Bio | Edwards Responses | Main Candidate Page

John Edwards was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins, North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont. There John learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace, who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, Bobbie, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside his father at the mill, John developed his strong belief that all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard.

A proud product of public schools, John became the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in 1974, and then earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For the next 20 years, John dedicated his career to representing families and children hurt by the negligence of others. Standing up against the powerful insurance industry and their armies of lawyers, John helped these families through the darkest moments of their lives to overcome tremendous challenges. His passionate advocacy for people like the folks who worked in the mill with his father earned him respect and recognition across the country.

In 1998, John took this commitment into politics to give a voice in the United States Senate to the people he had represented throughout his career. He ran for the Senate and won, defeating an incumbent Senator.

In Congress, Senator Edwards quickly emerged as a champion for the issues that make a difference to American families: quality health care, better schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and reforming the ways campaigns are financed.

As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Edwards has worked tirelessly for a strong national defense and to strengthen the security of our homeland. He has authored key pieces of legislation on cyber, bio, and port security.

Senator Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, whom he met when both were law students at Chapel Hill, were married in 1977. They have had four children, including: their eldest daughter, Catharine, a student at Princeton University; five-year-old Emma Claire, and a three-year-old son, Jack. Their first child, Wade, died in 1996.

HEALTH / Medicaid

What do you think should be done to ensure the sustainability of the Medicaid program and to improve it? Prior to full meaningful reform, would you support the continuation of a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP)?

Faced with record deficits, states and counties are cutting budgets for public hospitals, health centers, CHIP, and Medicaid. Yet, these programs are the core of America's health care safety net -with Medicaid at the center. The Medicaid entitlement must be protected.

In the last year, I have proposed numerous measures to strengthen Medicaid and our public health system, including increases in FMAP, doubling support for health clinics, and protecting public hospitals against scheduled cuts in DSH payments. As President, I will offer funds (as grants or increased FMAP) to states that agree to undertake key reforms. Due to the state fiscal crisis, funds will cover 100% of project administration and caseload costs to:

• Promote Administrative and Enrollment Simplification:
  o Low-cost, Internet-based Medicaid applications;
  o Consolidated applications for multiple public programs, such as on California's "Express Lane" for Medicaid and school lunch;
  o More outreach workers to help applicant;
  o Shorter, simpler, and improved Medicaid and SCHIP application forms and elimination of unnecessary enrollment requirements.
  o Elimination the 5-year ban on immigrant enrollment.
  
• Implement Disease Management Strategies which will increase quality and lower costs for chronic patients.
  
• Control Drug Costs by offering grants to implement rebate programs to lower drug costs like that blocked by President Bush in Maine.
  
• Build Bridges Between Medicaid, CHIP, and the Private Sector by developing systems that leverage limited health dollars and maximize health coverage.

HEALTH / Medicare Prescription Drugs

Do you support a prescription drug benefit, and if so, will you commit financial resources in your fiscal year 2006 budget submission to address the serious deficiencies in the reported conference agreement and work to fix serious structural deficiencies?

I support a comprehensive drug benefit within Medicare. But the Medicare drug bill recently signed by President Bush is more about giveaways to special interest than helping America's seniors. I am committed to dedicating resources to addressing this as soon as I become President. In addition to the hole in coverage, the problems are many.

• Giveaway billions to HMOs needlessly. The bill creates a "stabilization fund" that unfairly supports Medicare HMOs of traditional Medicare.
  
• Force seniors into HMOs. The bill contains several provisions that will force seniors into HMOs if they want affordable prescriptions.
  
• Destabilize the Medicare program. The bill will encourage healthy seniors to join private HMOs, while seniors remaining in traditional Medicare will pay higher costs.
  
• Continue to shift the tax burden from wealth onto work. The bill provides $7 billion for tax-free "health savings accounts" that would enable wealthy seniors to put away money tax free.
  
• Overpay pharmaceutical companies. The bill contains virtually no cost containment provisions: it prohibits reimporting cheaper drugs from Canada; fails to curb misleading drug ads; and it fails to allow the government to negotiate lower prices with drug companies.
  
• Hurt poor seniors. This bill takes away protections enjoyed by six million low-income seniors who are in Medicaid.
  
• Drop millions of seniors from employer coverage. Millions seniors who now have drug coverage through their past or present employers will lose it.

Will you commit resources to eliminate each of those problems?

Congress must immediately start over again on the prescription drug benefit. As President, I will pass a new bill using the following principles.

1. No giveaways for special interests. America can't afford for Medicare to waste a penny.
   o No slush fund for HMOs.
   o Control skyrocketing drug costs. Medicare already overpays for the few drugs that it purchases. I will ensure that Medicare uses its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices, allow consumers to reimport cheaper drugs from Canada, and stop misleading advertisements.
   o No tax shelters for the wealthy.
   
2. Protect the Medicare program. HMOs have been operating in Medicare for years, and they have shown that once they can't make a big enough profit, they just drop seniors from care. I will strengthen traditional Medicare by -not by put seniors in HMOs.
   
3. Protect benefits that seniors have today. Millions of seniors should not be left with inferior benefits, as under President Bush's drug bill.
   
4. Ensure real choice of services. I will ensure that all seniors will be able to receive a drug benefit through traditional Medicare -not just private health plans.
   
5. Improve benefits. We should use resources raised by the measures above to offer a better drug benefit than the drug bill that just passed.

What are your positions on these five issues? (pertaining to the prescription drug legislation)

1. Artificial budget caps
2. The lack of a dependable fallback delivery system
3. An administratively complex means testing of the benefit?
4. Failure to obtain more cost savings in prescription drug prices?
5. Competition between traditional fee-for-service Medicare and various types of managed care plans?

I opposed the drug bill that passed, and I am troubled by each of the issues you raise. My plans to address them are described above.

HEALTH / Medicare

What are your specific plans to help ensure the financial future of the Medicare program?

Under President Bush, Medicare's lifespan has shrunk by 20 percent. The Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent in 2026. To fix this, I reject the notion that the only solution to the Medicare crisis is to cut benefits, cut provider payments, or raise taxes. I've outlined steps that will both improve the quality of Medicare and reduce costs.

• Care For Chronic Illness More Effectively. For Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions, I will establish a disease management program to ensure to provide quality care at the best price.
  
• Encourage Cost-Saving Preventive Benefits. Medicare will offer the full range of modern preventative benefits and will not charge copayments for such treatment. In addition, Medicare will cover education efforts that help beneficiaries better care of themselves.
  
• Get The Best Products At The Best Price. I will ensure that Medicare uses competitive bidding to purchase a range of products more efficiently.
  
• Reduce Prescription Drug Costs. Medicare already overpays for the few drugs that it purchases. I will ensure that Medicare uses its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices, allow consumers to reimport cheaper drugs from Canada, and stop misleading advertisements.
  
• Combat Medicare Mismanagement And Fraud. I will undertake a full audit of the contractors responsible for processing Medicare claims to ensure that only proper claims are paid. I will enable more whistleblowers to come forward by strengthening the protections against retaliation and creating more incentives to speak out.

INCOME SECURITY / Social Security

We would appreciate your views on Social Security’s future. Do you favor or oppose the following changes to Social Security?

• Diverting payroll tax dollars into individual accounts
• Raising the retirement age
• Raising the cap on taxable wages
• Means-testing benefits
• Efforts to modernize the SSI program

I am committed to protecting Social Security for future generations. The first step is restoring responsible budgeting to Washington by putting an end to the reckless tax cuts and wasteful spending that has jeopardized Washington's ability to meet its future commitments. I will also repeal George Bush's tax cuts on the very largest inherited estates and dedicate the revenue to Social Security, eliminating about one-fourth of the Social Security shortfall.

Without any changes at all, Social Security has the resources it needs to pay full benefits for the next four decades and the large majority of benefits for decades longer. We should not panic and adopt a harmful policy, such as privatizing Social Security, in the name of a false crisis.

I oppose diverting payroll taxes into individual accounts. Doing so would worsen Social Security's stability, erode the safety net provided by Social Security, and undermine the progressive social compact behind Social Security.

I oppose raising the retirement age and reducing benefits through means-testing, which are not necessary. I also oppose raising the cap on taxable wages, which would be a massive tax increase on many middle-class families and small businesses.

Supplemental Security Income is in danger of no longer serving its purpose as a basic safety net for low-income elderly, disabled, and blind Americans. Its benefit levels have badly eroded due to inflation. Moreover, the application process for Americans with disabilities can be outrageously long.

INCOME SECURITY / Pensions

Do you favor establishing a system of federally-sponsored universal retirement savings accounts in addition to Social Security, financed with new dollars, rather than with funds diverted from Social Security?

Yes. As president, I will establish matching savings accounts outside of Social Security to encourage more Americans to save for their futures, including retirement. I believe the way a rich nation gets richer is by giving all its citizens the chance to save, invest, and get ahead. However, only half of Americans have a traditional pension, 401(k), or Individual Retirement Account.

I will give Americans who have the most trouble saving today the best chance to save by matching $1 in private savings with up to a $1 refundable tax credit, up to a limit of $1,000 per couple. Americans with incomes up to $50,000 will be eligible. A working family that saves the maximum under this plan every year from age 25 to retirement will have a nest egg of $200,000, on top of other savings. I will pay for my plan by repealing parts of the Bush tax cuts, not by diverting payroll taxes.

I have also proposed other steps to encourage wealth creation for working Americans. My American Dream tax credit will give moderate-income families $5,000 toward their first home. I will also help 95 percent of families save and invest by cutting their capital gains and dividends taxes.

What are some of your recommendations for helping to protect workers currently covered by defined benefit pensions and workplace savings plans?

Our nation must maintain a healthy pension system, which is an essential part of retirement security. Our pension system is facing deep challenges. Corporate pension funds fall $350 billion short of their future obligations, while many corporations are pouring resources into executive pensions that benefit only the top.

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), pension plans are required to benefit a broad group of employees. However, corporations increasingly use special executive pensions that are exempt from ERISA to give more to employees at the top, even as ordinary workers' pensions are cut. In the ultimate "pay for non-performance" scheme, companies are crediting executives for years they never worked. I believe that the basic principle of fairness that is already in existing law ought to apply to all pensions, and I will eliminate all taxpayer subsidies for executive pensions if they are disproportionately large compared to rank-and-file pensions.

More than 500 companies have converted their pension plans from offering guaranteed monthly payments in retirement to so-called "cash balance" plans that accumulate investment earnings, and more are coming. Cash balance plans can be good for younger and mobile workers, but the conversion can cut older workers' pensions by as much as 50 percent. These workers made career choices years ago based partly upon pension promises, and they will have a hard time replacing the lost retirement income. I will protect the oldest and longest-tenured workers from pension cuts due to these conversions.

Finally, we have an obligation to ensure that corporations fund their pension promises so that workers can rely on a secure retirement and taxpayers aren't forced to pick up the tab. I will restructure ERISA to promote corporations fully funding their pension plans, including allowing them to put more money in during good times.

LONG-TERM CARE

Do you agree that federal and state policies should allow people who need long-term care to receive the services and supports in the least restrictive setting possible, including the home and community?

The Supreme Court's Olmstead decision upheld that the ADA requires states to offer services to individuals with disabilities in the most integrated, community-based setting. This was a critical victory for disability rights. Unfortunately, states are still struggling to implement Olmstead.

The federal government must help states by supporting the transition to community-based services and offering additional technical assistance, and then, for states that do not come into compliance, there must be a strong enforcement effort. There needs to be significant reform in Medicaid, as I discuss in my Living with Dignity Initiative below.

As with Medicaid, Medicare continues to operate as it has for decades by promoting institutional care over home and community-based care. I will promote community-based care by stopping the unfair and bureaucratic rules that prevent Medicare beneficiaries from getting the things they need to live at home, such as wheelchairs. I will also stop the 24-month waiting period for disabled persons to enroll in Medicare.

How would your administration support and enhance current state efforts to move people from institutions to the community and to prevent premature or inappropriate nursing home placement? What, if anything, will you do to streamline or eliminate the home and community-based waiver process for states under Medicaid? In addition, how would your administration support unpaid or family caregivers who provide the majority of long-term care to older people with disabilities?

In October, I offered a long-term care policy based on basic American principles: consumer direction of service, the chance to get care in the home and community, dignity and respect for workers, and accountability for providers and the government. My Living with Dignity Initiative will:

• Fund State Efforts to Expand Home Care and Reform the Long-Term Care System. I will finance state-level reforms like, Medicaid eligibility expansions, long-term care tax credits, asset/income protection programs, and private insurance reforms. I am a cosponsor of the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA) to offer personal attendant services. It must become easier for states to use Medicaid for long-term care.
  
• Crack Down on Abuse and Improve Nursing Care Quality. I will increase enforcement against nursing home and home health chains that abuse patients, expand inspections, and increase penalties for poor care. I will work with experts to establish care standards; offer provider grants to improve quality; and offer awards to excellent providers. I am also the sponsor of the Senate companion to The Nursing Home Staffing Act, which ensures minimum nursing home staffing levels.
  
• Offer Respite Care and Other Support to Families Who Care for Loved Ones. I will double resources for respite care and establish an Internet clearinghouse with information on available services.
  
• Better Recruit and Retain Nursing Home and Home Care Workers. I will improve wages, training, working conditions for aides; I will establish workplace safety regulations like the ergonomics rules discarded by President Bush.

Would your administration support, enhance or replace the current federal/state/local infrastructure to provide home and community-based services for older people (i.e. Older Americans Act program and the aging network, SSBG, senior transportation programs, elderly housing programs, etc.) and how would your administration do this?

My Living with Dignity Initiative builds on what works in today's system and replaces what doesn't. In Question 9 (above), I have articulated my plan for long-term care.

The federal and state governments, together with individuals and families, all bear some financial responsibility for long-term care. How should these responsibilities ideally be distributed? Do you support the federal government bearing an increased burden? If so, how?

Today, long-term health care and supports are funded primarily through Medicaid. However, with baby boomers aging, America must identify new systems and new funding sources to provide long-term care. My Living with Dignity Initiative commits $3.5B in increased federal support for long-term care. Through my support of MiCASSA and as the sponsor of the Senate companion to HR 3355, The Nursing Home Staffing Act, I've committed to increase federal support of states to provide long-term care.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Older Americans Act

What initiatives would you advance to support and augment the Older Americans Act and the vital services it provides to millions of older adults?

The Older Americans Act is critical for promoting, coordinating, and enhancing access to long-term care services. While Medicaid provides needed health care services, OAA fill important social services gaps that might otherwise leave persons vulnerable. The OAA provides core services to help people stay in their home and community, including home-delivered meals, personal care, case management, adult day care, and, assisted transportation. In most areas, the OAA funds Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to provide a single point of access to a broad range of long-term care.

Under President Bush, funding for the Administration on Aging budget, which included funding for OAA, has dropped slightly. With baby boomers aging, we must increase funding to these programs and start to build the infrastructure needed to respond to the greater numbers of people who will need services. My Living with Dignity Initiative lays the groundwork for strengthening the long-term care system. I will also seek funding to support all aspects of the OAA.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Social Services Block Grants

Would you support the restoration of the Social Services Block Grant authorization level to at least its pre-welfare reform level of $2.8 billion and restore the ability of states to transfer 10% of TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to SSBG?

The Social Services Block Grant is one of the most valuable programs for our vulnerable citizens. I support the goal of restoring Social Services Block Grant funding to $2.8 billion.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Senior Employment Program

Would you support a ten percent increase in SCSEP funding, with would provide over 6,000 additional jobs for low-income Americans age 55 and older?

Yes. The Senior Community Service Employment program creates jobs for low income Americans over the age of 55 at community or government agencies. These jobs provide additional income to poor adults, while drawing on the skills of senior citizens to address local needs.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Senior Volunteer Programs

What plans do you have to support and, further, what other plans would you implement to make the best use of seniors as a resource in service to their communities, would you support a goal of doubling the number of senior volunteers sponsored through the National Senior Service Corps over the next five years?

Seniors give the benefit of their experience and wisdom back to their communities by volunteering. More than 40 percent of seniors volunteer and they have a tremendous impact on the neighborhoods in which they live. I support the goal of doubling the National Senior Service Corps' senior volunteers over five years. Seniors are one of our great resources and we should give them the tools they need to give back to our country.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Housing

How important will it be to your administration to maintain and increase the supply of low-income senior housing we have in this country and what would you do to make sure health and housing services fit together for these people?

Almost 1.5 million seniors live in deficient housing conditions and 30 percent of seniors pay more for housing than they can afford. Yet President Bush has slashed the number of Section 8 housing vouchers, which many low-income seniors rely on for affordable housing. I strongly support Section 8 vouchers and the Section 202 elderly housing program and believe we need to ensure they can continue to meet their missions.

Additionally, as seniors age they need increased services, and accommodations for disabilities. The federal government has to do more to ensure that housing receiving federal funding is accessible. We need to increase the supply of subsidized housing units for seniors that have supportive services. And we should increase coordination between the federal agencies that handle housing and health care for seniors to ensure senior housing fully meets the needs of the elderly.

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Transportation

Please describe your plan to promote senior transportation as a priority within your Administration, and specifically do you support substantial increases in funding for the Federal Transportation Administration’s Section 5310 Program, the major transportation program for the elderly which is currently funded at $90 million?

Seniors require adequate transportation to ensure they can continue to live independently. For the majority of seniors, cars continue to be the primary mode of transportation. I support initiatives that consider the special needs of senior drivers such as increasing awareness among health professions of the interaction between health and driving functions so they can education their senior patients.

As Americans age, they increasingly depend on alternatives to driving such as mass transit. I am a strong supporter of mass transit initiatives and believe that we must increase mass transit options. We must also do more to ensure mass transit is accessible to seniors and meets their needs, such as "kneeling" buses that make it easier for seniors to board. I support increasing funding for the FTA's Section 5310 Program. And I strongly opposed President Bush's efforts to change the cost sharing structure on transit projects. This would have decreased the Federal government's share of the cost, forcing local governments to pay more and jeopardizing many mass transit programs.

FEDERAL RIGHTS

What will your administration do to ensure full protection for the rights and welfare of our nation’s seniors?

I am committed to protecting the rights of our seniors, and I am deeply troubled by the recent trend of court decisions governing civil rights. I strongly support vigorous enforcement of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and would seek legislation to reverse the Supreme Court's recent ruling limiting application of the act to states. I opposed legislation such as the ADA Notification Act, which would have weakened ADA protections by giving employers an incentive to not comply until they were caught violating the law. And I support measures to restore protections for people with disabilities that the U.S. Supreme Court has eliminated through narrow legal interpretations.

We must ensure that programs that provide important protections for seniors remain consistent with Congress' broad remedial intent, and as President I will support legislation with this goal.

What steps will your administration take to address staffing problems in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities?

Nurses are the backbone of health care. The cost of adding more nurses to the workforce is more than offset by improvements they bring in quality of care and quality of life. Nurses help improve the quality of care and quality of life of the patient's they care for. That's why, in July, I became the first candidate to talk about the nursing workforce shortage.

Under my proposal, I promised to add 100,000 new nurses by 2010. I will provide grants to hospitals and nursing homes to improve the working conditions of all 2.2 million of America's nurses. This will retain nurses who would otherwise leave the profession and help to bring nurses back into the profession. In addition, I will fund nursing schools to expand both facilities and faculty, as well as provide student scholarships, so that 50,000 nurses will be added.

Due to the special problems faced in long-term care, I announced in October that I would also do more to specifically recruit and retain nursing home and home care workers. When we ask nurses' aides and home health aides to deliver care with dignity, we need to treat those workers with dignity, too. I will provide resources to improve wages, training, and working conditions for this staff. I will also establish strong workplace safety regulations like the ergonomics regulations discarded by President Bush.

TAXES

A series of tax cuts have been passed over the past three years, which have been criticized as contributing to these large deficit projections. Would you support modifications of any of these tax cuts, and if so, which ones in particular?

President Bush has turned a $5 trillion surplus into nearly $5 trillion in deficits. I believe we need to restore fiscal discipline so we do not jeopardize the future of federal important programs, many which benefit seniors. I would repeal the Bush tax cuts that benefit only the top 2% of Americans, including the top two new tax rates on income and the new rates on income from dividends and capital gains for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. I will also retain the tax on very large estates, while protecting farmers and small businesses. The savings from repealing these cuts will let us prepare for our future by reducing the deficit and saving Social Security.

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