Drake-Nye Q&A: What is the greatest threat facing America?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of three questions The Virginian-Pilot posed to the candidates for the Second Congressional District, incumbent Republican Thelma Drake and Democrat Glenn Nye. Their answers follow.

U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake

It isn't Iran, terrorism, or a rogue nation launching a missile at the United States that represents the greatest threat to our country. We can rise to the challenge and defeat foreign threats.

The greatest threat facing America is the political gridlock that prevents us from tackling the most important issues confronting our country.

Let me give you several examples.

We need a strategic energy policy to reduce foreign dependency, unleash U.S. energy resources, invest in alternative energy to end our reliance on fossil fuels, create American jobs and keep billions here in our country.

While everyone recognizes progress is critical to our national security, Congress has proven incapable of passing reform. Congressional Democrats are so unwilling to pass comprehensive reform that they scuttled the annual appropriations process so that their most vulnerable members would not be forced to cast recorded votes on the issue. Gridlock stands in the way of reform.

We need to reform health care delivery and the health insurance industry. We have heard the statistics - 45 million Americans are under- or uninsured. Yet what has Congress done about it? Nothing. Since Democrats assumed control of Congress 20 months ago, not one piece of legislation has been brought to the House floor to reform health insurance. Gridlock stands in the way of reform.

We must reform entitlement spending. The unmet obligations facing Social Security and Medicare approach $43 trillion - a staggering obligation that is impossible to meet and will bankrupt our country. If we pay for these obligations with no reform to the programs and rely solely on government debt, our debt ratio will explode to 810 percent of our GDP by 2080. This is unacceptable. Yet, political gridlock and outrageous personal attacks prevent even a rational conversation about what to do about this ticking time bomb.

Everyone knows we need tax reform, immigration reform, transportation modernization, financial and banking industry reform, education reform and the list goes on. Why has there been no progress? Too many politicians are unwilling to negotiate. They settle for gridlock and the American people are paying the price.

I reach across the aisle to work with my Democratic colleagues. We worked on energy and immigration reform. But when it came time to move legislation to the floor for a vote, these Democrats caved in to the demands of their leadership. The result? Gridlock - no progress.

I found it interesting that the Wall Street bailout legislation passed so quickly - only two weeks. This bill proves that Congress and the executive branch can compromise to pass critical legislation. While I voted against the bill, the process worked nevertheless. It's ironic that passage of the legislation required the threat of the end of the nation's economy to get quick action.

I believe that the family that cannot find affordable health insurance, the small business spending unnecessarily to comply with a complex tax code, or a family that struggles to pay for the basics and can't afford to fill up their gas tank all require immediate government action as well. It should not take a 777-point drop in the stock market to compel Congress to act on what it knows are important issues.

In four months our country will have a new president. The people of Virginia's 2nd Congressional District have my word that I will work to put an end to the partisan gridlock that represents the greatest threat to our country. I will continue to represent their values, be true to my principles, and will work to find common ground and tackle the issues that confront us.

Glenn Nye

America is the most powerful force for good in the world, and nations around the globe continue to seek to imitate our strengths and successes. However, America's enemies are watching us, too, as we face a significant economic crisis at home and are dangerously overextended abroad.

I worked for nearly a decade promoting U.S. policies and interests in places like Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan and was proud to serve our country. But as I learned on the ground, America cannot effectively project its power abroad when our economy is weakened and our military is overstretched.

If we do not change the path we are on, our enemies will continue to test our resolve. The world needs America to be a leader, but in order to be strong on the world scene, we must have a solid foundation economically.

There are growing threats across the globe, and al-Qaida's presence on the Afghanistan and Pakistan border remains the greatest danger to American security here at home. Washington has not given the needed oversight or sufficient resources to bring real success in Afghanistan, and as a result al-Qaida has returned to pre-9/11 capabilities.

However, poor leadership in Washington has raised concerns about America's ability to respond effectively, particularly in light of our troubled economic situation, which has become the greatest threat to our nation at this time.

Our massive debts to foreign - and often unfriendly - nations have reduced our capabilities to fund the kind of military and aid strategies in Afghanistan that have proven effective recently in turning the tide in Iraq. Our commanders have said for a year that they do not have the necessary troop levels and resources to do the job of rooting out al-Qaida.

Our trade deficits and dependence on foreign oil further limit our ability to confront hostile regimes in the Middle East, Asia, South America and even eastern Europe.

We must turn this situation around, beginning with getting our economy back on track. We must end our dependence on foreign oil by expanding domestic energy production and investing in renewable resources. We must produce a realistic exit strategy from Iraq so that our troops are available to finish the job in Afghanistan, as well as respond to future emergencies.

A strong economy will enable us to do in Afghanistan, and in future trouble spots, what has worked in Iraq - building alliances, creating jobs and winning over local populations from those who seek to destroy us.

We cannot afford the failed strategies based on rigid ideologies that Washington has given us. We need new, pragmatic approaches to return America to its historic place of leadership in the world by fixing our economy and rebuilding our strength at home in order to project our power abroad.