metro

Update From Washington, D.C.

U.S. Rep. Gary Peters answers questions for the Jewish News.

Peters: I fully support improving infrastructure.
Unfortunately, we have gotten significant Republican
pushback because of the cost associated with it. Not
spending money on infrastructure doesn't make a lot of
sense to my mind because you're only a strong country if
you're investing in infrastructure. People are looking at
it from a short-term perspective — that you save a little
money now — but it ends up costing more in the long
run. Plus it costs consumers a lot of money, especially
when they hit a pothole and blow out their tire.
We need to make long-term plans. Infrastructure is a
major capital expenditure, and contractors need certainty
before they can make investments. It's a source of frustra-
tion that we haven't made long-range authorizations on
infrastructure spending because it's gotten caught up in
the deficit reduction debate. We do have to reduce the
deficit and make sure that we're sustainable in the long
run, but that doesn't mean you cut long-term investment.
Here in Michigan, we also need the state to step up.
Most of the roads around here are local roads. There is
federal money available to help, but always to get federal
money you have to have a state match. It's the state's
responsibility to maintain decent roads, and it's fallen
pretty flat.

Jackie Headapohl

I Managing Editor

T

oday's politics are divisive — gay marriage,
health care, climate change, foreign policy, eco-
nomic inequality, education — opinions run the
gamut and are contested hotly on each side of the aisle.
Recently, the JN interviewed U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, a
Democrat who represents citizens from Michigan's 14th
district, which includes large portions of the Jewish
community in West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills and
Southfield.

Climate In Washington
Q: The 113th Congress, with a Republican-led House
and a Democratic-led Senate, is one of the most unpro-
ductive in modern history. What do you say to frustrated
citizens who are tired of nothing getting done?
Peters: It is a very tough environment — no question
about it. There are a lot of folks who don't want to try to
find middle ground, but I believe you have to work in a
bipartisan way and find common ground. I've done that
as the chair of the Auto Caucus where I've endeavored to
broaden it. Manufacturing is critical for our country, not
just Michigan. My co-chair is Bill Campbell, a Republican
from Orange County, Calif. Our caucus has 63 members;
half are Republican. We're working together on ways to
strengthen manufacturing and the auto sector.

Foreign Policy
Q: How can we ensure that Iran doesn't get a nuclear
weapon?
Peters: We need to be very firm. It's simply unaccept-
able for Iran to have a nuclear program and access to a
nuclear weapon. It's an existential threat for Israel and a
significant threat to world security. Every nation needs to
be concerned about that.

Q: What is Congress's role in dealing with Iran?
Peters: The role of Congress is to continue to put

pressure on the administration to move us in that direc-
tion. We have to let the administration know that it has
the support of Congress to be very tough and asser-
tive as it moves forward with negotiations with Iran. I
think it's important for us to put the sanctions in place.
I co-sponsored those sanctions and have always been a
big supporter of them. I believe that's what brought the
Iranians to the negotiating table. But you got to be able to
continue to put the pressure on. The one thing that folks
in the Middle East respect is power, and we've got to show
strength. It's also very important for the U.S. to maintain
strong military strength in the region.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Israel-Palestinian
conflict?
Peters: We have to keep pushing for peace. But ulti-
mately, that peace agreement has to be between the par-
ties themselves. But before those negotiations start, there
has to be one agreement: Israel has the right to exist.

Q: Is it fair for the Obama administration to be critical
of Israel?
Peters: It makes sense to bring both parties together,
but the U.S. has to be an honest broker.

Gary Peters at the JN offices in Southfield

Q: What about the U.S.-Russia relationship?

Peters: I don't trust the Russians, and we certainly can't
trust Mr. Putin, whose views are outside of the interna-
tional community. We have to be firm with the Russians.
We have to work with them, but as long as Mr. Putin is in
charge, there can be no element of trust.

Q: What about the Russian annexation of Crimea?

Peters: We have to escalate the response. There needs
to be punishment for a government that acts in an extra-
legal way to acquire territory. There has to be a cost that's
imposed upon that. That cost has to come from the world
community. We have to get European counties on board,
and that's not an easy thing given some of their economic
relationships with Russia. But they have to understand
we can't allow these incursions into the sovereignty of
other nations. We know from history where that leads. We
have to continue to push for very strong sanctions against
Russia. I think we should have had tougher sanctions ear-
lier and accelerated them faster.
I'm encouraged, though, that it hasn't been just govern-
ments that have been punishing the Russians. It's also
been the capital markets. The Russian stock market has
fallen. Interest rates have increased. There's been a sig-
nificant economic cost to the Russians due to their activi-
ties already. The international markets need to exact a
price that far exceeds any benefit Mr. Putin can get from
Crimea.

Domestic Issues
Q: Is Congress focused on improving the country's
infrastructure?

Q: The Affordable Care Act has been very divisive.
What are you hearing from constituents?
Peters: In some cases, it's working very well. Some peo-
ple who've never had health insurance before now have
access to affordable, quality health care — that's a posi-
tive. There are also some businesses that are concerned
about the costs and what that means for them.
I tend to find that there's a lot of misinformation out
there as well. People just aren't sure how it's going to
impact them. Broadly, my view is that this takes us in the
right direction, which is consistent with my core philo-
sophical belief that everybody in this country, no matter
who you are and where you live, should have access to
affordable quality healthcare.
In my mind, that's what you do when you're the greatest
country on Earth, particularly when I see other countries
around the world that have been able to do it. We are fully
capable of it. The Affordable Care Act gets us in that direc-
tion, even if it's not a perfect bill. We need to have every-
body in both parties roll up our sleeves and figure out how
to make it work for the people in our country.

Q: What about the future of Social Security?
Peters: It is sustainable with changes, although I have

a real problem with increasing the retirement age. It's
one thing if you have a desk job that allows you to work
later in life, but it's another thing if you have a physically
demanding job that requires you to lift heavy objects all
day. Your body may not allow it.
Ultimately, what has happened is that the income
growth has been concentrated on the top of the income
scale, over and above the cap for Social Security, while
middle class incomes have been stagnant. To fix Social
Security we need to raise incomes of middle-class
Americans. Our focus should be broadening the base.

Q: Students are graduating with much debt and the cost
of higher education is becoming out of reach for many.
How can Congress help?

Update on page 10

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April 10 • 2014