Published: April 22, 2008 10:13 am         

Democrat seeking 3rd District nomination

As the May 6 primary and election beyond loom, Mike Montagano, Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District nomination, is digging into the issues that will determine his level of success at the polls. The 26-year-old Bristol native believes that solutions to our nation’s problems will only be found by looking forward and moving ahead with change.

Immigration

“We need a system for controlling immigration that is both fair and organized,” Montagano said, suggesting that a beefed up Border Patrol would be a prudent first step.

Montagano believes a dedicated infrastructure is necessary to aid employers in avoiding hiring illegal immigrants, and that it will more than likely require a lot of technology. If it was a perfect world, he said, there would be a database to cross-reference names and information of potential employees.

“It’s going to be a job for both the federal and state government. It isn’t a small issue, particularly in this area,” he said.

Energy

“First and foremost we have to do something about gas costs,” Montagano said.

The federal government has spent too much money and time creating corporate windfalls and not enough effort creating savings at the pump, according to Montagano. He believes, however, that the district can capitalize on the demand to bring new “green” jobs to the area.

“A lot of jobs are gone (after the past few months), a lot from this district. The question now is how are we going to turn it around, and energy is a good area,” he said.

Iraq

Montagano favors bringing a “significant” number of troops home, but argues that long-term security has to come first.

“We don’t have the money or human resources to keep going like this,” he said. “We’re overstretched.”

Priorities must be shifted, he said, in order for meaningful progress to become possible.

Health Care

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) is a federal program to help pay for childrens’ medical expenses. The program helps parents who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Two 2007 bills to expand the program failed, both vetoed by President Bush on the basis of not federalizing health care. Montagano was a proponent of both bills.

“It’s unacceptable that we don’t guarantee health care for kids,” he said. “It seems unreasonable that we can’t do that as a country.”

The program covers those who make $20,000 to $60,000, with a hardship waiver available for those who make $60,000 to $80,000.

Social Security

Many arguments have been raised over the past several years pointing out flaws in Social Security, leaving many middle-aged and young Americans wondering whether or not they will be able to receive support from the program when they reach retirement and old age.

“I absolutely think Social Security can be saved,” Montagano said. “It’s relatively simple. You’re either operating in the black or in the red. We need to stop letting the government borrow against it.”

Montagano believes a possible solution could come in the form of a gross income cap or similar measure built into the program to ensure only those who need the money will receive support from it.

“Overall, we need to make sure that initiatives passed in Washington have the voices of the locals,” he said.

Those initiatives, he added, need to address spending, which he believes should be more calculated. An approach involving state governments in the process is also a key component.

“The money needs to be used for the right purposes and it needs to be used at home. It’s an economic issue, we should be reinvesting in ourselves and our own businesses,” he said.