Joe Sestak for U.S. Congress

Background:

Born and raised in the District I am running in, after graduating from Cardinal O'Hara High School I attended the U.S. Naval Academy. I spent 31 years serving our country in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of a three-star Vice-Admiral. I led a series of operational commands, culminating in of the George Washington carrier battle group (30 U.S./allied ships and over 15,000 sailors) that operated in support of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. I also served as President Clinton's Director for Defense Policy at the White House. Between tours of duty at sea, I earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in political Economy and Government from Harvard University.

Goals:

Since graduating from the Naval Academy, I have served my nation with great pride and commitment. I now wish to serve my local community and my country with that same level of pride and commitment.

I am running for Congress with the firm belief that the four key pillars of national security are economic security, health security, education security, and defense security - and that these securities are being eroded by the policies of this Congress and Administration. I am running to reverse that erosion, and to help establish a new direction for our government and our nation. Above all, we must remember that our national security begins at home with the economic, health, and education security of our people.

I have seen this model work in the military, where we have invested in people, and I believe our collective responsibility is to ensure the strength of citizenship needed to ensure America's future national security. One of these basic strengths is the ability of the working men and women of this country to be able to provide today for their families and tomorrow for their retirement. Our society tomorrow depends on the promises that we make today. It is a matter of fundamental fairness.

The long term prosperity of our economy must be our number one priority simply because it makes possible what working men and women most want: to raise our children well, to buy a home, to pay for college, to save for retirement, and to live a healthy life within a secure nation. Therefore, I support efforts to balance the budget; reform the tax code to be fair to all; reduce the debt; and to create jobs in order to afford universal health coverage and access to quality education for all, while opposing cutting funds for such needed programs as Medicaid and federal student aid.

Next, the future goals of our nation and our citizens are only achievable through universal access to high-quality education. Every American must be given the opportunity to realize his or her full educational potential, by ensuring that every child can attend a high-quality, affordable preschool, as well as affordable access to college, graduate school or training.

Finally, and so importantly, health security, like education, is not just an individual's responsibility, but is critical for America's collective prosperity and broader national security. Our collective responsibility is to ensure a health care system which covers all of us, uses competition and performance standards to discipline costs, shares responsibility for paying health insurance between individuals and society, and which rewards care givers for the quality, not quantity, of care. Our nation's health security is critical for the productivity, cost avoidance, and strength of citizenship needed to ensure America's future national security.

These three securities, along with defense security, are the four pillars of our national security. We must ensure the United States remains second to none in its ability to wage war and win our nation's wars…and therefore deter them. We must focus on intelligence in the Global War of Terror, shifting resources appropriately, while renewing the emphasis on our national treasure: our people, harnessing individual abilities into one common purpose of national defense by shifting more resources into training, education, and a promotion system that is based on skills, not seniority. At the same time, Iraq is a tragic mis-adventure. We must set a date certain (at least at the end of 2007) for a prompt way out of Iraq, using the date as the catalyst for the involved Iraq parties to understand that America will withdraw, and they must work for a common goal of a unified government, albeit with quasi-sovereignties inherent in it.

In view of the above, it is not fair at home when a pension fund is underfunded for years and then turned over to the government for a payout at a fraction of the promised rate; nor is it right when a retirement health plan is gutted because "Medicare should cover it" only to find out Medicare doesn't, or even worse, cuts the benefit. We need tax reform that is fair to all, not just to those of the highest income; and, it is wrong when parents have to wonder if they can provide a college education for their children because our nation does not see the value of continuing investment in education from pre-kindergarten to college.

I have represented our country with integrity, dedication, and accountably and will do so in Congress with the same leadership and accountability that I demonstrated in my military career. It is time to bring both back to Washington. I believe that our economic, health, and education security, along with our defense security, are the key underpinnings of a true national security, but to repeat: they are being eroded by this current Congress, which is mortgaging our future and those of generations to come…and I intend to help reverse that trend with the support of you and my District.

Issues:

Economic Security; Health Security; and, Education Security

Grassroots Support:

A major role. The strength of the Democratic Party has always been its people. This has never been more evident, than in the number of responses (over 4000) I have received from contributors and volunteers to my campaign - since entering the race only three short months ago. My campaign is based upon the groundswell of support that we have been able to generate. Our grassroots effort has given us tremendous media attention, as well as allowed us to raise money at a staggering pace (over $500,000 to date). Now that we have broken into the spotlight, it is crucial for us to keep building momentum, through our early grassroots efforts - and with DFA's assistance.

DFA Values:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that - as a nation - the United States should offer every woman the right to have a legal and sage abortion, if that is her choice. I support that decision.

I am a champion of human rights. I believe that gay men and women should be allowed the same civil rights as others. I support prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing; education; employment; health care; public accommodations; and, in federal programs. While I do not support same-sex marriages, I do support civil unions with the full benefits and rights as marriage. Additionally, I oppose amending the US Constitution to restrict the rights of same sex couples.

I am in favor of stem cell research, as it may lead to a potential cure for over 3,000 citizens who die each day from diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heat disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and stroke, as well as serving as replacements for cells or tissues obliterated by radiation and chemotherapy in cancer patients.

I am pro-environment. We are stewards of this earth for our children and children's children. We must address the global threat that human-generated climate change poses; therefore, I support greenhouse limits and ratifying the Kyoto Accord. I also believe that the federal government needs to champion higher standards for clean air and clean water; this should be left to individual states that would result in less comprehensives standards.

As to our energy policy, we need energy sources that are dependable and predictable in their pricing. We need to turn the tables and offer incentives to the corporations that are making headway in reducing oil dependence and creating clean energy manufacturing jobs, rather than offering incentives to big oil corporations. We need to raise fuel economy standards on automobiles including shifting to "tailpipe emissions" standards while implementing a market-driven gas reduction plan for the private sector. We should also invest in alternative technologies such as fuel cells and biodiesel, while reinvigorating the innovative spirit of American business to solve our most pressing energy problems.

I am fiscally responsible because I am committed to reducing the budget deficit by returning to the 1990's system of caps on discretionary spending that helps to reprioritize spending by fiscal discipline. We need to impose "pay as you go" rules that require offsets in the budget for new tax reductions or spending increases. As examples of further deficit reduction, I would propose creating a commission to reduce corporate tax breaks/spending programs with a mandatory congressional "up or down vote" on its recommendations. In addition, consolidating government programs/agencies (e.g. Defense and Veterans Affairs joint purchase of prescription drugs) would lead to cost savings. I would also seek to reduce the government workforce, including political appointees, congressional staff, and contractors.