Judy Feder for Congress: Exclusive RK Interview

Obviously, Frank Wolf's part of the problem, and Judy Feder is part of the solution!  So, without further ado, here's an exclusive RK interview with our next Congresswoman from the 10th District of Virginia, Judy Feder!

1) Why, in your own words, have you decided to run for the US House of Representatives this year? What convinced you to get involved in politics at this level?
I've lived in Northern Virginia for more than 30 years and raised two sons here. I know how much our community has changed: our roads are clogged with traffic, our health care costs are rising faster than salaries, rising tuition costs are placing college out of reach and our beautiful landscape is disappearing beneath out of control development.

Over the past five years, we've seen congressional leaders put their friends above our families. Like most Americans, I am sickened by the way incompetence and cronyism lead our government to neglect its basic duty to keep its citizens safe. I am outraged when my students who serve in the military are sent to Iraq and Afghanistan without the resources to keep them safe. And I was deeply disappointed by Congress's Medicare Drug Bill, which favors insurance and drug companies over seniors and their families.

I feel we need a new direction. The people of Virginia and our country are ready for a change. Recent elections show that the voters of the 10th district want leaders focused on the problems they face and dedicated to solving them. I have the values and priorities to deliver for Virginia+óGé¼Gäós families. It+óGé¼Gäós time I put my body on the line.
2) Please tell us a little bit about yourself, particularly what you see as your major strengths? What are you most passionate about? What are you reading right now? What's your favorite movie and why?
I live in Fairfax County with my husband of 38 years, Stan. Fortunately for us, our two sons and our daughter in law have also settled in Northern Virginia.

I've devoted the past 30 years to working to solve one of the biggest problems facing our families: access to affordable health care. During my years in government, as Staff Director for the congressional Pepper Commission and in the Department of Health and Human Services, I worked to expand health insurance coverage, effectively manage Medicare and Medicaid, and assure the safety of food and drugs.

For the past seven years, I have been Professor and Dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute, one of the nation's premier schools training the next generation of nonprofit, government, and military leaders. In addition to teaching, I manage degree programs in areas ranging from education, homeland security, international development, and the environment. I teach my students that responsible leadership means careful planning, not wishful thinking.

Clearly, people who serve in Congress have a tendency to get out of touch with how the
rest of us live. I'm a mother who knows what is like to raise children, pay taxes and work
in Northern Virginia. I own a home in the 10th district and know what it+óGé¼Gäós like to keep up
with property tax bills.

On a professional level, as a teacher and Dean, I+óGé¼Gäóm held accountable for my performance -- I think all of us who work know what is like to be judged on how effective we are. I believe members of Congress would serve the public better if they were held to that same standard.

On a more personal level, I really enjoy food, family and friends--thanks in large part to
my husband, a fabulous cook and long time  food-enthusiast. Stan's recently started a second career as a sausage maker after more than 20 years as an intelligence analyst for the CIA.

I'm currently reading Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife. My favorite movie is To Kill a Mockingbird, which has personal significance because I grew up in Florida when it was still segregated.

3) What are your main criticisms of Frank Wolf, the current (Republican) Representative from the 10th District? How do you plan to defeat a popular, entrenched incumbent like Wolf? And how would you respond to Jim Moran's comments that you "would make a wonderful Congresswoman," that he would be "hard pressed to work against Frank Wolf?"
The question voters will answer on November 7th is simple: do they want the status quo - clogged roads, unaffordable education and health care - or are they ready for a change? I am ready for a change.

Frank Wolf has been in office for 26 years+óGé¼GÇ¥the district's changed, and he hasn't. While he's been in office, our roads have grown clogged with traffic, health care costs have skyrocketed, our green space is disappearing, and college education has become almost unaffordable for many families. The world is more dangerous, and, as we saw with Hurricane Katrina, our government remains unable to keep our communities safe.

Virginia's 10th District, like the rest of  America, wants a change in the status quo. We want leaders that will put our families first, focus on new priorities while solving our problems, and get the country back on the right track.

4) In your opinion, was the Iraq war fundamentally flawed or simply mismanaged? At this point, would you favor an immediate withdrawal, an exit strategy, or what? Is Iraq sliding into civil war?
This question is very close to my heart. At Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute, I started a program in cooperation with the  Department of Defense to train soldiers returning from the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan to serve in leadership positions in the Pentagon. I find it intolerable that we would put these young people in harm+óGé¼Gäós way without adequate resources to do their jobs and without a plan to bring them
home.

We cannot continue a failed policy in Iraq; we must find a way to bring our troops home - in a way that minimizes the damage for the people of Iraq and promotes stability in this region that is so critical to our national security.

5) Do you support Virginia+óGé¼Gäós right to work laws? Or, do you agree with Leslie Byrne that "right to work" really should be called "right to be poor?"
I believe workers should have the right to organize. While the "right to work" law is a
state law, I believe federal law and the National Labor Relations Board should protect workers and their right to join unions. And there are many federal labor protections that this administration has gutted+óGé¼GÇ¥including health, safety, and work load protections+óGé¼GÇ¥that I would fight to restore. Workers deserve fair wages, quality working conditions, affordable health care, and retirement security.

6) What is your position on the "marriage amendment" that likely will appear on this November's Virginia ballot? In general, what is your position on gay rights?
I oppose discrimination and support fairness. I don't believe any group of Virginians should be singled out in a cheap election-year ploy. Virginians are smarter than that: they want our leaders to focus on finding solutions to our real problems, not exploit our divisions.

7) Do you believe that the Estate Tax is a core Democratic and Progressive principle? Is it right or wrong to repeal it?
We need a fairer tax system+óGé¼GÇ¥one that shares responsibility, rather than placing excessive burdens on the middle class.

We need to revive the fiscal policies of previous administrations that lessened the tax burden on the middle class, produced the longest era of prosperity in our nation's history, raised wages and created jobs, and delivered a balanced budget.

8) A few months ago, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation+óGé¼+ís annual State of the Bay report gave the Bay an overall health rating of D. The Foundation+óGé¼Gäós President, William C. Baker, said that "we have a bay that is dangerously out of balance and in critical condition. Obviously, that+óGé¼Gäós not acceptable. If elected to Congress, what would you do to restore this invaluable and amazing ecosystem?
When my sons were children, one of my family's favorite summertime activities was to go canoeing on the Shenandoah or Potomac rivers, and I want natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to be there for my grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

The health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has been a serious concern for decades, and every angle of this complicated challenge of rehabilitation needs careful examination before specific action can be recommended. I know, however, that a lack of political will to save what you rightly call an "invaluable and amazing ecosystem" is a major part of the problem, and I will fight for Bay and other environmental resources.

9) What is your position on trade issues? Do you believe that labor, environmental and human rights guarantees should be part of trade agreements? What about eliminating agricultural subsidies in developed countries in order to provide a more level playing field for developing nations?
The world economy has grown because of greater trade. I believe in free enterprise. I also believe that many Americans+óGé¼GÇ¥and many people in other countries+óGé¼GÇ¥have not shared in the benefits of trade. We need fair trade, where we're competing on a level playing field, workers are secure, and the environment is protected+óGé¼GÇ¥at home and abroad.

10) What is your view of the PATRIOT Act? In general, what is your view of the tradeoff between security and civil liberties, 4 years after 9/11? How do you feel about President Bush ordering the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans here at home? Is that legal?
One of the most difficult challenges of the post 9/11 world is striking a balance with our national security and the rights and liberties that are guaranteed in the Constitution. We have to take all necessary steps to protect our country while preserving our traditions of civil liberties and the rule of law. What+óGé¼Gäós important is the appropriate balance between liberty and security.

We cannot strike that balance if Congress is kept in the dark. It+óGé¼Gäós the job of the Congress to effectively oversee any administration and its policies+óGé¼GÇ¥especially when national security is at stake. Americans want and deserve a government that is accountable for its actions.

11) How would you describe your political philosophy: liberal, Teddy Roosevelt Progressive, Mark Warner centrist, or something else?
I believe that politicians should be working to find solutions to our everyday problems and make government run effectively and accountably. If I had to put a label on it, I think I'd call it "common sense."

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