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| Joe Szwaja, Green Party |
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| Candidate: U.S. Representative, District 7 |
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| Joe Szwaja |
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| Age: 43 |
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| Residence: Seattle |
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| Occupation: |
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Teacher (American government & economics, world history, Spanish, weight lifting), Nova High School |
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| Education: |
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B.A. in history, Spanish literature, Kenyon College; M.A. in Latin American history, University of Wisconsin |
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| Political history: |
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City councilman, Madison, Wis. (1986-93), Labor Farm Party; active in coalitions opposing the WTO and IMF |
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| Endorsements: |
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Green Party of Seattle and Washington, East Timor Action Network of Washington |
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| Campaign Web site: www.joeforcongress.org |
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| Campaign theme: |
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Renew our democracy, restructure the global economy, redirect resources to meet human needs. |
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| 1. |
Should Congress act to lower the cost of prescription drugs? If so, should Congress create a Medicare drug benefit? |
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Congress should act to lower prescription-drug costs and create a Medicare drug benefit as part of a comprehensive program providing universal, single-payer health care for all Americans. To accomplish this we must stand up to the large drug companies who favor patents over people. |
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| 2. |
Should the Snake River dams be torn down and timber harvests limited to protect endangered species? |
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Two-hundred independent scientists say that "restoring salmon populations . . . is only possible with partial dam removal." I agree, and also support helping those people adversely affected. Timber harvests should be limited to protect endangered species and ecosystems. I favor a zero-cut policy in old-growth forests and public lands. |
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| 3. |
Should new laws be enacted to prevent businesses from sharing consumers' personal information? |
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Vigorous laws should be enacted to prevent businesses from sharing our personal information and violating our privacy rights. I favor strengthening the Kennedy/Kassebaum bill with strong, additional measures preventing information from being shared without the consent of individual consumers. |
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| 4. |
Are the nation's gun laws too restrictive, too lenient or appropriate as they are? |
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I favor much stronger gun-control legislation. Gun violence is a serious public-health problem causing over 15,000 homicides and 5,000 deaths of children yearly. I favor nationwide gun licensing, a uniform waiting period, strong limitations on handguns, and the banning of assault rifles on the California model. |
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| 5. |
Should America be trading with China and/or Cuba? Why? |
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We should trade with both countries. I opposed the recent China trade bill because the agreement made it even easier for U.S. corporations to move to China and failed to build in labor standards to benefit Chinese and U.S. workers. The Cuban embargo hurts innocent people. Let's end it. |
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| 6. |
Do you favor or oppose access to abortion? Should the president appoint justices who oppose abortion rights? |
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I favor women's right to choose and oppose indirect limitations on access to choice that, unfortunately, are growing. The House of Representatives is not charged, under our Constitution, with providing advice and consent to the president on Supreme Court nominations. However, I personally favor the appointment of pro-choice justices. |
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| 7. |
Should the government pay to give school vouchers to parents who choose to send their children to private schools? |
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Vouchers, understandably attractive to many parents, are not a solution to public-school woes. Existing voucher programs limit equal access to some schools and assume winners and losers among our children. We must provide quality education for all our children through well-funded, democratically run schools with smaller classes. |
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| 8. |
Is there any project in Washington that deserves more federal support? How would you secure that funding? |
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We should fund transportation alternatives such as the monorail and bike lanes, partial dam removal and job retraining for those affected, and job-creating salmon restoration projects such as erosion control. We should shift federal investment from weapons systems to peaceful alternatives like renewable energy and organic agriculture. |
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| 9. |
What should Congress do to shore up Social Security? |
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Relevant data show Social Security is sound until at least 2037. Any shortfalls after that date can easily be avoided by making the taxation more fair. This should include treating investment income the same as any other, and taxing earned income over $76,000, all of which is currently exempt. |
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| 10. |
How would you extend healthcare coverage to more Americans? |
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I would favor creating a publicly funded, single-payer health-care system to cover all citizens. By eliminating multiple bureaucracies and taking profit out of this essential human service, we can easily afford to provide comprehensive health care that includes prescription drugs, mental health and dental care for all. |
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