Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Election-5th-District

Full Text:

5th District Candidates Spar Over Taxes, Environment And HMO Reform

(with cut)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

The congressional candidates in Connecticut's Fifth District continued to

hammer at each other in debates and television advertisements as election day

approached.

US Rep James Maloney, a Democrat serving his first term in Congress, his

Republican challenger State Sen Mark Nielsen, and Robert Strasdauskas of the

Concerned Citizens Party shared the podium again last week in a debate before

the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce.

Throughout the campaign, Rep Maloney, a Danbury Democrat and former four-term

state senator, has stood on his record and the fulfillment of a promise, made

four years ago, to be accessible to his constituents.

Mr Nielsen, the Republican who succeeded Maloney in the traditionally

Democratic 24th State Senatorial District, criticized his opponent's record,

accusing him of raising taxes, supporting tariffs, and violating the public

trust.

Mr Strasdauskas, a union steward at Whyco Industries in Thomaston, has

stressed his own non-political background, describing his opponents as "two

career politicians who are also lawyers."

"You can either get a team player for [House Majority Leader] Dick Armey, a

team player for [House Minority Leader] Dick Gephardt, or someone who's going

to his own constituents," said Mr Strasdauskas. A Vietnam veteran whose

platform includes trimming the federal government and promoting tariffs to

protect US industries and workers, he said he would push to eliminate the

federal income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.

US Rep James Maloney

A member of the House Banking, Financial Services and National Security

committees, Rep Maloney has been a highly visible member of Congress during

his first term. In a bipartisan effort with US Rep Christopher Shays, the

Republican who represents Connecticut's Fourth District, Rep Maloney won

congressional approval of "brownfields" legislation that provides tax

incentives to clean up contaminated sites and make them suitable for

industrial development. Danbury, Meriden, Derby, Seymour and Waterbury already

have benefitted from the legislation.

To counter school violence and juvenile crime, Rep Maloney wrote the

bi-partisan Law Enforcement School Partnership Act that will provide youth

officers in school districts across the country. He was instrumental in

securing the establishment of a veterans clinic that opened last week at St

Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. Previously veterans from the Fifth District had

to travel to Newington or West Haven for health care.

This week Rep Maloney released a report that showed senior citizens are paying

significantly more for prescription drugs than such high-volume users as

health maintenance organizations and hospitals, and promised to introduce

legislation to change this practice.

"I have kept my promise to be accessible, worked for a balanced budget and a

tax cut, opposed the state income tax, opposed increasing the state sales tax,

worked hard on Medicare and education," Rep Maloney said, citing his record in

both Congress and the State Legislature.

Viewed as a conservative Democrat who has voted with Republicans on many

issues, Rep Maloney supported the cut in capital gains, the Roth IRA, the

$1,500 Hope scholarship for education, and the $500 per child tax credit. He

helped draft the 1993 tax bill that cut state taxes by $123 million the first

year, and by $260 million the following year.

State Sen Mark Nielsen

As ranking Republican on the Human Services Committee, Sen Nielsen played a

key role in shaping Connecticut's welfare reform legislation, including its

21-month time limit on cash benefits, one of the strictest in the nation. At

the same time, he backed legislation to create the Husky Program to reach

80,000 low-income children who do not have medical benefits.

Throughout three terms in the legislature, including one as a member of the

state House, Sen Nielsen has championed lower taxes and limits on the growth

of government. In 1993 he attracted nationwide attention by filing suit

against the Legislature for its failure to implement the 1992 constitutional

amendment which imposed a cap on the state budget. The suit reached the State

Supreme Court, where it was denied.

If elected to Congress, Sen Nielsen said he would push to lower the personal

income tax rate, eliminate the capital gains tax, and the so-called marriage

penalty and the death tax. To energize business, Mr Nielsen said he would

introduce legislation to "eliminate the surcharge on employees that would save

businesses $100 million over five years."

Summarizing his own position as "taxes, trade and trust," Mr Nielsen has

criticized Rep Maloney's record, accusing him of raising taxes, supporting

tariffs, and violating the public trust.

"I have cut taxes by $1 billion. Jim Maloney raised taxes by $1 billion," Sen

Nielsen said. "So what's the difference between us? The difference is that at

the time he was raising our taxes, Jim Maloney didn't pay his own. His actions

are extremely hypocritical."

Sen Nielsen was referring to six tax liens for $59,626 that were imposed

against Rep Maloney's law firm by the Internal Revenue Service during 1991-94.

Mr Maloney said the decision was made by his firm at that time to use the

money to keep employees working, not lay them off during the recession. The

taxes later were paid.

Mr Nielsen said that if elected, he will introduce legislation next year in

Congress to impose heavy financial penalties against companies who do not pay

their taxes.

"My legislation will deter those who try and `steal' their employees' tax

withholdings. These funds belong to the US government -- not the employer --

and I am determined that these Social Security, Medicare and federal income

taxes are remitted as the law requires," he said.

Other Issues

State Sen Nielsen said he supports free trade, NAFTA, the most-favored nation

status, Fast-Track, and property tax credits for businesses who hire welfare

workers. Rep Maloney agrees, but as a self-described "free market moderate"

draws the line at foreign producers who use "children getting paid 25 cents an

hour" or South American field workers who spread hepatitis on imported

strawberries.

"I supported the International Monetary Fund and the dollars were approved by

Congress," Rep Maloney said. "I do support free trade but we need to pay

attention to the records of businesses and employers."

Rep Maloney said he supported legislation that will have a profound effect on

job training by consolidating programs into three block grants with

availability on a voucher system. Plus I worked hard on education legislation

that will provide 100,000 new teachers, he said.

All three candidates support using the federal budget surplus to restore the

Social Security trust fund and to reduce taxes. "It is important to save

Social Security but the federal budget increase of $30 billion is

unacceptable," Mr Strasdauskas said. "The budget is 4,000 pages long. The

whole federal system is out of whack and Social Security needs more than just

a BandAid approach."

On the question of HMO reform, State Sen Nielsen said medical care should be

"accessible, affordable and accountable," with establishment of a national

appeals process and full deductibility of premiums for the self-employed.

"This is all part of an HMO bill that I worked for in Connecticut -- I have

been part of the solution," Sen Nielsen said.

Rep Maloney said HMO reform is one of the most important issues facing

Congress. There should be minimum standards for HMO's "just like any other

profession" so patients are protected, he said. But a bipartisan bill which he

supported during the last session was defeated, he said.