Stephen Labate, the Republican challenger to five-term incumbent Congressman Steve Israel (D), has never held elected office but said he does not see that as disadvantage to his candidacy.
In a sit-down interview with the Great Neck News, Labate said voters are looking a fresh face – and that his combination of Washington outsider status, military experience and conservative positions on the deficit, health care and deficit make him the right choice for Suffolk and Nassau counties.
Labate repeatedly emphasized his qualifications as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. military and said that he would work to fix Congressional dysfunction that he blamed on both Democratic and Republican partisanship.
He also attacked President Barack Obama’s health-care reform, the fiscal problems facing entitlements like Medicare and Social Security and the threat of growing national debt, but would not list specific cuts to reduce deficits, stating instead that reducing the scope of government would address these problems.
Labate said he was running out of concern for the effects that debt and big government could have for the future of America.
“I’m running for Congress because I’m scared to death for my childrens’ future,” he said.
Labate, who said that he considered running for office 2010 before withdrawing ahead of the GOP primary, is running against Israel in the newly reconfigured 3rd District.
In Nassau County, the 3rd District will include all or part of Oyster Bay, Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Roslyn, Williston Park, Floral Park and New Hyde Park.
The new 3rd District also encompasses the Queens neighborhoods of Whitestone, Beechhurst, Little Neck, Douglaston, Fort Totten, Bay Terrace and a portion of Bayside.
Labate argued that government spending and the United States’ $16 trillion in total federal debt are harming private businesses and the economy as a whole.
But Labate declined to name specific cuts he would endorse to reduce the government’s reliance on borrowing, saying that he would first attack waste and redundancies.
“I’m not going to name specific programs and have that taken out of context,” he said. “You need cuts across the board.”
Of particular concern to the Suffolk County Republican is the upcoming “fiscal cliff:” the set of automatic cuts and tax increases, including a slashing of the defense budget, set to come into effect on Jan. 1 if Congress cannot reach agreement on a deficit-reduction package.
“That bludgeon that’s coming to our economy, to defense, that’s going to put American lives at risk,” said Labate. He said that he was open to “surgical” cuts to the defense budget, but criticized Congress for creating the automatic cuts in an effort to avoid political responsibility for slashing programs.
Labate indicated that he would not support tax increases as part of the solution to the deficit due to the weakened state of the economy, but said that he had not signed Grover Norquists’ no new taxes pledge and could consider bills that would raise revenue in the future.
He had harsh words for the Obama administration’s stimulus bill and health-care reform law, characterizing them as unjustified government intrusions on the economy.
“The government should not be forcing [itself on the economy] – whether it’s through stimulus or health insurance,” he said.
Labate said the stimulus had failed to create jobs and that he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, pointing to research from his campaign showing that the stimulus had little impact in District 3 job creation.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in a report from August that, at its 2010 peak, the stimulus was responsible for adding 700,000 to 3.3 million jobs to the economy and projected that it would contribute another 200,000 to 1.2 million jobs in 2012. The Office also estimated in July that repealing the ACA would add $109 billion to federal deficits over the next 10 years.
Labate disputed the CBO figures on the stimulus’ economic impact, saying that reports he had seen showed lesser job creation. Research sent by the Labate campaign did not contradict the CBO’s job figures, but argued that the stimulus’ high cost per job, limited 3rd District impact and the CBO’s acknowledged uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act’s costs justify opposition.
“Labata also said that his opposition to the ACA was based on more than just budgetary concerns.
“It’s an inconceivable document,” he said, referring to the law’s length and complexity. “The government’s place is to encourage competition and free markets.”
“Doctor’s don’t want to deal with ACA bureaucracy,” he continued.
Labate advocated for the federal government to allow insurance companies to compete beyond state lines, which he said would help control rising health care costs. He also stated his belief that such reforms would help Medicare avoid insolvency, while declining to endorse the proposal in GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s 2010 budget that would transform Medicare into a voucher program.
The Medicare Board of Trustees, which includes Obama administration officials Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, estimated in its 2012 report that Medicare’s hospital trust fund would be exhausted in 2024, and sooner than that if the health law’s cuts in the growth of Medicare’s provider reimbursement rates are repealed.
Labate criticized Israel for what he termed fiscal irresponsiblity and a lack of meaningful support for the state of Israel.
“He has become a clone of President Obama,” he said, referring to Israel’s support for the Affordable Care Act and the stimulus bill.
Labate also attacked Israel for his associations with liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street and a what he characterized as a lack of strong action on Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel was one of about 160 representatives who were members of the host committee for J Street’s 2009 conference. The group, which describes itself as pro-Israel and pro-peace, supports sanctions against Iran but opposes military intervention. It also opposes the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“I believe that he’s quite silent when it comes to his defense of Israel,” Labate said.
The congressional challenger cast doubt on the Obama administration’s commitment to Israel’s security and its response to the Iranian nuclear program.
“I think [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] has got closer ears to the ground [on Iran’s nuclear program] than our current administration,” said Labate. “It cannot be allowed that Iran has nuclear weapons.”
Labate closed the interview by criticizing the current leadership in Washington and arguing that the people of the district are looking for a relatable political outsider.
“When it’s all said and done, our political leaders have failed us,” he said.
