Connecticut

Connecticut U.S. House of Representatives, District 3

Respond to Candidate

Rosa DeLauro (D)

Rosa DeLauro

12 Trumbull Street
2nd Floor
New Haven, CT 06511

Visit Candidate's Website
(203) 497-8034
RosaDelauro@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHY

Rosa has spent her life fighting for people. She is hard-working, passionate, a forthright advocate for her constituents, an honest broker who works with all parties, and a leader on domestic and social policy. Rosa attended Marymount College and Columbia University, is married to Stanley Greenberg, and has three children and four grandchildren.

National Health Reform Implementation: In addition to expanding coverage through Medicaid, national health reform is expected to provide more than 17 million people with subsidies to purchase coverage through Exchanges. However, some people might still not be able to afford insurance. What measures, if any, would you support to help make health insurance affordable for families?

Our recent health reform efforts will go a long way to improve the access of families to affordable and high quality health care. They are a step in the right direction, but not an end point. As the reforms are implemented we must make sure that American families have the access we in Congress intended -- things like tax credits or cuts, ensuring that insurance premiums are reasonable and fair, and successful implementation of Exchanges ...

Childhood Obesity: More than one in six U.S children are obese, a rate that has tripled in the past 30 years. Childhood obesity is linked to a number of debilitating and expensive diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, several kinds of cancer, and other chronic conditions. What can be done, if anything, to help families and communities address this issue?

Childhood obesity is a complex issue, but we must recognize that if we are to turn the tide back on this prevalent condition. We need to not only treat and prevent the chronic diseases associated with obesity, but first prevent children from becoming obese. This includes efforts to improve the nutritional quality of food available at schools, making healthy foods more accessible to children and their families, and encouraging exercise and healthy dietary patterns.

Children’s Budget: Representative Danny Davis and Senator Menendez have introduced the Children’s Budget Act (H.R. 3772/S. 3108), legislation that would require federal spending on children’s programs to be separately displayed and analyzed in the President’s budget, illustrating how the federal government allocates resources for children. What importance, if any, do you place on creating a Children’s Budget and why?

I strongly support Representative Danny Davis’s legislation (H.R. 3722 requiring an accounting on the totality of programs that impact children directly. We have recently seen a decline in discretionary spending on children and I am working hard to overturn this trend by helping to increase funding for child nutrition, child care and education. Information on how children are faring is critical. We must increase awareness about the impact of federal policies on children.

Dental: Tooth decay is the single most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting nearly 6 in 10 American children. Yet many children and families, particularly those served by Medicaid and CHIP, are unable to access appropriate oral health care. What measures, if any, should be taken to make dental care more accessible?

We need to fully fund and implement the dental care provisions of health care reform – things like rural care workforce development, oral primary healthcare workforce improvements, school-based sealant programs, caries management grants, improved infrastructure and surveillance, and the prevention public education campaign. These programs are critical to ensuring that everyone has access to the oral health care they need.

Medicaid: Medicaid provides health coverage to over 42 million individuals—many of whom are children. Millions more will qualify for the program in 2014 as a result of the new health reform law. What role do you see Medicaid playing in a reformed U.S. health system and what importance, if any, do you place on the continuation and growth of this program?

As the recently passed health care reform legislation is implemented, Medicaid will play a central role in expanding access to quality, affordable health care. It already provides critical coverage for millions of children, women, and men that would otherwise be without health insurance. I support the continued growth and high quality of Medicaid

Early Education: Research shows that attendance at a preschool is a critical factor in improving children’s readiness to enter kindergarten and promoting their long-term development and success. What, if anything, can or should be done to help states offer more high quality early education opportunities for children?

For a generation, economists have documented the high return on investment from high-quality early learning programs. That is why we must ensure that programs such as Head Start, Child Care Development Block Grant and Even Start are reaching as many children as possible. In addition, we should pass into law the Administration’s Early Learning Challenge Fund which will incentivize states to build a comprehensive, high-quality early learning system for children from birth through age five

Poverty: Over 18% of all children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. What, if anything, would you do to reduce poverty among children?

We should invest in children from the earliest years – focus on Early Head Start, Head Start, home visiting programs; and expand universal pre-k in as many states as possible. We should increase the Food Stamps’ benefit amount; extend the Child Tax Credit provision included in the Recovery Act allowing low-income working parents to count most of their earnings toward calculating their credit; and extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund for another year.

Respond to Candidate

Respond to Candidate

Jerry Labriola (R)

P.O. Box 942
Naugatuck, CT 06770

Visit Candidate's Website
(860) 806-0609
info@votejerry2010.com

BIOGRAPHY

The candidate's response will be posted as soon as it is received.

National Health Reform Implementation: In addition to expanding coverage through Medicaid, national health reform is expected to provide more than 17 million people with subsidies to purchase coverage through Exchanges. However, some people might still not be able to afford insurance. What measures, if any, would you support to help make health insurance affordable for families?

Childhood Obesity: More than one in six U.S children are obese, a rate that has tripled in the past 30 years. Childhood obesity is linked to a number of debilitating and expensive diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, several kinds of cancer, and other chronic conditions. What can be done, if anything, to help families and communities address this issue?

Children’s Budget: Representative Danny Davis and Senator Menendez have introduced the Children’s Budget Act (H.R. 3772/S. 3108), legislation that would require federal spending on children’s programs to be separately displayed and analyzed in the President’s budget, illustrating how the federal government allocates resources for children. What importance, if any, do you place on creating a Children’s Budget and why?

Dental: Tooth decay is the single most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting nearly 6 in 10 American children. Yet many children and families, particularly those served by Medicaid and CHIP, are unable to access appropriate oral health care. What measures, if any, should be taken to make dental care more accessible?

Medicaid: Medicaid provides health coverage to over 42 million individuals—many of whom are children. Millions more will qualify for the program in 2014 as a result of the new health reform law. What role do you see Medicaid playing in a reformed U.S. health system and what importance, if any, do you place on the continuation and growth of this program?

Early Education: Research shows that attendance at a preschool is a critical factor in improving children’s readiness to enter kindergarten and promoting their long-term development and success. What, if anything, can or should be done to help states offer more high quality early education opportunities for children?

Poverty: Over 18% of all children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. What, if anything, would you do to reduce poverty among children?

Respond to Candidate

The biographies and answers to the questions are provided by the candidates. Candidates were given a 50 word limit for biographies and a 75 word limit for each question response. If a candidate went over the word limit, the response is cut off with an ellipsis (...).