Name: Matthew Cartwright

Age: 53Hometown: MoosicParty: DemocratEducation: Hamilton College, BA in history,1983; University of Pennsylvania Law School, Juris Doctorate,1986.Occupation: Attorney; U.S. Congressman representing the 17th District since Jan. 3, 2013Family: Wife, Marion Munley Cartwright; sons Jack and Matthew.1. What is your plan for immigration reform?We need to secure our borders, hold immigrants who have broken our laws accountable, but create a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers already in the U.S. Those workers should be helping shore up the solvency of our Social Security system.2. How would you curtail escalating health care costs?The Affordable Care Act is doing just that by providing millions of previously uninsured Americans with affordable insurance, giving them preventive care and addressing health problems before they become acute. We need to support both getting to full coverage of our population and keeping Medicaid and Medicare strong.3. What long-term changes are needed to keep Social Security functioning?We should raise the cap on taxable income for Social Security wages to $250,000 per year and create a pathway to full taxpaying citizenship for undocumented workers in the U.S. willing to become good citizens.4. What steps are needed to create the growth of full-time jobs at living wages?We need to keep the economy growing by investing in education, rail and highway development, and green technologies. I support retaining the federal and federal spending-related jobs in the 17th Congressional District and keeping federal economic development grants flowing to district, and I've worked hard to do both.5. How would you propose handling the federal budget deficit?We need to grow the economy to increase revenues to the Treasury and income in family pocketbooks, cut tax loopholes that allow profitable multinational corporations to pay a lower effective tax rate than middle class families, bring undocumented workers into the Social Security system and make them full taxpayers after completing a responsible pathway to citizenship, keep health care costs trending downward through more complete insurance coverage and increased preventive care, and work in a bipartisan way to cut unneeded spending from the federal budget.6. What's the most pressing problem in America today, and how would you handle it?Creating jobs and getting the labor market to catch up with corporate profits that have recovered from the Great Recession is the most pressing problem. We need to grow the economy by making strategic investments in education, rail and highway transportation, green technologies, scientific research, veterans' health care, and well-thought-out, well-tailored local economic development projects.7. Foreign policy What do we need to do to keep America safe?We need to work closely with all nations in the Middle East to contain ISIS/ISIL, help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan stabilize their own countries, and nurture and build new collaborative relationships around the globe to stop terrorist plots from ever reaching our shores. At home, we must invest in security measures that protect civil liberties at the same time that they make it difficult for anyone to harm Americans in a concerted attack.8. Ebola what should we be doing to stop the spread?We must craft, institute, and administer the most health care-effective travel precautions possible, with government decision-makers working closely with health care scientists, and we must encourage and be part of an international effort to get control of the Ebola outbreak in those countries where it is not under control.9. Energy independence how can we balance our energy needs while protecting the environment?The U.S. should become a world leader in and global supplier of environment-friendly new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. We must develop traditional and renewable sources of domestic energy and, incrementally, rely more heavily on greener sources.10. How should the federal government create a safety net for the mentally ill and addicted?Social Security, which is a safety net for seniors and the disabled must be kept solvent and strong. Federal spending and assistance to federal direct-care facilities (like VA hospitals), state agencies, and nonprofits that care for Americans facing mental illness or substance addition should not be cut.