Category: Homeland Security

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17
votes

If I go into a coma and am put on life support, with no living immediate family and no one with medical directive authority, who decides if I live or die? More

Asked 18 weeks 23 hours ago of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
by Anna Gardiner from Falls Church, VA

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These questions are recommended by CNC Journalists. Tell us what you want our journalists to ask: Click the VOTE button.

36
votes

Do you think a border fence is the answer to our immigration problems? More

Asked 1 year 9 weeks ago of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
by Matt Cheney from San Francisco, CA

Answered

Given the fact that in the Spring (& now Winter) Primaries and Caucuses is the ONLY time we get have a say in who we want for US President (the General election in November is to vote for the Electoral College, not the candidate), When do you think the American Voters will Finally get to Vote for a U.S President?
Asked by: D P. from Fort Worth, TX. Received 61 Votes.
Categories: Campaign 2008 · Civil Liberties · Homeland Security · Money & Politics. Tags: voting rights.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)

When the Consitution's changed. It's hard to change the constitution. You got to get Congress to pass it by 75 percent, by two-thirds in the Senate and the House. And 75 percent of the states have to go along with it.

Answered on Dec 10th, 2008 More
Who authorized the departure of Saudi Nationals (including the Bin Laden family) when the U.S. airspace was otherwise closed?
Asked by: Kurt Christensen from Westminster, MD. Received 17 Votes.
Categories: Civil Liberties · Homeland Security · Money & Politics · President Bush · Terrorism · Transportation. Tags: 9/11/2001 · Bin Laden · terrorism.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

I don’t know the answer to that. I was not in Congress at the time that that happened and I don’t know that anybody did. I don’t know how to answer that question.

Answered on Aug 7th, 2008 More
Recently you revealed that you intentionally avoid classified meetings, as a matter of choice. How do you justify this to your constituents who rely on you for representation, when it comes to matters of national security and the war?
Asked by: Jason W. from Hyrum, UT. Received 10 Votes.
Categories: Homeland Security · Iraq · Terrorism. Tags: Classified Information · Congressional Representation · iraq · Leadership.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT)

Rep. Cannon: In the first place the problem with classified briefings is that you don’t learn anything. But then you’re stuck with stuff that you’ve heard that you don’t want to say out of context. So I read extensively and I’ve gone to classified briefings half a dozen times – that is, I’ve only skipped two or three of them frankly bc nothing is said there that’s really important. The really important things actually are available to the public if you look and read and so I educate myself extensively on these topics.

Answered on Apr 24th, 2008 More
With gasoline prices so high and a large part of the cost going into the hands of America's enemies, why are we not legislating incentives to build nuclear electric generating plants to reduce our dependence on oil?
Asked by: Brian Schwartz from Weston, FL. Received 7 Votes.
Categories: Energy · Homeland Security · Technology. Tags: National Security.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE)

We aren’t doing enough to incent nuclear energy and there’s two major road blocks to nuclear energy. One’s just the high cost. It takes several, I think 5 billion dollars to build a new plant, whereas it’s a third of that to build a coal plant. So the government has to step up and provide some kind of grant or loan fund to be able to offset some of the costs. The second thing is a big thing, and that’s what do we do with the waste. And we can’t get Yucca Mountain through the Senate. So even if we came up with a grant or loan fund they still don’t have anyplace to store it.

Answered on Apr 23rd, 2008 More
With gasoline prices so high and a large part of the cost going into the hands of America's enemies, why are we not legislating incentives to build nuclear electric generating plants to reduce our dependence on oil?
Asked by: Brian Schwartz from Weston, FL. Received 7 Votes.
Categories: Energy · Homeland Security · Technology. Tags: National Security.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

In the last Congress nuclear energy was one of those parts of the package we had as a part as an energy package. I certainly think it is one that needs to have greater emphasis. When you look at countries like France that have 75 to 80% of their power supplied by nuclear plants, you have to ask why we don’t do that in this country. We do have some that are in the early stages of coming in the planning part of it. We have at least one in my state of George that is planned come on line.

Answered on Apr 23rd, 2008 More
Do you think a border fence is the answer to our immigration problems?
Asked by: Matt Cheney from San Francisco, CA. Received 36 Votes.
Categories: Homeland Security · Immigration · Race & Sex. Tags: border · fence · mexico.

Listen to: U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Nobody believes, certainly I don’t that you can just build a fence, pat yourself on the back and say ‘hey, look we secured the border’ because people can cut holes in fences, they can come over it and they can come around it. So, you need to have a solution comprised of people, technology and in some places physical barriers- but it’s got to be a combination.

Answered on Apr 23rd, 2008 More
Do you regret voting to authorize the Patriot Act? As a Democrat, how do you justify having voted that way?
Asked by: Misty Fowler from Salt Lake City, UT. Received 34 Votes.
Categories: Civil Liberties · Homeland Security · President Bush. Tags: Patriot Act.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)

Well, the questioner is incorrect. I actually voted against extending the PA. On the initial vote right which was after 9/11, yes, I voted along with almost every Democrat and Republican in Congress to create the Patriot Act which had a limited term to it. When that term was expiring and it came up to be extended, I voted ‘no,’ because I didn’t think it was appropriate to extend it permanently. So that’s how I treated that issue. I think it was important for us as an institution to keep some time frames or some limitations on how that Act could be implemented.

Answered on Mar 17th, 2008 More
What will you do to limit the powers of the presidency to those described in the Constitution? In other words, how will you uphold the oath of office concerning defense of the Constitution when it comes to limits on presidential power?
Asked by: Josie Tolton from Richmond, IN. Received 68 Votes.
Categories: Campaign 2008 · Civil Liberties · Ethics · Homeland Security · President Bush. Tags: balance of powers · constitution · imperial presidency · presidency · president.

Listen to: U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH)

I used to be for six years the chairman of the subcommittee on the Constitution, so it’s something that I take very seriously. Probably one particular area that Congress should always focus attention on is that the presidency, the executive branch, doesn’t overstep its bounds. The War Power Act is something that was passed some years ago to make sure that when a president is going to commit our troops militarily, overseas, that Congress has a role to play.

Answered on Mar 13th, 2008 More