League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Ted Lieu Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 33

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

Questions & Answers

1. In this time of high unemployment and budget deficits, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy and sustain job creation?

As the son of hard-working immigrants who achieved the American Dream, I am committed to strengthening the middle class by focusing on job creation, raising the minimum wage, making higher education more affordable and helping workers save for retirement. Here are my economic, job creation and Middle Class priorities:

Extending to students the same low interest rates on their college loans that the federal government currently charges to big banks.

Protecting Social Security and Medicare and stopping plans to privatize them.

Raising the federal minimum wage.

Overhauling the federal government's approach to workforce investment by focusing precious resources for job training in areas where there is a pathway to a good, high wage job.

Expanding investment in research and development to directly help job growth around Silicon Beach and UCLA.

Expanding job creation by investing in infrastructure and improving our transportation system.

2. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs?

I support strengthening the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and will fight to protect Medicare in Congress. As a legislator, I have voted regularly to support the ACA, including the creation of the health exchange, setting a minimum level of benefits and expanding MediCal.

Additionally, with the increase in health insurance marketing to communities whose first language is not English, I authored and passed a law to ensure that for insurers who advertise in a language other than English, the documents must also be in that language.

3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy?

We must be aggressive in our approach to ending the use of fossil fuels. I believe Congress needs to enact a renewable portfolio standard the way California has done. We also need to create national policies that incentivize the installation of solar and wind projects, including mandating solar net-energy metering and permanent federal tax incentives for large and small solar and wind projects. Coupled with an energy tax incentive for solar energy, California and America would be able to exponentially expand the installation of small business and residential affordable solar. Increased installation means more jobs.

4. What, if any, changes should be made with respect to our nation’s security, including our national defense or anti-terrorism measures?

As an Air Force Reserve Officer, I am committed to protecting our Country and Constitution. When it was revealed that the National Security Agency was violating our privacy, I authored bi-partisan legislation to stop our state government from cooperating with the NSA's spying on American citizens.

For years, the National Security Agency has been violating the Fourth Amendment rights of all 317 million Americans, including more than 38 million Californians, through its searches and seizures of our phone and other electronic records.

Not only is the NSA's massive dragnet unconstitutional, the NSA has produced little to no evidence that the program has been effective.

5. What is your position on the issue of immigration reform? What, if any, changes to legislation or policy would you support?

Looking for a better life and opportunity, my parents immigrated to the United States when I was three. With the support of hard-working parents and a country that provided limitless opportunity, I would attend Stanford and then Georgetown University for my law degree. I am in public service because I want to ensure that the opportunities provided to me and my family are open and available to everyone. Comprehensive immigration reform must happen. Last year, I lobbied Republican Members of Congress from California to push for immigration reform.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. 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: May 11, 2014 11:12
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