Medicare ad heats up 9th District race

Decision 2012: District 9

Posted: Thursday, Nov. 01, 2012

JEFF WILLHELM - jwillhelm@charlotteobserver.com

Robert Pittenger and Jennifer Roberts

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9th District: On the issues

The Observer asked the candidates for their positions on the following issues. (Answers are edited for brevity and clarity.)

Would you vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act?

• Pittenger: We need to repeal ObamaCare. It is not affordable. The CBO states there are 21 new taxes totaling $1 trillion. Health care should not be mandated by an unelected panel of bureaucrats who determine payment amounts to providers and insurance companies, leading to rationing.

• Roberts: Significant changes should be made, but repealing it would cost millions. There are positive aspects – such as kids staying on their parent’s plan longer and people with pre-existing conditions receiving insurance. But the act does not adequately address the need to lower costs and improve outcomes.

Would you raise revenue and/or cut spending to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff’?

• Pittenger: Raising tax revenue would only further impede economic development. We can grow our economy by reducing the tax burden and reining in irresponsible spending. We should however, eliminate corporate welfare and tax loopholes for individuals and companies.

• Roberts: As a general rule I am opposed to going over cliffs. Congress needs to do its job and make the tough decisions necessary to cut debt rather than relying on job-killing, arbitrary cuts. We can raise revenues by focusing on growing the economy and getting people back to work.

Would you support changes in Medicare?

• Pittenger: Medicare will go bankrupt in 2024. A premium support plan for individuals 54 and younger will insure Medicare for future generations, providing a competitive market with more choices. Doing nothing is not an option if we want to save Medicare.

• Roberts: Medicare is a benefit that seniors have earned and I oppose cutting benefits to the Greatest Generation. I also oppose vouchers, which will leave seniors on their own to negotiate with insurance companies and will lead to higher costs for seniors.

Would you support a ban on abortions?

• Pittenger: I am pro-life, with the exceptions of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

• Roberts: I do not support government involvement in a woman’s personal health decisions. These decisions are between a woman, her doctor and her faith.

Would you vote to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act?

• Pittenger: Yes, repeal Dodd-Frank. This egregious overreach of government is destroying growth of small and large businesses. We must return to a balanced approach based on free markets.

• Roberts: I am concerned with parts of Dodd-Frank that are a burden to small businesses and community banks. I will work with Republicans, Democrats and the business community to find the best path forward.

Would you vote for comprehensive immigration reform?

• Pittenger: Any comprehensive immigration reform must be based on the "rule of law." We are a nation of laws, and they must be respected. We should have market demand of work permits and visas, but all seeking legal status must be processed through the INS, while increasing the number of legal immigrants.

• Roberts: I will work to continue to improve national security and the safety of our borders and work with the business community to ensure our businesses have the workers needed to compete in a global economy.
9th District: On the issues

Would you extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers?

• Robert Pittenger: We need to extend the 2001-2003 tax cuts. Ernst and Young stated that we would lose 710,000 jobs without the extension. Increasing the tax burden on anyone is counterproductive to job creation. We must grow our way out of debt.

• Jennifer Roberts: I support tax cuts for the middle class and support extending the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers except those making more than $500,000 a year.

Where the candidates stand on other issues. Page 6B

North Carolina’s most expensive congressional race is winding to a close in the 9th District with more sniping between candidates with sharply different views of government.

Republican Robert Pittenger and Democrat Jennifer Roberts have taken to the airwaves, phone lines and mailboxes in the final days of their campaign to replace longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick.

Pittenger, who has given his campaign $2.3 million, has loaned it another $380,000, including $50,000 last week. Only four House candidates in the country have spent more of their own money, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

But Pittenger also has gotten $650,000 from individuals. That’s more than the $525,000 Roberts has raised from all sources in her campaign in the Republican-leaning district.

Roberts, a Mecklenburg County commissioner, is on the air with ads accusing her opponent of supporting cuts in Medicare benefits. Pittenger, the ad says, would “leave you on your own with the insurance companies and that will cost you over $6,000 a year.”

The claim is based on a study by Harvard economist David Cutler of Medicare changes proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. But the Congressional Budget Analysis has not published an analysis of Ryan’s most recent Medicare plan.

Pittenger called the attack a “typical untrue scare tactic.”

“The Romney-Ryan plan for Medicare which I support does not reduce any payments to seniors,” he said. “There is no change in Medicare to anyone 55 years or older. And those under 55 will have an option for a premium support with options for coverage through the private market, or remain on Medicare.”

Former GOP Gov. Jim Martin has come to Pittenger’s defense. He recorded automated calls that accused Democrats of “trying to scare us seniors about Medicare.”

Pittenger is running a TV ad that features supporters offering testimonials on his behalf. He’s also sending out mailers that accuse Roberts of supporting an energy tax. They say she would be “a rubber stamp for (Democratic leader) Nancy Pelosi’s partisan agenda.”

Roberts said Pittenger “is distorting the truth.”

“As a candidate for Congress,” she said, “I have called for cutting taxes on middle-class families…. I support creating jobs by expanding clean energy and reducing harmful carbon pollution.”