Daily Tar Heel Questionnaire

Daily Tar Heel Questionnaire
Monday, October 23, 2006

Name: David Price
Age: 66
Occupation: U.S. Representative

Favorite movie? O Brother, Where Art Thou?

What album are you inspired by? Let me instead recall the books I read and discussions I had in two courses under fine teachers -- one at UNC-Chapel Hill and one at Yale Divinity School. The undergraduate course introduced me to the great debates in American intellectual history since the Civil War. The Yale social ethics course led me to a new understanding of both my faith and the political ideas I had inherited and inspired me to relate the two.

What political figure would you most like to meet? Why? James Madison -- to understand the assumptions and expectations of the man most responsible for shaping the U.S. Constitution.

Q: What bills would you push for if elected? What bills do you expect your party to pass if it is the majority party?

I am dedicated to getting America back on track fiscally and diplomatically. That is why I am pushing an alternative plan to balance the budget sooner, cut out wasteful special interest spending, and increase support for education, housing, transportation, and research. I will continue to demand of the President a clear exit strategy from Iraq, and will continue my leadership of the Commission I initiated to work with emerging democracies in strengthening their parliaments.

My top legislative priorities include enactment of my national teacher recruitment bill (and formulation of an additional measure on teacher retention), passage of comprehensive congressional ethics reforms, and restoration of the federal government's capacity to provide effective emergency and disaster response. As a senior member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I am working to renew the federal partnership with local first responders and fully implement the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Q: How will the Mark Foley scandal effect midterm elections? How could the U.S. Congress improve the ethics of its members?

Mark Foley's behavior requires thorough investigation and prosecution to the full extent of the law. Americans are rightfully questioning why the Republican leadership failed to aggressively confront Mr. Foley when the red flags were initially raised. The boys and girls who participate in the House page program do so under the care and protection of the leadership of the House. Those leaders who failed in their responsibility must be held accountable for any warnings they received and protective actions they failed to take. The House Ethics Committee is undertaking a rigorous investigation to get to the bottom of this scandal, and I expect some of those involved will be held accountable by their constituents in the midterm elections.

This episode is yet another example of the tendency among Republican leaders on Capitol Hill to do what is in their best political interest rather than what is good for the country. Republicans have ruled the House as their personal fiefdom, ignoring the institution's norms and traditions and prompting a general deterioration of ethics and accountability. In this Congress alone, three Republican congressmen have been indicted for corruption. I have helped draft comprehensive legislation to put an end to abuses of power, ranging from personal corruption to the arbitrary running of the House of Representatives. But the Republican Congress has refused to consider any such legislation. If elected, I hope to join a Democratic Congress that will get serious about addressing ethics reform.

Q: What role do you see North Carolina playing in the future of the country?

The American economy of the 21st Century is increasingly a knowledge-based economy, and North Carolina is already one of the nation's leaders in higher education and the type of economic development needed to boost our competitive advantage. The Triangle region (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is at the forefront of the state's efforts to train a highly educated workforce and recruit businesses in the tech sector, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and many other areas. We are also coming on strong in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, with the potential to become a center of discussion and debate about our country's aspirations for the 21st Century.

Q: What changes would you like to see to higher education in North Carolina?

Most policy governing higher education is set at the level of state government or through university administration. The Higher Education Act and other federal measures have the potential, however, to ease students' financial burdens, to help low-income students realistically aspire to college, to support library modernization, to foster the internationalization of education, and so forth. I want to see this federal role enhanced.

I also understand the importance of federal support for research at our universities; as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have championed increased funding for agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our nation's research enterprise is the key to our competitive advantage in the global economy. The short-sighted funding cuts that the Bush Administration has enacted must be reversed, as must the imposition of narrow ideological constraints on stem-cell and other promising research.

Q: If elected, how would you choose to influence or reform America's foreign policies?

I have been a strong supporter of the pursuit of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's poorly planned and costly efforts in Iraq have diverted critical assets at the expense of operations in the war on terror, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It is high time for a change in our Iraq policy. I voted against the original resolution authorizing military action and have been pushing the President to submit a realistic exit strategy that brings our troops home, prohibits permanent bases on Iraqi soil, and places Iraqis in charge of their own country's governance and defense.

Meanwhile, we must return to a diplomatic policy that bolsters America's standing and leadership in the world. For my part, I will continue my leadership of the Commission I initiated to work with emerging democracies in strengthening their parliaments. And I will continue to press the Administration to engage more actively in the Middle East, working with all parties to settle the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors.

Q: If elected, how would you choose to influence or reform America's domestic policies?

See Q1 above.

Q: How can you keep education affordable in the state and in the nation?

One of the most important issues facing university students and their families is the rising cost of tuition. Although UNC tuition rates are decided at the state level, the federal government has a role to play in supporting the financing of higher education through loans, grants, and tax policy. That is why I wrote and passed the Price Education Affordability Act, which makes the interest on student loans tax deductible and allows penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts to pay for higher education. I also support additional funding for the Pell Grant program and increasing the maximum award level to $4,550.

I have been a leading supporter of the TRIO Programs, which help students overcome socioeconomic, academic and cultural barriers to higher education. I also strongly support the Student Loan Fairness Act, which would allow borrowers to shop around for the best consolidation deal on their student loans.

Unfortunately, the Republican budget from last year cut more than $12.7 billion from student loan programs, which directly resulted in the hike in federal student loan interest rates earlier this year. I was opposed to these cuts and I will work in the next Congress to reverse the raid on student aid.

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