to place their trust in me for re-election, I promise to continue my fight to always protect and stand up for the middle class.

Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.

Voter Guide: Sheldon Whitehouse Profile (U.S. Senate)