As stated in my previous column, on August 11th, I sent a questionnaire to the campaigns of the candidates running for U.S. Congress for the districts representing the Orlando area: District 8 and District 24.

I also received a response from State Representative Sandy Adams, who is running for Republican nomination for U.S. House of Representatives for District FL-24. My leading statements and questions below are in bold, with Representative Adams's answers following. (Note: in some places, she responded in capital letters, perhaps to stress her answer – I have left these in place.)

Issue 1: What is your faith background?

Adams: I am a Christian. My husband and I belong to the Episcopal Church. We attend the Church of the Incarnation in Oviedo Florida.

Issue 2: It has been claimed that the Healthcare Reform Act, as passed by Congress and signed by the President, allows several different ways in which abortion clinics could receive federal funds. To address these concerns, President Obama issued an executive order to prevent federal funds being used for abortions.

Q: Do you believe that it is possible (or even likely) that federal funds could be diverted to abortion providers via the Healthcare Reform Act?

Adams: YES.

Q: Do you believe that the President's executive order was sufficient to address these concerns?

Adams: NO.

Issue 3: The Healthcare Reform Act was passed with the dual purpose of providing coverage to the uninsured while also keeping Medicare solvent. The latest CBO estimate, though, says that Medicare's solvency has only been extended by about 12 years.

Q: Do you believe that Medicare can be made solvent?

Adams: Only at an unacceptably high cost.

Q: Do you think Medicare should be fixed? If not, should it continue at all?

Adams: I believe that the problem of funding both Medicare and Social Security can be solved.

Q: What is your proposed (set of) solution(s) to the problems with Medicare?

Adams: One possible proposed approach is the "Roadmap for America" proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, ranking member of the House Budget Committee.

Q: Do you believe the challenges with Medicare should be a higher or lower priority than the similar problems facing Social Security?

Adams: Medicare and Social Security are equal priority.

Issue 4: Adult stem cell research has yielded very good results so far with minimal controversy.

Q: What is your position on cloning (a.k.a., "somatic nuclear transfers") and embryonic stem cell research?

Adams: I am opposed to both cloning and the destruction of human embryos and adamantly opposed to funding of embryonic stem cell research. I have fought against this type of research funding in the Florida House of Representatives. Adult stem cells are stable and provide for better research and treatment while not requiring the destruction of a human life.

Q: What should be the role of the federal and state governments in these areas?

Adams: The federal and state governments should ban the use of taxpayer funds to support cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

Issue 5: What do you believe is the best, most realistic way to deal with foreign governments who may be hostile toward us and are also pursuing the acquisition or fabrication of nuclear weapons?

Adams: I believe we should use all means necessary to prevent the acquisition or fabrication of nuclear weapons by countries or groups hostile to the U. S. We should act in concert with our allies who are similarly working to protect their countries.

Issue 6: What is your overall view of national defense, specifically in the areas of:

• national missile defense – strongly favor
• R&D for new Navy warships and Air Force fighter/bomber jets – strongly favor
• nuclear disarmament treaties with Russia – trust but verify
• the number of troops in our armed forces and where they are stationed internationally – I favor an increase in the number of troops, rebalanced to reflect current and future threats. Our allies should take greater responsibility for their own security.

Issue 7: With the Bush tax cuts set to expire this year, what is your ideal proposal for the tax code in the upcoming years? Do you support any of the following:

• lowering the capital gains tax? ABSOLUTELY
• lowering the "death tax"? ABSOLUTELY
• a withholding (i.e., Social Security & Medicare) tax "holiday"? ABSOLUTELY
• a flat income tax across all income brackets? YES, UNTIL THE FAIR TAX CAN BE IMPLEMENTED
• the FairTax (H.R. 25)? ABSOLUTELY

Issue 8: With Japan and China owning the bulk of our foreign debt and the Federal Reserve owning most of our domestic debt, what is your attitude toward each of these major debt-holders? What is your proposed strategy for handling the national debt?

Adams: I am happy that our securities are attractive to foreign investors, but our debt is far too large. The only way to pay down the debt is with a vigorously growing private sector economy. The way to stimulate the economy is by cutting the size and cost of government and lowering tax rates, streamlining regulation, and lessening litigation.