1) What is the No. 1 issue in your district and how would you address it?
Among the many economic concerns facing the people of the Fifth District, housing remains the greatest concern. Like many communities across the country, the Fifth District has seen a dramatic uptick in foreclosures, as well as a prolonged stagnation in commercial and residential real estate. The foreclosure rate in the Fifth District is still hovering around 6.5 %, well above the national rate of about 3.5%.
At home in the district, my staff has helped hundreds of families cut through the red tape and stay in their homes. Every day, we work with constituents who are struggling with foreclosure, transition, or loan modifications. In addition to this personalized assistance, we have also hosted large housing service fairs to bring together resources and counselors under one roof.
In Washington, as Ranking Member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on TARP, Bailouts and Financial Services, I have pressed for reforms to stabilize the housing market, reduce the number of homes stuck in the middle of the foreclosure process, and correct the unfair restrictions on the conforming loan limit that adversely impact the Chicago housing market in comparison with other major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles.
I’ve taken constituent concerns directly to the top – and have gone so far as to sit down in a private meeting with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner to discuss the foreclosure and housing finance concerns of Chicagoans. Additionally, after hearing problems homeowners were facing in the loan modification process, I drafted an amendment that is now public law which increases transparency on the part of loan servicers. The provision specifically targets the opaque practices of loan modification by ensuring that those seeking to modify their loans are offered a transparent process, the tools to confirm or challenge their application data (income, credit score, etc), and an avenue for recourse if they suspect they were wrongly denied. I’ve also been working with fellow members of the Oversight Committee to reform FHFA rules that prevent responsible homeowners from being able to refinance their mortgages. In October, our efforts paid off and FHFA announced that even if their homes are underwater, homeowners current on their mortgages will now be able to refinance to take advantage of favorable interest rates.
2) How would you promote job growth in your district?
I am fighting to create jobs in the Fifth District and throughout the nation. There are three main areas where I believe Congress can act to promote sustainable job creation and economic growth:
- Pass the Surface Transportation Authorization Act. Our nation’s crumbling infrastructure represents a drag on job creation in the form of delays in the movement of goods and services, lost worker productivity, and deferred maintenance and investment. Fixing the roads, bridges, rails and airports today will save money tomorrow, and will create high quality, high-paying private sector jobs in our communities. For every $1 billion spent on infrastructure, 18,000 jobs are created. I believe Congress must reauthorize the Highway Bill now to free up infrastructure capitol and encourage the private sector development and investment our nation needs.
- Cut Red Tape – Not all regulations are job killers, in fact many of the regulations under attack by the 112th Congress help maintain a healthy economic environment by providing secure financial transactions, clean water for industrial production, and safe food supplies. However, all regulations must be continually examined, and unnecessary or harmful regulations must be eliminated. For this reason, I have established a form on my website reaching out to small business owners in the Illinois Fifth District soliciting feedback on the impact of regulations on their ability to create jobs, and asking for their thoughts on how to streamline and improve the role that government plays in their businesses. I have also worked many jobs throughout the district through my “Undercover Congressman” events, which allow me to see how businesses operate and what challenges they face on a day to day basis.
- Eliminate Corruption – Corruption imposes a specific cost on the local, state and federal economies through lost opportunities for growth and wasteful allocation of resources. Upon taking Federal Office in 2009, I asked the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General to look into Project Shield, a $45 million counter terrorism program at Cook County. The Inspector General recently released the findings of this report, revealing staggering waste, fraud and abuse in the program. The Homeland Security funds wasted by this program could have been put to use creating jobs, improving the flow of commerce and reducing the exposure of businesses and individuals to the threat of terrorism. Instead, the funds were wasted, and the economic benefit of these funds was lost. I continue to press for passage of the State Ethics Law Protection Act, a bill I passed through the House in 2010 which would allow the State of Illinois to block pay-to-play contracting in highway construction and level the playing field for scrupulous private sector contractors to create jobs and build the roads of Illinois without the wasteful drag of corruption. Finally, I recently introduced legislation to address the recent Supreme Court decision removing Honest Services as criteria for anti-corruption prosecutions such as the recent trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.
3) Should the federal government cut spending and where?
At a time when every dollar spent means a dollar and forty cents borrowed, the government must cut spending. Our nation’s financial condition demands decisive action to maintain our standing in the world and ensure our future economic strength. This means there can be no sacred cows – everything must be on the table. We must rethink and reinvent the way government provides the essential services the American people have come to expect and the way that we pay for them as if we were starting from scratch.
In May of 2011 I produced the second in my series of reports on Reinventing Federal Government. This report, which is available on my website at Quigley.house.gov/reinventing, makes 60 specific recommendations to reduce the Federal Deficit by $2 Trillion over ten years. Among these recommendations are $300-500 billion in Health Care savings without impacting the quality of medical care, $600-700 in specific Defense cuts without jeopardizing our national security, and $50-60 billion in agricultural savings without negatively impacting our nation’s food supply.
4) If Republican, which GOP presidential candidate do you support?
N/A
5) Give an example of something you’ve done that is bipartisanship in nature.
I currently meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers lead by Representatives James Renacci (R-OH) and John Carney (D-DE) to improve the budget process and press for meaningful change instead of political advantage. I intend to sit with this group during the State of the Union Address and will be introducing Budget Process Improvement legislation with all of the members of the group. Implementing the tough decisions needed to reduce the deficit requires bipartisan commitment and cooperation. I voted in favor of the Budget Control Act which created the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, or “Supercommittee”, and worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to present savings opportunities for the Committee’s consideration. I also signed a letter with over 100 members from both sides of the aisle urging the Supercommittee to go big and seek $4 trillion in deficit reduction.
6) Name one good policy idea that comes from the opposing party.
I join with many of my Republican colleagues in supporting fundamental tax reform to simplify and streamline the tax code, eliminating wasteful tax expenditures and loopholes. The average American should not require the help of tax experts to complete a return. Fundamental reform must address the proliferation of tax expenditures that have grown in the tax code since the last major reform in 1986. Tax expenditures are earmarks written into the tax code, without any sunset requirements or cost-benefit accountability. Targeted tax breaks add to the deficit the same way that targeted spending does but they are not listed in the budget. These breaks should be eliminated by reinventing the tax code as if we were starting from scratch and trying to design a tax system more attuned to our current needs.
7) How do you define family values?
The greatest of family values is love. Love makes a family, regardless of sexual orientation. For that reason, I am a proud cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the shamefully anti-family Defense of Marriage Act. Senator McGovern wrote in 1972, “what is right has always been called radical by those with a stake in things that are wrong.” And although there was a time when mantras like this were a rallying cry at LGBT gatherings in support of issues such as same-sex marriage, it need not be anymore. Because there’s nothing radical about being allowed to marry the person you hold closest in your heart. And there’s nothing radical about expecting that union to receive the full protection of the law. Dr. Martin Luther King said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ I am proud to be fighting for justice for families of all kinds that embody the true family value of love.
8) What are your thoughts on the healthcare law?
After fighting for provisions to protect a woman’s right to choose, I voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the 111th Congress, and have fought against attempts in the 112th Congress to repeal this important legislation. I believe Americans are already seeing the benefits of its provisions, particularly the elimination of preexisting conditions and the extension of parental insurance for children until age 26.
Several aspects of the law have proved problematic, and I voted in support of removing the “1099” provision, which imposed a burdensome regulation on small business owners.
I believe it is critical to ensure implementation of the cost containment reforms built into the law, and the adoption of pay for quality delivery system reforms. I also believe that the CMS Innovation Center must be fully funded, and that the Independent Payment Advisory Board be permitted to carry out its mission effectively.
I await the Supreme Court’s impending decisions regarding the constitutionality of certain aspects of the law, particularly the personal mandate to acquire health insurance. I am supportive of this mandate as a crucial part of the law, and will work with my colleagues in response to whatever finding the court reaches.
9) Who is your political role model?
Last year I had the honor of walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama with Congressman John Lewis as he revisited the site where he demonstrated great poise and integrity as a young civil rights leader in 1965. He continues to embody these values as an elder statesman in the House of Representatives. I have known him to be a gentleman and an accomplished legislator, and believe there is no greater role model in Congress.
10) What’s on your iPod?
Mott the Hoople
