Rob O'Leary for Congress

Issues

We are in the middle of the worst economic recession since the 1930’s. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent, homes and investments have tumbled in value, and businesses and families are struggling to stay afloat.  

Although the recovery remains fragile and requires continued federal support, we need to make sure that additional help is well spent and sets the stage for long-term economic growth.

Jobs and Economic Growth Priorities

Good jobs are the foundation of healthy families - and good, lasting jobs in our district depend on the environment, education, and a partnership between government and small business.

• Stop giving companies tax breaks for moving jobs abroad.
• See financial reform through so that Wall Street greed doesn’t do any more damage.
• Keep making our best-in-the-nation schools even better.
• Invest in public infrastructure.
• Protect our environment to preserve maritime jobs and take the lead in the green energy sector.
• Support small business by creating jobs, reducing health care costs, and increasing access to capital.
• Support the development of new industries like the life science industry and green technology. 

Energy and Environment Priorities

Right now, we consume more oil and produce more greenhouse gases per capita than any other country on the planet. We can no longer ignore the realities of global warming nor can we continue our dependence on oil from the Middle East. Instead, we need to promote the development of clean green jobs here at home.    

• Promote greater energy efficiency because the cheapest and least environmentally harmful energy is the energy you don’t consume.   
• Encourage the development of renewables and more fuel-efficient automobiles.
• Put a price on carbon through a cap and trade system, without undermining existing state efforts and protecting consumers by returning the proceeds to taxpayers in the form of tax credits.  
• Protect our waters with planning that protects the environment as well as maritime jobs.     

Education Priorities

The Boston Globe recognized my leadership on the recent education reform that won Massachusetts $250 million in federal funding for our students. I also led the effort to reform higher education in Massachusetts, and to make investments in our higher ed institutions that are creating jobs today.

I'm proud of my leadership on efforts to fund Expanded Learning Time and Universal Pre-K. We need national education reform modeled on efforts I helped lead here in Massachusetts.

• Turn around under-performing schools.
• Raise the cap on charter schools.
• Create Innovation schools.
• Expand learning time to increase school effectiveness and add enrichment opportunities for students.
• Make Pre-K available to every family that wants it.

Social Security and Medicare

My opponent's negative mailings and TV ads are unfairly distorting my position on Social Security. I have been - and remain - very clear that I would never cut benefits or change the rules - including raising the retirement age - for current or near retirees, and would never privatize the system.

Cape Cod, which I represent in the State Senate, has a higher percentage of seniors by population than anywhere outside Florida, and I have a long record of protecting seniors. Seniors in my district know that, and they've re-elected me again and again.

Bill Keating's do-nothing, play it by ear approach to Social Security ignores the fact that the Social Security Board of Trustees predicts that in just 28 years, the Federal Government will have borrowed money from other sources to pay back all of the approximately $2.5 trillion it owes the Social Security Trust Fund, leaving the system's income covering only about 75% of benefits.

I will protect the Social Security and Medicare systems, and - as I've always done - protect seniors. I will never do anything to take benefits away from current or near retirees. But I also realize that while the solutions may be politically unpopular, we must act to prevent massive benefit cuts in 2038, when workers who are now 40 and older will be relying on Social Security and Medicare benefits, just as today's retirees rely on theirs.

I prefer progressive solutions. Any change to the system, whether it's on the revenue or benefits side, should first and foremost ensure that Social Security and Medicare continue to protect the Americans who need it most. My priority is to safeguard our Social Security and Medicare systems so that they ensure retirement security for all generations.

Immigration Priorities

Arizona's immigration law is a political ploy that trades on fear and prejudice, not a real immigration policy. I strongly disagree with it.

We need comprehensive federal immigration reform that:

• controls our borders 
• gets tough on businesses that hire undocumented workers 
• respects the human dignity of everyone, whether they're here legally or not 
• honors the great immigrant traditions of this country 
• creates a sensible immigration process that is true to our traditions, sends people here illegally today to the back of the line and gives precedence to those who obey the law

I don't believe American taxpayers should be funding free services for undocumented workers, but I do support the DREAM Act as part of comprehensive solution, because it is neither fair nor in our country's best interests to deny the children of undocumented workers education in order to punish their parents.

Health Care Priorities

I was proud to support Massachusetts' first in the nation health care reform that required health insurance for every resident and I support the national health care law that was passed by Congress earlier this year. Massachusetts leads the nation today, with over 97% of residents covered by health insurance.

Like the national health care reform, the Massachusetts law is just a first step. Since reform was enacted here in 2006, I have turned my focus to controlling health care costs. Just this year, I was a lead supporter on a provision that is now law creating the first small business health care buying pools to give more bargaining power to customers and reduce costs.

Now that we have a national health care reform law, we need to do the same thing we've done in Massachusetts: Identify ways to make it work better for citizens and for small businesses. At the federal level, finding ways to control costs while delivering high-quality health care is just as important as at the state level, and that would be my priority on health care moving forward.

We also need to prevent pharmaceutical companies from gouging Americans with the world's highest prescription drug costs. 

Equal Rights for All: Priorities

Early on I joined with other colleagues to establish equal rights for gay and lesbian citizens. Massachusetts is justifiably proud of its early leadership on this issue and we need to carry the fight to Washington

• End Don’t ask Don’t Tell.
• Repeal the ill-named Defense of Marriage Act.

A Woman’s Right to Choose

We need to protect a woman’s right to choose and to prevent efforts to undermine the settled law of Roe v. Wade.    

Foreign Policy Priorities

• End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Reduce dependency on foreign oil.
• Repair relations with democratic allies.
• Work toward fair international agreements that protect the environment and American jobs.

• Promote aggressive campaign finance reform.
• End special interest legislation.
• Reform procedural rules in Congress to make the legislative process more transparent and more democratic.   
• Enact real ethics reform to reduce the power of lobbyists on Capitol Hill.