Insight

1. The economy has become an overriding concern for the nation in the last few weeks. What more can the government and Congress do to address what has quickly become a financial crisis?

Josh Segall: So far, we've focused entirely on saving corporations, while the government has been ignoring the problems of Main Street. The next step has to be a stimulus package aimed at workers and homeowners. This ought to include allowing people who declare bankruptcy to refinance the mortgage on their primary residence, not just their second and third homes.

But the most important thing we can do is to start making smart long-term investments in our country. Investing in things like roads and bridges is the real key to creating jobs. Sending everyone a check for $600 (like the stimulus package Mike Rogers supported) is a waste of money.

Mike Rogers: Our economy is facing a serious crisis. Folks on east Alabama's Main Street are feeling its negative effects in the form of lower home values, continuing high energy prices, lost jobs and tight credit. While the legislation that Congress passed recently is not a silver-bullet fix, it should help everyday Alabamians by making credit more easily available.

Congress also needs to pass a second economic stimulus package, which I supported. That bill should include an extension of unemployment benefits and food stamps, more federal funding to states for Medicaid, federal funding for our infrastructure to create good-paying jobs, and immediate help for homeowners facing foreclosure at no fault of their own to keep their homes. Congress also needs to crack down hard on the greed and corruption of those on Wall Street that helped cause this mess.

2. Do you agree with the notion that the problems in the nation's economy were brought about because of a lack of regulation? Or do we have too much regulation?

JS: I agree. We overturned a law called Glass Steagall that we put in place after the Great Depression, and that took down some of the barriers between regular banks and investment banks. The mistake we made was somehow thinking that we knew better than the people who saved us from the Great Depression. We've been letting people get houses without asking them whether they have a job, and we've allowed financial institutions to lie about the quality of the mortgages they sell. Rogers has supported financial deregulation and opposed oversight of executive pay at every opportunity.

MR: One thing is for certain: Wall Street needs to understand that the age of deregulation is over. Hard-working Americans are fed up with Wall Street's greed and corruption, and the legislation just passed by Congress will increase oversight of Wall Street. We need to impose strict rules and guidelines on the institutions and sectors that caused this economic crisis. The FBI should investigate any criminal actions on Wall Street and put those responsible in prison.

3. How would you rate Congress' action in dealing with the financial crisis?

JS: I would give Congress a 3. The Treasury Secretary came to Congress and provided a three-page proposal that asked for $700 billion with no supervision. Congress said yes only after they added an extra $150 billion in pork.

Congress gave almost no consideration to any alternatives and failed to listen to the concerns of economists across the country. It's the job of your congressman to ask tough questions before he hands over your money, and I don't think Rogers did that. We saw shameful displays of partisanship from both parties throughout the process, and the American people deserve better than that.

MR: While I share folks' deep disappointment with our circumstance, in this crisis there were no easy answers and the result was not perfect. But at the end of the day, the leaders from both political parties, along with John McCain and Barack Obama, came together to strengthen our economy. Congress put aside partisan politics and acted to help protect Main Street.

4. How would you rate the actions of the Treasury Secretary and the chairman of the Federal Reserve? Use a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being the quality of an un-coached T-ball team, 10 being a well-oiled Major League franchise.

JS: I give them a 2. Their decision-making process has been erratic, and the three-page proposal they presented to Congress demonstrated a complete and total lack of readiness. The Treasury is posting "help wanted" signs on its Web site to draw from the growing pool of unemployed Wall Street investors. The bailout is an incredibly risky venture, and now it's going to be implemented by the people who caused this crisis and guided by those who failed to see it coming.

MR: They bungled explaining the crisis to the American people and almost lost Congress in the process.

5. How would you rate the action of President Bush, using the above scale?

JS: I would give the president a 1. The president's job is to provide leadership and reassurance during a crisis, and we saw almost none of that from this president. It took him days to appear before the American people to address the crisis, and when he finally did, I don't think anyone felt very reassured.

MR: I do believe that if this crisis were explained better to the American people of how it threatened Main Street from the beginning, it would have initially been better received. That is where the president could have made a difference.

6. In a short paragraph, please evaluate the tenure of President Bush.

JS: While I believe our homeland is safer than it was on 9/11, we haven't secured every dangerous chemical in this country. The president had an opportunity on 9/11 to rally the country to a great achievement such as energy independence. Instead, he asked people to shop, and that was a great mistake.

The president hasn't come up with a plan to grow our economy, and his agenda's been poorly executed. From the prescription drug plan and No Child Left Behind to the Iraq war and the bailout, the implementation of Bush's ideas has been a failure. His spending has driven us into a record deficit without the kind of investments that will grow our economy. He found $700 billion to bail out Wall Street, but not to fund the VA, health insurance for children or alternative energy research. I hope the next president is better able to prioritize.

MR: The last eight years has been one of the most dangerous and challenging periods in a long time. From the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to the Global War on Terror, to Hurricane Katrina, and now the economic crisis, these have been and are difficult times. Certainly this administration has made some dramatic mistakes, while also accomplishing several important priorities for our nation. I think that time will be the ultimate judge of President Bush given the long-term challenges we have faced. Only the clear lens of history will determine how positively or negatively his tenure will be viewed.

7. Neither of you had as your first choice the current nominees for president. Rogers backed Mitt Romney, Segall said initially that he wished Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia had run. Do you support your party's candidate, and why?

JS: The entire point of my campaign is being independent and always putting the district first. Regardless of who it is, I'm committed to working with the president to do what's best for the district. I do support my party's nominee, but I disagree with him on several important points, including immigration, health care, the bailout, domestic drilling and taxes. I'll never put my party above the needs of the people in this district.

MR: I support John McCain and Sarah Palin and believe their leadership will bring the right kind of change for our nation during these turbulent times.

8. Was the decision to go to war in Iraq right?

JS: Knowing what we know now about Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the cost of the war and weapons of mass destruction, of course it was the wrong decision. Rogers disagrees with this, and that is a failure on his part to admit a mistake.

MR: That question will be debated for ages. But I think it is more important to ask that once we went to war in Iraq, how did we support our troops and allow them to be victorious? I supported our troops in the field at every opportunity with the equipment, vehicles and support they deserve. When it came to fighting the war, I listened to Gen. David Petraeus instead of Nancy Pelosi. And I supported the largest increase in VA spending in 77 years and the new GI Bill for when these brave troops come home.

9. Outline your policy on immigration.

JS: 1, we need to enforce the laws we have now; 2, we need to increase funding and manpower for both the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement so that we're capable of enforcing those laws and closing the border; 3, I oppose any program that would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

MR: Two things are first and foremost: First, we must seal the border now, and second, provide absolutely no amnesty. This is one of the biggest areas of disagreement between President Bush and me. Everybody understands that certain sectors of our economy depend on this pool of labor, especially agriculture and construction. After we seal our borders we should discuss the best way to create a guest-worker program to allow folks to come into our nation legally to work, and to leave when their work is done. But again, securing our porous borders comes first.

10. Outline your policy on health care.

JS: 1. Forty thousand people are hurt every day because of staph infections, bedsores, pneumonia, getting the wrong medication and other preventable errors. If we deal with our nursing and doctor shortage and support pharmacists, we can reduce this harm, improve quality and lower costs for everybody.

2. We should allow the government to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Rogers has voted against allowing the government to do this, and this has helped keep prices high for all of us.

3. I support expanding the state children's health insurance program. Rogers voted against this expansion twice.

4. We need to focus on preventive care so that we can help keep people out of the emergency room. We need more primary care doctors, and we need to make it easier for people to see a doctor regularly.

MR: Congress must do more to make sure every American has access to quality and affordable health care that puts the patients and their families first. I was pleased to support the Medicare Modernization Act, which while not perfect, provides historic new prescription drug coverage for our seniors. That legislation also included important new benefits for folks across east Alabama with very modest or fixed incomes. Congress should also debate other common-sense solutions like Association Health Plans. This approach would create groups of health plans, similar to what federal employees have access to, in which small businesses and families can pool their purchasing power to help lower health-care costs. We also must continue to strengthen and support Medicaid, which provides essential services for the most vulnerable among us, and SCHIP, which provides thousands of children across east Alabama critical coverage. A big, government-run, single-payer plan that rations health care is not the right the solution.

11. What is the most important issue facing the 3rd Congressional District? What is the most important issue facing Calhoun County?

JS: It's job creation. We've sent thousands of jobs overseas in Alabama, and neither party has a plan to replace them. If we don't replace these jobs, young people won't be able to get jobs where they grew up and rural towns will disappear. Right now, we don't have the infrastructure we need in Alabama, and investing in things like roads and bridges is the key to creating better jobs.

For example, we have more waste from our timber industry that we could turn into fuel than Iowa has corn. We could be one of the leading producers of alternative fuels, but no one wants to build refineries in rural Alabama because we don't have enough roads and bridges that can hold the trucks that transport fuel. We have more than 1,200 bridges that can't even hold a school bus. If we fix that kind of problem, we can create jobs and grow our economy.

In Calhoun County, completing the Eastern Parkway and redeveloping McClellan is the most important investment we can make and will have a tremendous economic impact. Congress has to provide the funding to complete these projects, and I'll work every day to make that happen.

MR: The economy. Folks in east Alabama are dealing with high gas prices, rising food costs, falling home values and the possibility of lost jobs. We must work hard to bring new, good-paying jobs to east Alabama and protect the ones we have by opposing bad trade deals. Congress must continue to invest in our workers, both through worker training programs and through helping improve our schools, to ensure we will continue to have the best work force in America. We must also continue to work to diversify our economy and attract new good-paying jobs, so that our region will continue to grow through a balance of new industry, agriculture, technology and defense.

In Calhoun County, our economic engine continues to be the Anniston Army Depot. Supporting and protecting the approximately 23,000 direct and indirect jobs in the area is essential, given the depot pumps roughly $1.5 billion a year into our economy. This region needs an advocate in Congress to continue to help strengthen and protect the depot, as well as the other two military facilities in the 3rd District. From securing federal funding for the powertrain facility to the new industrial wastewater treatment facility, I have worked hard to be the best possible advocate for the depot and its outstanding work force. Over the long term, the Calhoun County region also needs to diversify its economy. We do that by protecting the depot while also completing the destruction of chemical weapons stored there, redeveloping and aggressively marketing McClellan to attract new employers, finishing the Eastern Parkway and helping expand and invest in our outstanding educational institutions such as Jacksonville State University.