Tax, regulatory reform needed to spur job growth

WORK AHEAD: Brendan Doherty, the Republican challenger for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Rep. David N. Cicilline, says that employment remains the largest issue in Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT
WORK AHEAD: Brendan Doherty, the Republican challenger for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Rep. David N. Cicilline, says that employment remains the largest issue in Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT

PBN: What are the three biggest issues here in Rhode Island that you will be able to work on when you are in Congress?
DOHERTY: The top three are: jobs, jobs, jobs.

PBN: You have voiced support for the Infrastructure, Jobs and Energy Independence Act, [introduced by House Republicans on May 12, calling for expansion of oil and gas exploration and drilling on public lands and waters]. How will this new «constant "all-in" energy program create a transition to a more renewable energy future without the need for new taxes?
DOHERTY: The Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Act is a designed so that we’re taking revenue from leased public land, so it wouldn’t create new taxes at all. It’s actually taking money from the ground.
We’ve been talking about energy independence since 1973, since the Arab oil embargo, so I think it’s important that we have action now.
Our gas prices are somewhere around $4 dollars a gallon. We have hard-working Americans trying to food on the table, trying to raise a family, and that’s just money out of their pockets. It’s about time we stopped relying so heavily on OPEC nations and countries that don’t like us so much.
We’re an energy-rich country, with the Marcellus shale, and opportunities in the Outer Continental Bank and Alaska and the Gulf [of Mexico].

PBN: One of the major drawbacks for companies looking to expand or locate in Rhode Island is the perceived lack of a skilled workforce. What kinds of programs and investments would you advocate for to improve the skills of Rhode Island’s workers?
DOHERTY: Basically, what I’m talking about with the infrastructure jobs act is to bring that money to all of the states, it’s obviously a federal bill. We really need it here in Rhode Island, because all the manufacturing companies that I visited, and those that I’ve toured, tell me that they can hire people tomorrow morning, if they could match the skills with that job description.
I’ve had several meetings in the inner city, South Providence area. A lot of politicians talk about helping them out, helping them with training, but have really done nothing. Through the power of my congressional office, I would create a free training program in the inner cities for some of the basic needs for our workers. So that’s something that I’ll pledge to offer: free training in the Greater Providence area.

PBN: The Knowledge District in Providence has great promise to be an economic engine. How would you support its development as a member of Congress? DOHERTY: We need to continue to support it, but the buck doesn’t stop there. We need to bring jobs to Rhode Island, we need to bring jobs to America in a variety of ways. One of them is tax reform. Another one is regulatory reform. Some of these onerous regulations are choking businesses. I certainly support [the Knowledge District], but we just don’t stop in that corner of Rhode Island.

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PBN: Do you support the federal efforts to improve educational performance through the Race to the Top?
DOHERTY: Yes, I do. But I think we need to look at the $68 billion of the Department of Education’s budget. I believe that there are silos within the Department of Education that are not working for America and not working to help develop our children.
I think that some of those monies should be disseminated to the states. We need to support programs from the state level. For example, we had “No Child Left Behind” a few years ago. Great idea, great principles behind it. But it was not attainable.
I believe that it’s important to support our classroom teachers and be able to give them the ability to have more discipline in the classroom.

PBN: Do you support efforts to create a wind farm in federal waters off Rhode Island?
DOHERTY: That’s something that we need to keep looking at. Because right now, we need to develop our energy in order to bring our prices down at the pump. We know that wind farms aren’t able to produce the energy yet – so we need to develop more in that area.

PBN: Do you support the Affordable Care Act, or do you favor its repeal?
DOHERTY: I favor its repeal – [but] only if we have a better program. There are some areas in the Affordable Care Act that I embrace. I’m a firm believer that the Democrats come up with good ideas, and so do Republicans. I think we need a bipartisanship in this plan. To talk about the 26 -year-olds, and closing the doughnut hole [for Medicare], and pre-existing conditions. We also need to examine the cost. We need to look at tort reform. Doctors will tell you that sometimes they practice defensive medicine, and that drives up the costs.

PBN: In terms of regulatory reform, what types of regulation would you like to see changed?
DOHERTY: There are many, many regulations that we need, that are good for America. And then there are some that are a job impediment. I was just at a company a few weeks ago. They gave me a tour, there was some material in their garage, they were using their garage for storage. This fellow pointed out the fact that if you had a surprise visit by OSHA, it could be a violation. We need to make sure our people are safe, but we don’t want to have job-killing regulations.

PBN: Rhode Island is one of the first states to implement its health-insurance benefits exchange, which will enable businesses and consumers to shop and purchase health insurance. Do you support it?
DOHERTY: Competition is important. I think that we should be able to cross state lines for health care. I can’t tell you now whether I would support [the exchange] or not.

PBN: What kinds of programs would you support, if any, in an attempt to cut down on gun violence in our cities?
DOHERTY: We have to keep guns out of the hands of criminals; the wrong people, they shouldn’t have guns. We have hard-working, honest Americans applying for a firearms permit.
But there are others who can [possess a firearm], but they shouldn’t have one. They may have suffered from mental illness for many, many years. But because of [health privacy laws], neither law enforcement nor the gun stores are able to obtain that information.
We should look at some type of mechanism where we could check and a red flag goes up in the system.
Look, I’m a cop. I understand that there are many people who are criminals that possess firearms [and who] don’t even have a permit.
I am not comfortable with the multiround clips. There are many people who enjoy target shooting. They are members of a gun club, and they should have all the rights to do that. But there are others who shouldn’t be able to carry multiround clips.

PBN: Do you support the overturning of Roe vs. Wade? What is your position on abortion?
DOHERTY: My position on abortion is that as an article of my faith, I’m pro-life. I’m socially conservative, but I’m not a social crusader. I’m running for Congress to help effectuate change and bring jobs to Rhode Island, bring jobs to America, and help create a better business climate for our private sector to grow jobs. Bottom line is, I am pro-life.

PBN: What will you bring to the table to help end the current gridlock in Congress?
DOHERTY: I’ll bring my record for leadership, my communications abilities. I’m able to talk to anyone, work with anyone, I really think that that’s important. This gridlock has hurt America. I don’t just blame Democrats or Republicans, I blame the entire team there. At a time when we need Congress the most, Congress is broken.
By all national accounts, Republicans will keep [control of] the House, so do we want someone to come to Washington that will have a seat at the table to help influence the conversation, or do we want someone who’s on the outside looking in?

PBN: Do you support the continuing efforts to fight the war in Afghanistan? Would you like to see the troops withdrawn before 2014?
DOHERTY: I think we should bring our troops home as soon as possible. As soon as practical, without a date certain. So our enemies won’t have a date certain.

PBN: Can you describe the kind of immigration reform you’d like to see enacted by Congress? Do you support the Dream Act?
DOHERTY: We need a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform. I spent most of my career as criminal investigator with the state police. I found that there are people who come here from other countries for the sole purpose of committing crime. Those people should be deported.
Under my watch, the state police and DEA made the largest monetary and cocaine seizure in the history of Rhode Island. The people that were arrested were here unlawfully.
It’s important to note that not everyone is here illegally to commit crimes. It is a push and a pull. And, sometimes the pull is because these people see America as a better place for their family.
I do not support the current administrative order. To me, I believe it was just a political ploy.
I do believe that we need comprehensive immigration reform to create an opportunity so that we can draw the people who are here unlawfully out of the shadow, and to be documented. That does not include amnesty.

PBN: Are there any specific cuts that you’d recommend to the federal budget in order to control spending?
DOHERTY: The first cuts I would make to the federal budget are cuts in Congress, some of the benefits of Congress, and in the White House. We know that there is some astronomical spending there. Having my experience as a criminal investigator, I looked at the fraud and waste in government, and there is plenty of it.
Bridges to nowhere, sidewalks to nowhere, silos in government that aren’t communicating. I’d like to cut the $48 billion in waste and fraud in Medicare. •

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