|
Rep. Rob Wittman won his 1st District seat in a special election following the death last year of Jo Ann Davis. |
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
For Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, the campaign has been going on for more than a year.
Wittman was elected to the 1st District congressional seat last December after a brief campaign that followed the death of incumbent Jo Ann Davis.
He started that campaign right after winning re-election to the House of Delegates seat he'd held for one term.
And now he's running again, for a full term in the 1st District.
Wittman, a Republican from Montross, won the seat last winter with 61 percent of the vote, beating Democrat Phil Forgit.
He has opposition for his re-election as well, with Democrats having nominated Warrenton businessman Bill Day. Libertarian Nathan Larson is also on the ballot.
Wittman said in an interview that he has worked hard in the past eight months to get up to speed, both in Congress and in the district.
In Congress, that means making overtures to other members, sitting down with them to get to know them.
"It's still a people business. You still have to work with others," Wittman said.
Back home, Wittman said he has been traveling from one end of the district--Fauquier--to the other, in Newport News, to talk to constituents about issues and what he can do about them in Congress.
ECONOMY IS MAJOR ISSUE
Overwhelmingly, he said, voters are worried about the economy and jobs, and he thinks Congress must resist overspending and be wary of the effect of government actions on things like the mortgage industry.
Wittman's opposition to increasing the deficit includes a push to reform "ear-marks," the thousands of budget line items that direct federal cash toward projects in congressmen's home districts.
Wittman said he doesn't oppose earmarks--he puts them in himself--but he believes the system should be much more transparent. He has a set of rules for his own earmarks; they must be for a public need, he publishes all requests in the Congressional Record, he includes a proposal to cut the budget elsewhere to offset his request, and the state and localities must be willing to share the cost.
"What I'm against are unfettered earmarks," Witt-man said, adding that he is co-sponsoring a bill to put a moratorium on earmarks until Congress can work out a transparent system like his.
HE SUPPORTS DRILLING
Like most candidates this year, Wittman is also hearing a lot of complaints about the price of gas and concerns about the nation's energy policy.
He favors drilling for oil and gas offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
He also wants to devote tax incentives to development of alternative, renewable energy resources.
Wittman proposes taking the taxes, fees and royalties the federal government gets from fossil fuels like oil and putting those toward such incentives for alternative energy.
HE WANTS MILITARY TO ADD MORE THAN 30 SHIPS
Not surprisingly in a district with a large military presence, Wittman makes a point of his support for a strong military and for veterans.
He wants the military's ship fleet bumped up to 313 ships--he said it has 280 now--and says the government must continue investing in the military even as it eventually phases out of the Iraq conflict.
Wittman said he supported the final version of Sen. Jim Webb's GI Bill, which expands educational benefits for military members, because it would be transferrable, meaning a career military person could use the educational benefit to pay for a child's college education.
HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL REQUIRE VARIED APPROACH
Wittman says the government needs to use a variety of tools to help reform health care and access to insurance--like encouraging a wider range of coverage options and shifting the system's focus from the payers (insurance companies) making decisions to the patients and doctors making decisions.
He also favors a greater focus on preventive care.
"The U.S. is a great place to get sick, but it's a terrible place to stay well," he said.
Wittman does not support universal health care.
TRASH, BAY AND ROADS ALSO ON HIS AGENDA
In his eight months in office, Wittman has submitted a bill that would try to regulate out-of-state trash--an issue Davis wrestled with as well but was never able to solve. Wittman's bill has yet to receive a hearing.
He also recently introduced a bill to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay by requiring the federal agencies that fund various Bay-related activities to more closely monitor their spending, the outcome of programs they're paying for, and to readjust those programs that aren't working.
Wittman also is looking forward--if he wins re-election--to next year's planned reauthorization of the federal transportation act.
That bill is reauthorized periodically, and it's Virginia's chance to increase its share of the pot of federal highway dollars.
The state currently receives 92 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington, Wittman said. He would like to see that raised to a $1 for $1 match and believes he can make a case that the strains the sprawling federal bureaucracy puts on Virginia's transportation system--especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads--would justify the increase.
The election is Nov. 4.
Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
