Fred Upton has been representing part of Southwest Michigan for nearly 28 years. He hopes voters will give him at least two more in November.
Upton is currently chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He is seeking his 15th term in the House. Upton says everyone is upset with the dysfunction and partisan wrangling in Congress. But the Saint Joseph Republican says his philosophy has always been to work with both sides of the political aisle to get things done. Upton sat down with WMUK's Gordon Evans. A summary:
Ebola
The day before his interview, Upton was part of a House subcommittee hearing on the Ebola outbreak. He says there should be a travel ban on people who are from, or have been in any of the West African nations which have been part of the outbreak. Upton says there are only four facilities in the U.S. that are set up to handle a patient with Ebola. He says the U.S. can't afford to have the situation escalate. Upton says he believes there is strong bi-partisan support for instituting a travel ban.
Health Care
Upton has long been a supporter of "repealing and replacing" the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He has also said there are parts of the health care reform bill that should be kept. Upton says insurance companies should not be able to deny coverage because for a pre-existing condition. Asked how that could be implemented without a mandate to have health insurance, Upton says incentives could be provided to set up "high risk pools." He says while health care reform was needed, the ACA is dismantling the system of private, employer-based health insurance coverage. Upton says health care legislation should have included the ability to shop for insurance across state lines and tort reform.
Immigration
Although Upton is critical of the Senate for not taking up many bills passed by the House, the upper chamber has passed an immigration reform bill. But Upton says the bill was one large comprehensive package. He says issues should be dealt with separately. Upton says the current system is broken and leaves too many people hiding from the law. He says it's not realistic to send everyone back who is in the U.S. illegally.
Campaign
Two years ago, Upton had the closest race of his career against Democrat Mike O'Brien. This year the Democratic challenger is Western Michigan University Professor Paul Clements. Upton says there are only two ways to run for election, "unopposed or full speed ahead." He says the top of the ticket (Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney) did little to help the GOP in 2012. Romney won the Sixth Congressional District by one point (President Obama won Michigan with 54% of the vote). Upton says this year, Governor Rick Snyder should win the district by a more comfortable margin, which he says will help Republicans. The MAYDAY SuperPAC is pumping $1.5-million into the race. Upton says their message is negative, but he plans to continue spreading a positive message about his accomplishments and plans for the future.
Discussion of other issues can be heard in the web version of the interview
More on Ebola
Asked about spending on the response to infectious diseases, Upton says additional money is being appropriated, and more will likely be approved by Congress. But he disputes the idea that spending cuts have contributed to Ebola infections in the United States.
Climate Change
Democrats have criticized Upton for what they say is a shift in his position in climate change. But the Saint Joseph Republican says that charge isn't accurate. He says that climate is always changing. But Upton says "it's not really for me to determine" if it is man-made. He says additional regulation has to be weighed for its cost to businesses and families and its impact on the climate. Upton says he supports an "all of the above" energy strategy. He says a reduction is carbon is good news for the U.S. But Upton says regulation from Washington can only do so much to limit carbon, because other countries are also part of the equation.
More on Health Care
Upton says Obamacare is increasing the premiums for some businesses, and forcing some employees to shop on the health care exchanges. Upton says he has tried to help people keep individual plans, rather than having them canceled.
Foreign Policy
Asked about further military action in Iraq or Syria because of ISIS, also known as the "Islamic State," Upton says the U.S. needs to help lead a coalition of Arab countries to combat ISIS. Upton says there has been a vacuum created by the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. In order to get his vote to send in U.S. troops, Upton says he would have to see that the U.S. is part of a coalition that can win.
