Voter Guide: Jim Gilmore vs. Mark Warner for U.S. Senate

Mark R. Warner

Party: Democrat

Residence: Alexandria

Occupation: Investor, businessman

Personal: Born in Indianapolis; age 54; married to Lisa Collis, three daughters.

Experience: Governor of Virginia, 2002-2006; chairman of Democratic Party of Virginia, 1993-1994; Commonwealth Transportation Board, 1990-1994; unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate, 1996. Managing director of Columbia Capital Corp., 1980-2002; co-founded company that became Nextel.

Education: Law degree, Harvard Law School, 1980; bachelors degree, George Washington University, 1977.

Phone: 703-740-5100

Web site: www.markwarner2008.com

Warner: Politics in Washington is broken, and we need someone who’s willing to fight for results instead of partisan advantage.

I spent over 20 years building businesses in the private sector. And, given the financial crisis we are facing, I think we need more people in Washington who can read a balance sheet.

If I’m elected to the Senate, I hope to build a coalition of moderate senators –’radical centrists’ – because if an idea is good it shouldn’t matter if it has a 'D’ or an 'R’ attached to it. We brought a bi-partisan, results oriented approach to Richmond and that’s the kind of leadership I’ll bring to Washington.

In Washington, I’ll look out for the taxpayers to make sure their interests are protected in this financial rescue plan, and I’ll advance a national competitiveness strategy to jumpstart our economy to get it moving in the right direction.

Warner: We need to work with our military leaders to develop a responsible plan to begin to bring our brave military men and women home from Iraq without artificial timelines. Our troops have performed heroically in Iraq, and it’s time the Iraqi government does its part. A good start would be for the Iraqi government to start spending its $79 billion in surplus oil revenues on its own security and infrastructure. The recent talks between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government are a step in the right direction. This will allow us to shift our focus to the continuing terrorist threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan and commit to finishing the job against Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

The central front on terrorism is where Al Qaeda is strengthening - along the Afghan-Pakistani border. We need to focus our efforts in this critical region.

Warner: I support Roe v Wade. But I think folks with differing views on the issue of abortion can all agree that we ought to do everything we can to reduce unintended pregnancies. I signed a bill when I was governor to require parental notification with a judicial bypass. As the father of three daughters, I am very comfortable with this law.

Warner: I’d like to see an America where there’s not a need for affirmative action, but for now, we need to make sure there is a level playing field for everyone to participate.

I come from the business world, and I think most business people will tell you that they want to recruit employees who were educated in an environment where they were exposed to diverse people and ideas. As I have said many times in the past, I continue to be opposed to the use of quotas.

Warner: I will seek the advice of our military leaders as they begin a review of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. We also need to have appropriate recruitment and retention polices that will keep our military strong.

Warner: The federal role in public education should be to provide the right incentives for underperforming schools and to work with states and localities to make sure we have an educated and competitive workforce. While I agree with the goals of No Child Left Behind, I think the policy has been poorly implemented.

As governor, I was proud that we made the largest investment in public education in Virginia history. Over the course of my administration, the percentage of fully accredited public schools increased from 40 percent to 92 percent. Virginia students posted the highest math SAT score increase in the nation, and Virginia was recognized as a leader in areas ranging from high school reform to school efficiency.

Warner: We need to fix our nation’s health care system. It’s both a moral issue and a competitiveness issue – we simply cannot allow 47 million Americans to go without access to health care while those who are fortunate enough to have insurance pay twice as much per person as our competitors around the world. By focusing on preventative care and cutting costs through proven measures like switching to electronic medical records, we can expand coverage and increase quality of care. I do not support a government run, single payer system. As chairman of the National Governors Association, I helped formulate a bi-partisan plan to slow the growth of entitlement health care costs, and I’ll bring the same approach to Washington.

Social Security benefits are the bedrock of retirement for most Americans. It’s estimated that without Social Security, more than 50% of seniors would be living in poverty and for two-thirds of the elderly, Social Security provides the majority of their income.

I support a bi-partisan commission similar in structure and process to the BRAC commission, which seeks to reduce the influence of politics and special interests and concludes with a simple “up” or “down” vote on its ultimate recommendations, to explore commonsense ideas that will keep the Social Security program secure and solvent.

Warner: The worst thing about this financial crisis is that it could have been avoided if folks weren’t asleep at the switch in Washington and on Wall Street. In the short term, Washington needs to act to prevent further financial meltdown. I plan to withhold final judgment on any specific package until the full details are available. Any plan must protect the interests of the taxpayers and maximize their return, prohibit excessive executive compensation packages for CEO’s who ran their companies into the ground, provide for independent oversight while the Treasury Department implements the rescue plan, and help stabilize the home real estate market.

As a part of overall budget and tax reform, I would support allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest Americans and invest these funds in our nation’s infrastructure – our roads, rail, bridges, and broadband.

On the federal deficit – which is over $400 billion – I plan to bring the same approach to Washington that I did to Richmond. When I became governor, my administration inherited a budget shortfall that grew to $6 billion. The first thing my administration did was cut spending and reform government by eliminating over 5,000 government positions and consolidating over 50 boards. After we cut spending, we worked with a two-to-one Republican legislature and passed a responsible budget and tax reform package to address our structural budget problems. In the third year of my term and after our bipartisan budget reform, Virginia was named the best managed state in the country by Governing Magazine, and Forbes Magazine named Virginia the best state for business.

Warner: We need a comprehensive immigration policy, one that is tough on border security, is effective, and is fair to taxpayers.

First, we need to secure our borders. By increasing our border security, we can prevent more undocumented people from entering the country illegally.

We must also enforce our existing immigration laws. The federal government should hold accountable any business owner who knowingly hires undocumented workers. Undocumented workers should be required to pay back taxes, pay a fine and learn English.

Finally, for those in the country illegally, blanket amnesty isn’t an option. Anyone who has broken the law should be immediately deported.

This issue must be resolved at the federal level and should not penalize those individuals who have followed the law and are legal.

Warner: To address prices, we should lift the offshore moratorium and allow more domestic offshore oil and gas drilling, invest in alternative energy technology and crack down on oil speculators. We should work with the Navy to come up with a sensible plan that allows offshore drilling in Virginia and does not compromise our national security. We should not be drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We should make the energy research and development tax credit permanent so we can create millions of new jobs here in America. If we do this right, American workers will build hybrid vehicles that get up to 100 mpg within 24 months.

In the long term, we need a comprehensive energy plan that reduces our dependence on Middle Eastern oil by investing in nuclear, cleaner coal, wind, solar, alternative fuels and domestic oil and gas to power our country. If we do this, we can both lower the price of gas and make our nation more secure.

Warner: I will support the most qualified and competent legal minds nominated by the President. I would want men and women who believe that the Constitution is a living document, and that the rights enshrined in it – including the right to privacy – are what make our country great.

Warner: We must keep our military strong by providing compensation and incentives that allow us to meet our recruiting goals and result in our soldiers wanting to stay in the military for longer.

We must recommit to providing world-class health care and education benefits to our troops and military veterans. They stand for us on the battlefield, and we must stand with them when they come home. Improving the services veterans receive is not only good government, it is a debt of gratitude we owe them for their sacrifices and accomplishments.

Warner: Yes, global warming is real and human behavior does play a role. We need to address this through a comprehensive energy plan that reduces our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and invests in nuclear, cleaner coal, wind, solar and alternative fuels and includes a carbon cap.