House candidates on the issues

The following are excerpts from the League of Women Voters - St. Augustine Record forum Monday night featuring Republican and Democratic candidates for their respective party's nominations for the U.S. House of Representatives. The new district covers Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

On the panel were Republicans Richard Clark of Jacksonville, Dr. Fred Costello of Ormand Beach, Ron DeSantis of Ponte Vedra Beach and Bev Slough of St. Johns, and Democrats Heather Beaven of Palm Coast and Vipin Verma of Daytona Beach.

Also on the panel were Republicans Alec Pueshel of Jacksonville, and William Kogut of Ormand Beach. Both have generated little support and are not included here.

Candidate Craig Miller of Ormand Beach was invited, but did not attend.

Here are the questions and highlights of the candidates' responses:

¦ Question No. 1. Each of you is asking this district to put its trust in you. Over the years, what have you done in this district specifically to earn the trust and votes of its residents?

Clark: "I was raised here. I've spent many, many hours up and down the district in volunteer efforts. Both my children were born and raised here."

Costello: Absent for this question.

DeSantis: "I've been somebody who's been involved in public service in a variety of capacities."

Slough: She talked about her involvement as a pastor's wife in her husband's church in St. Johns County. She also emphasized her time on the St. Johns County School Board for the past 10 years. "We built the performance of children from the mediocre place in our state all the way to No. 1 for the last four years," she said. "We are the largest employer in the county and have faced budget cuts just like everyone else, but have not laid off people and have not cut programs. Many people who live in St. Johns County today came here because of our schools so you could say I helped build the economy in the county as well."

Beaven: She emphasized the non-profit businesses she is involved with in Flagler County, including an anti-bullying initiative, statewide leadership and character development programs and programs focusing on science, technology, engineering and math for girls. She is planning to help reserve families, such as hers, "adjust to life without their soldier."

Verma: He talked about his experience as an attorney and a small-business owner in Daytona.

¦ Question No. 2. Taxes are always a hot issue. Former Gov. Jeb Bush said earlier this year that he would never sign a tax pledge, arguing that he would be willing to make a deal with the other side if it gave him $10 in tax cuts for $1 in tax increase. Please tell us if you have signed or if you plan to sign a no new taxes pledge, and why or why not.

Clark: "I not only signed the pledge, I sought it out. I firmly believe that raising taxes in today's environment is absolutely the wrong thing to do."

Costello: "I have signed no pledges and I will not sign a pledge other than to my God, my family and my country." He said discussions should not be about increasing tax revenue, but cutting expenses. He also said he supports the fair tax, which is a consumption tax rather than an income tax.

DeSantis: "I have signed a no new taxes plan. I think we're overtaxed as it is and I don't think raising taxes is a correct response." He said tax increases are bad fiscal policy and that Congress needs to focus on reducing spending, restructuring entitlements and eliminating failed agencies such as the Department of Energy.

Slough: "I have not signed a pledge and I do not mean to, I do not have any intention whatsoever of raising taxes, but something catastrophic could happen that would require that and I don't want to be a person who goes back on her word."

Beaven: "I think it's short-sighted and nonsense to take a pledge outside of the oath of office."

Verma: "Every Republican has said they will not raise taxes." He then questioned that there aren't any loopholes Republicans would want to close. "Let's talk about a balanced approach and stop looking at things in a short-sighted way."

¦ Question No. 3. Rep. Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan, is the chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. He favors lower tax rates, but has warned that lowering tax rates would explode the budget deficit unless Republicans also prune back expensive credits, such as home mortgage interest deduction, retirement savings and employer-provided health insurance. His tax plan is expected to go before the House in 2013. Would you favor eliminating deductions for popular items such as those as a way to lower tax rates? And, second, is the elimination of a tax deduction, in essence, a tax hike?

Clark: "We need to lower our tax rate and we need to shrink the size of government. We shouldn't try to cherry-pick all these loopholes."

Costello: He said he supports revenue-neutral tax reform, not additional revenue. He also said he believes the government should remove as many exemptions as possible but should not eliminate deductions for mortgage interest, retirement savings or health insurance. "I believe our communities are better and our government pays less money when we have more homeowners, and the mortgage interest deduction stimulates that." He also said that removing deductions are essentially tax hikes. "If you eliminate a deduction, you should pair it with a tax cut."

DeSantis: "Our tax code is clearly broken. I think we need a fundamental overhaul." He said as tax rates go up, you see more loopholes emerging. He said he would favor either a flat tax or a fair tax, and would not want to eliminate already existing deductions such as those mentioned in the question.

Slough: She favors totally revamping the tax code and eliminating many of the loopholes that exist. "However, I think the particular ones that were referenced are drivers of our economy. I believe we need to cut everything we can, but I don't believe those particular ones should be affected."

Beaven: "I don't know why we're allowing Congress to box us into false choices. We don't need to Band-Aid our current tax code, we need to set a definition of success in the 21st century." She said she would not vote for this plan if she were in Congress, saying it wasn't serious.

Verma: He emphasized the need for corporate tax reform. "We need to cut taxes for middle class families and small business owners," he said. "We need to close the tax loopholes."

¦ Question No. 4. Social Security is in trouble. Let's talk about changes in Social Security for those who are now under age 50. What changes, if any, to Social Security would you favor for those who are now under age 50 as a way to make the program financially solvent?

Clark: America needs a new Social Security plan that will allow young people to invest their own money and that might even allow people to opt out. "Invest in your own future; It's not my job to invest in your future for you."

Costello: "Social Security was intended to be a safety net, not a retirement plan." He would not be in favor of changes for anyone 50 or older, but he also talked about the disconnect between the increase in life expectancy and the stagnation of the age to receive benefits. "We need to extend time," he said. Costello also said the government needs to encourage people to save their own money for retirement.

DeSantis: "It's important to tell our senior citizens that a promise made is a promise kept. We're not going to take it out on the current recipients." He said we need to alter Social Security for the people in his generation (he's 33). He said he would like young people to be able to take their Social Security taxes and put that money into something they could control.

Slough: "I support fully, gradually and slowly raising the age when Social Security can be collected." She would also support young workers being able to shift some of their Social Security into a 401(k)-type structure or a retirement account so they could build their own savings. This, Slough said, could ultimately eliminate Social Security.

Beaven: "We are short of money in Social Security because Congress has been stealing from the trust fund for some time now. We first have to stop Congress from robbing Peter to pay Paul. I think having any other conversation is putting the (cart) before the (horse)."

Verma: He would like to increase the incentives for young people to start saving on their own. "When they can retire on their own, then we can start talking about real reforms to Social Security," he said.

¦ Question No. 5. One of the biggest not-yet-told stories in America is the fact that the boomers don't have enough money to retire. The median amount that boomers have saved is $78,000. You can't live on the interest from that for long. When Congress enacted the Kemp-Roth bills, the goal was to help Americans secure a comfortable retirement. What changes, if any, would you support to the IRA and 401k laws to encourage people to save more?

Clark: "It's not the government's job to invade someone's life and say I'm going to take care of you. You need to put money aside for the future. You cannot rely on the government to do it. It is this entitlement mind set that the government's going to do it for me is what got us into this position today."

Costello: He believes increasing or eliminating caps for the IRA or 401ks are good ideas, but that that's just a Band-Aid. His plan is to reform the tax code. "The fair tax would be the most important thing we could do to help seniors survive." He said people need to become self-sufficient. "If they don't plan, it's not our responsibility to bail them out."

DeSantis: He believes people should pay taxes on their consumed income rather than their income. He said he would also support a fair tax, saying either one of those tax options provides incentives to save. "Ultimately, it's the individual's choice to choose how much you want to save. I don't want experts in Washington telling me how much I should save."

Beaven: She thinks raising the caps is a good start, but that it may be too late for some people in this economy. She talked about Congress giving us "false choices," saying that we need to replace the members in Congress who aren't keeping their promises.

Verma: He would like to put tax incentives in place to encourage young people to save for themselves and not rely on Social Security for retirement. He said he thinks eliminating the caps is a good start, but he would also like to see employer matching programs implemented.

¦ Question No. 6. Medicare is in worse trouble financially than Social Security. The Republican plan drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin would dramatically lower the size of the increased costs of this program. Ryan calls for "premium support payments" - what others call vouchers - so that people can buy private insurance. Now, Ryan said, the "patient is disconnected from the cost" of his health coverage. The biggest objection from critics of this plan is that it would cost seniors more. So, do you support the Ryan plan and, if the critics are correct, will it cost seniors more?

Clark: He applauds Ryan for standing up and presenting an idea and thinks he has some good ideas. "We need to make some true systemic changes." He wants to eliminate the Affordable Health Care Act and implement tort reform. He said he'd like to make health care tax deductible and allow open competition.

Costello: He wholly supports Ryan's plan as a starting point. He said people should be able to decide which state-sponsored plan they want to purchase. He said he'd like to eliminate the prohibition on co-pay, allow the purchase of insurance across state lines and implement tort reform. Costello would like to eliminate the Affordable Health Care Act.

DeSantis: "I support what Ryan is trying to do in terms of reforming entitlements. It's not a voucher, it's premium support. You get a plan and can supplement it with your own income." He said the biggest problem is the Affordable Health Care Act - something he'd like to see eliminated.

Slough: She said the Ryan plan is the beginning of a conversation about Medicare reform and a step in the right direction. "It's an abomination that someone should be forced into accepting Medicare just because they have their 65th birthday. It's also a major problem that many doctors are refusing to accept patients on Medicare."

Beaven: "I think the fault of both Medicare and Medicaid don't lie with the patient. I believe we have taken the teeth out of the legislation and there's no way for us to enforce good business practices among doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and the people who actually bill Medicare and Medicaid." She said the government needs to be able to enforce the legislation and needs to look for fraud, waste and abuse.

Verma: "I'm strongly opposed to the Paul Ryan plan. By turning Medicare into a voucher program, you're basically leaving our seniors out to dry, to fend for themselves." Medicare can be fixed by getting rid of the fraud and abuse in the system. He emphasized his desire to implement biometric smart cards in hospitals that would allow someone's medical history to be readily available.

¦ Question No. 7. The Government Accountability Office reported last week that the protracted debate last year over how to raise the federal borrowing limit forced the government to pay at least $1.3 billion in additional interest costs. Also, that debate led Standard & Poor's to strip the U.S. government of its top-notch debt rating. In light of what happened last year, if elected, will you vote to raise the debt ceiling? Please explain your vote.

Clark: "No, I will not vote to raise the debt ceiling. Government doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem."

Costello: "I will not support an increase in debt ceiling unless there is a concurrent balanced budget amendment. If there is that, I would vote to increase the debt ceiling one time." He said the debt ceiling is the only tool available to stop government spending.

DeSantis: "I'm not going to raise the debt ceiling. We need to force Congress to make tough choices."

Slough: "I'm opposed to raising the debt ceiling. I believe we need to live within our means. … If we run into a situation where we have more expense than we have money, we cut expenses."

Beaven: "This is another example of what I mean by false choices. Congress raised the debt ceiling last year and have not done anything to address the sequestration we're facing now. We never close the loop on any of these conversations." She said if people don't like the way Congress is overspending, they should change their Congress member.

Verma: He would vote to raise the debt ceiling. "This is the money we've already spent and we're paying back obligations we've already agreed to. The debt ceiling debate is not the place to have this discussion."

¦ Question No. 8. Gun laws are always controversial. In the Supreme Court's Heller decision - which recognized an individual's right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment - Justice Samuel Alito took pains to point out that the court was not overturning a variety of restrictions on that right, including prohibitions against gun possession by felons and the mentally ill, and gun bans in schools and public buildings. Congress had at one time outlawed the type of assault weapon used in the Aurora shootings. Now that they are legal, would you favor a law, as some Republican commentators favor, that bans on 100-round drum style cartridges for assault weapons, and restricts them to 10 rounds?

Clark: "No."

Costello: "No, It's not the gun that kills people, it's people that kills people."

DeSantis: He would not favor any restrictions. "I think we have a Second Amendment right to bear arms, and if you try to infringe that, it ends up falling on law-abiding citizens, but the criminal is still able to obtain weapons."

Beaven: She supports the Second Amendment. "We could use this as a time to talk about a lot of meaningful things, but we won't. We'll use it as a way to talk about security at late-night movie theaters and I think this is a perfect example of the things we are not willing to discuss as elected officials."

Verma: "I am a supporter of the Second Amendment," Verma said. "But it doesn't mean you can't put any restriction on gun ownership." He questioned why anyone would need a 100-round drum style cartridge for an assault weapon. "Let's be realistic. You cannot allow AK47s and M16s in households."

¦ Question No. 9. Our current Congress is regarded as one of the most ineffective ones with one of the lowest public approval ratings in history. The Republicans seem united in defeating President Obama rather than in working to improve our country. Former Gov. Jeb Bush put it this way: "Back in my dad's time and in Ronald Reagan's time, they got a lot of stuff done with a lot of bipartisan support." Is a vote for you a vote for continued gridlock in Congress?

Clark: "There's no gridlock right now in the administration - it's one executive order after another. It's a one-way street. I think it's time for the other side to listen."

Costello: "I will not compromise my principles or my values, but I will compromise methods, timing and procedures. I will work with both sides." He said he has a history in the Florida House of Representatives of always working against bills that he thought were wrong - no matter what side of the aisle they came from.

DeSantis: "I'm going there recognizing we have certain problems and trying my best to work with whoever will work with me to reduce spending, to limit the size and scope of government and to enact policies that are conducive rather than destructive toward economic growth."

Slough: She believes the country is polarized and has been for a while and this means people aren't willing to talk with each other. "I believe there are many areas we can talk together and work on without violating our core principles."

Beaven: "I believe that neither party is entirely right and neither party is entirely wrong on most of these matters. It's not relevant to me what side of the aisle you sit on, as long as you are willing to have the real conversations about our real problems."

Verma: "I am willing to work with any Republican who is serious about solving our nation's problems." He stressed the importance of negotiating in good faith.