Democratic U.S. Rep. John W. Olver of Amherst, his Republican challenger William L. Gunn of Ware and the independent candidate Michael Engel of Southampton, have very different positions on the health care law enacted this year.
Democratic U.S. Rep. John W. Olver and his Republican challenger William L. Gunn do not agree on much but they both identify the health care law enacted this year as a top priority in their campaigns.
Olver considers the law vital; proudly points to having voted for it and urges voters to see the importance of preserving such aspects of it as an end to insurance companies being able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Republican challenger William L. Gunn says that his top priority, if elected to Congress Nov. 2, will be to go to Washington and work to repeal the health care law.
Independent candidate Michael Engel criticizes the law and says simply repealing it without some substitute makes no sense.
With their positions on this issue, the congressional candidates in the Massachusetts 1st District represent the spectrum of American politics, liberal to conservative.
Olver, 74, advocated a single-payer health care system for the country the first time he ran for Congress in 1991, so the law enacted this year with votes taken strictly on party lines was for him a compromise. However, it is still something he says is important for the American people with its provisions to establish more community health centers for people with low income and its requirement that young adults be allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance policies until age 26.
Gunn argues that the American people were completely opposed to the health care bill, and says he decided to run for Congress when he saw incumbents last spring moving ahead to enact this law in the face of this opposition.
Gunn went to Washington during the final days of the debate, shouted “Kill the bill,” from the House Gallery, was arrested by Capitol police and wound up serving 40 hours of community service after agreeing to never disrupt a congressional session again.
Engel calls the health care law “Obamacare,” and calls it a financial and administrative monstrosity that puts insurance companies in charge.
Engel said he would like to see universal health coverage without centralized control, but does not see steps for Congress to follow in the next two years other than tinkering with the law.
“I would not vote to repeal it without a replacement. The Republicans have no replacement,” Engel said.
Olver, currently the only member from the Massachusetts delegation serving on the House Appropriations Committee, has also campaigned on his support for creating jobs by stimulating national economic expansion, federal support for economic development in the 1st District, restoring effective regulation of Wall Street, providing educational assistance and medical care for veterans, strengthening Medicare, promoting the development of high speed passenger rail service and enacting mandatory carbon emission reduction regulations.
Gunn advocates lowering all federal taxes and opposes the federal stimulus funding for projects, including the fire station construction in his home town of Ware.
Gunn supports budget cuts for every federal agency, including the Defense Department and Social Security, and said he “would like to see the Department of Education to away and the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy really curtailed.”
Engel said he believes federal stimulus funding has been a failure, and he feels he could bring more federal money to the district than Olver has been able to.