Goode, Perriello tackle issues

Virgil Goode
Congressman Virgil Goode is a six-term incumbent from Rocky Mount. He began his career in the Virginia House of Delegates and was first elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1996.

Goode became an Independent in 2000 and a Republican in 2002. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee and has earmarked a fair amount of federal dollars for projects in Southside, including the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research and a waterline in Henry County. Goode was a key legislator in the tobacco buyout bill in 2000.

The congress.org list ranked Goode 311th out of 435 congressmen, and Roll Call newspaper ranked him 60 out of 66 members on the Appropriations Committee. Goode contends his ranking is mostly due to being a member of the minority party and not being a “big money fundraiser in D.C.”

He said in a Democratic-controlled Congress, he has little leverage for passing major legislation but that his seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee is a huge asset for the 5th District.

Tom Perriello

Democratic challenger Tom Perriello is an Albemarle County native who, after graduating from Yale Law School, spent most of his time as a national security consultant working in West Africa and Afghanistan.

In Sierra Leone, he worked with pro-democracy and reconciliation groups and prosecuted war crimes perpetrators in Liberia. Perriello also has founded a number of faith-based organizations, including FaithfulAmerica.org and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, that advocate children’s health care, responsible withdrawal from Iraq, higher minimum wage and environmental stewardship.

On his campaign trail, Perriello has talked about the “broken politics of Washington” and says it’s time for people like him in to be Congress who put “problem-solving over partisanship.” He hasn’t taken any money from corporate political action committees, saying that a politics of corruption has led to current economic and health care crises.

Here’s a breakdown of the candidates’ positions on the top issues in the 5th District:

Economy

Goode said he will continue to use his seat on the Appropriations Committee to get earmarks for development projects in Southside. The six-term incumbent said he would like to get out of international trade agreements like NAFTA and bring manufacturing jobs back to America “because manufacturing is wealth creation.”

Goode also said he would like to see the completion of the U.S. 29 bypass around Charlottesville.

Perriello said he believes Southside needs to focus on job creation in the small business sector; strong vocational and training schools; and having Southside farmers produce alternative energy to sell back to the grid.

Perriello supports completing the U.S. 29 bypass, as well as investing in a functional rail system along the corridor. He said he sees potential in bridging the gap between wealth in Charlottesville and development in Southside.

Energy

Goode supports a “drill here, drill now” centered energy strategy. He advocates drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer-Continental Shelf and advocates drilling for natural gas.

Goode said he’s also a “pro-alternative person” and particularly supports bio-fuel initiatives like the switch-grass project going on in Gretna that also can fuel the 5th District’s economy.

Perriello advocates focusing on developing alternative energy, including bio-fuels and drilling domestically for oil and gas. He said 5th District farmers can be the “freedom fighters for energy independence” with the right incentives in place.

Perriello said Southside can grow with high-tech and green-collar jobs.

Health care

Goode supports a similar health care plan to that of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

He supports moving away from employer-based health care and offering families a tax credit to purchase their insurance.

Goode voted against expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and raising the income threshold largely, he said, because the funding would have come from an increase in tobacco tax.  He doesn’t support negotiating cheaper drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid.

Perriello supports expanding health care coverage for middle- and lower-income families and lowering costs. He supports both SCHIP and expansion of the program to insure more children.

Perriello said he believes Congress should negotiate cheaper drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid. He said the approach so far to the health care reform has been piecemeal and advocates cutting out all the bureaucratic programs to create a comprehensive plan for health care reform.

Veterans

Goode supports recruitment and retention of military members. He voted against the recent GI Bill passed in Congress this year. He supports extending educational benefits for military members’ spouses after they have served six years and for their children after they serve 12 years.

Though he couldn’t vote, Perriello said he supports the GI Bill that passed this year in Congress. He said the country has an “obligation” to provide veterans with the best possible education and care when they return from war.

Immigration

Staunchly against illegal immigration, Goode said building a three-tiered fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is the most important element of national security.

Perriello said people come illegally into this country for jobs and that people who hire illegal immigrants should be held accountable.

Second Amendment

Goode has been an ardent supporter of an individual’s right to bear arms. The National Rifle Association gives him an “A+” rating.

Perriello supports individual rights to bear arms. The NRA gave him an “AQ rating,” its mark for candidates who are “pro-gun” but haven’t voted on any gun-rights issues.