League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton, Warren County, OH November 6, 2012 Election
	Steve Chabot Answers Questions Candidate for US Representative; District 1

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

Questions & Answers

1. What are your qualifications for office? (50 Word limit)

I've had the great privelege of representing Ohio's First Congressional District for nearly 16 years. And during that time I have fought against wasteful spending and exessive regulatory burdens. I will continue to lead the fight against these obstacles and build an economy that works for all Americans.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

We need to reform the tax code by lowering rates, closing loopholes, and putting hard-working taxpayers ahead of special interests. These pro-growth reforms would ensure the taxcode is fair, simple, and competitive and would allow businesses to expand and create jobs.

I have supported dozens of bills that would provide relief from the record amounts of government red tape, such as the REINS Act, repeal of President Obama's heath care law, and a new rule that would require the Obama Administration to consider the economic impact of all new rules and regulations.

3. What is the biggest issue facing the district you hope to represent? What will do you do in office to address it?

In Cincinnati, we have a project of regional and national significance that I believe is the type of project Congress needs to support. The Brent Spence Bridge is a major commercial artery connecting the Midwest with the South. The annual value of freight crossing the bridge exceeds $400 billion + that's a little over 3% of our national GDP crossing one bridge, and by 2030 the valuein real dollars is expected to more than double to $800 billion.

The bridge was recently labeled "functionally obsolete" by the federal government and needs to be replaced. Replacing the Brent Spence Bridge would save an estimated $748 million in congestion costs annually, savings that would grow inreal dollars to $1.3 billion annually by 2030. A 2009 study done by the Texas Transportation Institute concluded that completing the Brent Spence Bridge project would save 2.9 million person-hours of delay, 210,000 vehicle-hours of delay, and 1.22 million gallons of fuel every year. Over the next 20 years, this would result in $18.9 billion in benefits for commuters, shippers, and manufacturers.

The numbers are powerful on their own, but with freight serving as a key determinant of our economic competitiveness in the new global economy, projects like the Brent Spence Bridge carry even greater significance.

With the price of oil at over $100 a barrel and freight traffic scheduled to increase by 10% by 2030, our abilityto efficiently move goods within our nation's borders is critical to keeping the price of American goods low and competitive in the global marketplace.

4. What are your priorities with respect to our nation's energy policy? Should there be an emphasis on clean energy and reducing carbon emissions, and/or on reducing our dependence on foreign sources?

We need an all of the above energy approach that utilizes our resources here in America as well as an invetstment in clean and renewable energy sources for the future. It is also important to halt the unecessary regulatory measures being implemented by government agencies that have resulted in higher energy prices and fewer American jobs.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Answers will be cut off if they exceed a word limit, if present. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

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

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 10, 2012 15:32
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