Candidates for Federal Office For US Senator Christopher S Murphy Matthew Corey Richard Lion Jeff Russell For US Representative District 1 John Larson 1. In light of documented attacks on our election systems, would you vote to require and fund all states to replace paperless electronic voting machines with voting machines that use and count paper ballots? Yes. Congress has a responsibility to uphold the integrity of our elections. That priority is neither Democratic, nor Republican – it is an issue that is central to our democracy. That is why I have supported and voted for past legislation to establish a grants program for state and local governments to make backup paper ballots available in case electronic voting machines break down. In addition to paper ballots, nonpartisan election officials should have an audit of these ballots to confirm election results. Citizens should feel confident that their vote will be counted. 2. How will you ensure access to medical care and affordable health insurance with reasonable benefits for all Americans? By fighting back against the sale of junk insurance and protecting those with pre-existing conditions. We must move beyond trying to repeal the ACA and towards improving access to affordable care. That’s why I introduced the Medicare Buy-In & Health Care Stabilization Act (HR 3748) along with Congressman Courtney, to allow Americans ages 50-64 years old to buy into Medicare. Experts have looked at the data and found a 60-year-old could save 40 percent on premiums with a Medicare Buy-In compared to a Gold plan on the marketplace today. My plan would also allow Medicare to negotiate volume discounts on the cost of prescription medicines, as the VA and Medicaid do to save an average of 24 percent! This proposal would help lower premiums for people on the individual market as well, because the pool of people remaining would be younger (ages 27-49) and likely healthier. 3. Will you sponsor and support legislation to require disclosure of campaign-related activities by PACs, SuperPACs and other “dark money” organizations? Yes. In the years since Citizens United, we have seen dark money flood our elections and the voices of every day citizens get drowned out. That is why I have long been a cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act (HR 6239) to shine a light on campaign finance reports and require transparency from such organizations. I was also proud to serve as the 1st Chairman of the Task Force on Election Reform. In that role, I worked with Rep. John Sarbanes to build upon these ideas to develop H.R. 20, the Government by the People Act. H.R. 20 included an idea that I had previously introduced, the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act (FENA), to establish a voluntary campaign finance system that amplifies small donations to federal candidates with matching funds. I will continue to fight for fairer elections and the right of every voter to be heard. Jennifer T Nye Thomas McCormick District 2 Joe Courtney 1. In light of documented attacks on our election systems, would you vote to require and fund all states to replace paperless electronic voting machines with voting machines that use and count paper ballots? I support efforts requiring electronic voting machines to be auditable with paper ballots, and I am also a cosponsor of a number of bills in Congress to protect U.S. elections from foreign interference, including the SECURE Our Democracy Act and the Protecting Our Democracy Act. I am also a cosponsor of the Voter Empowerment Act of 2017, which among other provisions would revise voting machine audit requirements, mandating that voting machines use “voter-verified” paper ballots. 2. How will you ensure access to medical care and affordable health insurance with reasonable benefits for all Americans? In the 116th Congress, we should focus on building on the successes of the Affordable Care Act, including its goals of expanding access to affordable, high-quality care and protecting those with pre-existing conditions. This includes expanding Medicare to allow individuals to “buy-in” at 55, and a public option for health insurance. In addition, I support policies to reverse recent destabilizing changes to the ACA, including improving the Cost Sharing Reduction program, creation of a federal reinsurance program, and reinstituting the individual mandate. 3. Will you sponsor and support legislation to require disclosure of campaign-related activities by PACs, SuperPACs and other “dark money” organizations? Yes - I am a cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act of 2018, which would require disclosure of “dark money” in political spending. I am also a cosponsor of the Government By the People Act of 2017, which would require disclosure of bundled contributions, and the By the People Resolution, which would prohibit bundled campaign contributions from lobbyists and would require disclosure of “dark money” in political spending. Danny Postemski, Jr. Daniel Reale Michelle Louise Bicking District 3 Rosa L DeLauro Angel Cadena District 4 Jim Himes Biography: Jim was a businessman and non-profit executive, and provides thoughtful, independent representation to Connecticut’s 4th District. He fights for economic opportunity for all, focusing on transportation infrastructure and improving our schools. He serves on the Financial Services and Intelligence Committees and is a father to two remarkable women. Q: Immigration legislation has been stalled in Congress. Which initiatives would you support to deal with this issue? A: Our nation’s immigration system is in dire need of reform. Immigrants strengthen our nation and our economy and I will fight the inhumane politics of bigotry and family separation coming from the Trump White House. I will support comprehensive reform that secures our border, stops the illegal employment of the undocumented, and offers a rigorous path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants who are here and who have followed our laws, remained employed and paid their taxes. I support and have fought for legislation to normalize the status of Dreamers. Q: Do you think the current gun control laws are adequate to ensure citizen safely? Please explain your position. A: Nearly 40,000 Americans die every year from suicides, accidents and brutal crime at the point of a gun. No other nation has a similar problem. I support commonsense gun safety measures like universal background checks, limits on magazines and assault weapons and the pursuit of safe gun and safe storage technologies, all of which are consistent with the 2nd Amendment. We also need to do a better job of providing mental health interventions to the addicted, the depressed and others who might consider suicide. Q: The US has withdrawn from several multi member international agreements. Do you favor renegotiations of these agreements and what conditions would you support? A: The Trump administration has removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal and is threatening to pull back from the alliances that have been the bedrock of global stability in the post-World War Two era such as NATO. These withdrawals are not signals of strength. True strength comes through full engagement with and leadership of the international community. Our alliances and agreements give us leverage when dealing with allies and rivals alike and we should reenter into negotiations to strengthen our position and restore some of our international standing and make the world safer. Harry Arora Biography: Harry Arora is a successful entrepreneur and a first-generation immigrant American. Harry is running on a platform to promote policies which will reverse Connecticut’s economic decline. Harry has an MPA from Harvard University, MBA from UT-Austin, and an electrical engineering degree from India. Harry lives in Greenwich with his family. Q: Immigration legislation has been stalled in Congress. Which initiatives would you support to deal with this issue? A: We truly need immigration reform – one that respects our values and allows us to attract the best and brightest as well as give refuge to those fleeing oppression. We need to have immigration laws which can be implemented fairly without making a mockery of the rule of law as is the case now – hard working immigrants with graduate degrees from US schools are being sent back while those who break laws are being advocated for. I would support an initiative for reforming immigration which balances between merit, work, refuge and family reunification. Q: Do you think the current gun control laws are adequate to ensure citizen safely? Please explain your position. A: Our objective for gun laws should be to ensure reduction or elimination of gun violence and acts of terrorism. The implementation of an effective universal background check is required and currently the implementation of the system is patchy and inadequate. We need to make sure that guns do not get into the wrong hands of criminals and those with mental health issues. More needs to be done there. We also need to work immediately to improve school security. Q: The US has withdrawn from several multi member international agreements. Do you favor renegotiations of these agreements and what conditions would you support? A: The US has withdrawn from international agreements which have served neither the US interest nor the larger public interest. The Paris Agreement with ‘variable unverifiable commitments’, NAFTA with its loopholes and imbalance and JCPOA with its lack of longer term solution to Iran’s nuclear weaponization all have one thing in common - these agreements were all done without respect for the US strength or US commitment to peace, climate and trade. Yes, I support renegotiation to reflect real progress and real solutions and which serve the American people and truly serve the global purpose. District 5 Jahana Hayes Manny Santos .