Colorado Congressional District 5 race: Doug Lamborn, Irv Halter on the issues

The ACA fight in Congress is a great example of why so many Coloradans hate career politicians. The process by which it passed a Democratic Congress was ugly. The implementation by Health and Human Services -- especially the website blunders -- has been poorly executed. If someone who served under me in the Air Force had failed this badly, I would have removed them for cause. Unfortunately, the Republicans in Washington haven't behaved any better. Instead, politicians like Congressman Lamborn have voted more than 50 times to repeal the ACA without offering a viable alternative plan that addresses America's health care challenges. I would support an alternative to the ACA that prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and maintains affordable coverage for the millions of Americans who now have health insurance. But it's unfair to play political games with people's healthcare.

Social Security and Medicare are two successful programs that our seniors rely on and have paid into their entire lives. I will always fight to protect these programs for future generations.  Meanwhile, my opponent supports raising the retirement age and reducing benefits costing seniors. And he wants to privatize Social Security and gamble it on Wall Street.  

I believe that government should ensure that Americans have access to inexpensive forms of energy, while protecting the environment. This is why I support fracking and building the Keystone XL pipeline.    

The Endangered Species Act has had some success in protecting plants, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles and other creatures that have been in decline.  But the Act has also harmed economic development and growth. I am open to changes that will do a better job of protecting species while balancing the need for policies that promote economic growth.

My opponent simply denies the science behind climate change and global warming. This is dangerous and reckless. We should do our best to foster energy independence while investing in technologies that will reduce the impact on our environment. America can be a leader in developing these technologies, saving our environment and creating jobs here at home.

Government needs to make it easier for businesses to create jobs. This means we need to lower taxes and reduce regulations.

I do not believe that government is the solution for everything. I believe the best way to address income inequality is to ensure businesses can create good-paying jobs. This means lowering taxes and reducing regulations. We also need to make sure everyone gets an equal start, which means safe communities and effective schools.

The best way to lift people out of poverty is to ensure they have access to quality education and good-paying jobs. We must make sure that everyone has access to quality education regardless of where they grow up, and that everyone who wants to go to college can. The federal government must also make it easier for companies to grow and hire more employees by lowering taxes and reducing regulations.

Yes, but the increase must be graduated so businesses are able to adapt without cutting jobs.

I would start my eliminating duplication in federal programs, sell vacant federal properties and unused federal vehicles, and most important, provide better oversight of this president. Finally, we need to stop buying things that the Pentagon and other agencies say they don’t need. Buying obsolete or unneeded equipment costs us billions each year.   

I am a pro-growth candidate who believes that government should make it easier for businesses to create jobs or get out of the way. I believe that we need to work in a bipartisan fashion to look at the entire tax code, both corporate and individual income taxes, and figure out the best system that encourages growth and doesn’t penalize success. Both parties have said the tax system needs fixing—but the time for talk is over.

I do not support Common Core standards. While Common Core was well intended it has missed the mark and made it more difficult for our educators to do their job. I believe that we need to give parents and teachers the freedom to determine what is best for our students.  

It is time we pass comprehensive immigration reform. First, we must improve border security and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers. Second, any path to citizenship must be rigorous and require undocumented immigrants to pass background checks, learn English, and pay taxes. And, they must commit to going to school or getting a job. This is not amnesty—it is a well-defined plan to bring undocumented immigrants into the American mainstream. It means they pay taxes instead of getting free schools and health care. Finally, we must reform the legal immigration system. 

No. While early signs indicate that the new laws have been successful at bringing marijuana into the mainstream, creating jobs, and generating revenue for the state, there are still many questions about the negative impacts of legalized marijuana. Instead of rushing to vastly expand the legalization of marijuana, I believe that we must continue to monitor the impacts here in Colorado and other states before further legalization should be considered.

I believe the government should grant equal legal status to all marriages.

The Constitution, which I defended with my life, guarantees Americans certain freedoms including the right to keep and bear arms. I have been a gun owner my entire life, and I oppose new restrictions on gun purchases and will work to ensure that the rights of law-abiding Coloradans are never infringed. That being said, with all rights come responsibilities. There are some common-sense actions we should take to reduce the chances of firearms being purchased by people we all agree should not be allowed to have them, such as those who are mentally unstable or who have been convicted of felonies. This is why I support universal background checks for all gun purchases.

I do not believe that we can trust government to interfere in complex decisions made between a women and her doctor. I do support a continued ban on federal funding for abortion. 

I support the current actions in Syria. I believe that the president waited too long to act, but it is clear that ISIL poses and imminent threat to our allies and to the homeland.

In a district with 100,000 veterans, we need a member of Congress who will fight for our veterans.  Unfortunately, my opponent, who sits on the VA committee failed to show up for more than half the hearings, and recent reports show that my opponent has ignored the needs of local veterans who have asked for his help. I will always stand up for our veterans, and most important I will always show up.