PBN: To you, is there any one issue defining your race against Barry Hinckley?
WHITEHOUSE: I think the most basic issue is the focus on the middle class and how you go about growing the economy and protecting the middle class. To me, on the defense, that means protecting Medicare, Medicaid, health care, Pell Grants, and Social Security. In being proactive, that means letting the middle class lead the way [economically] instead of letting the so-called job creators get all the benefits and wait for [them] to trickle down.
PBN: How will you do a better job protecting and championing the middle class than Barry Hinckley?
WHITEHOUSE: The most obvious way is that I fought very hard to make sure Social Security stays out of the deficit-reduction discussions. It should not be there. I helped found the Social Security defense caucus in the Senate. We now have about 30 senators, which gives us good blocking power for bad ideas about Social Security. I’m heavily invested in health care. I think it would be a travesty to cut Medicare benefits. I’m a very strong advocate for what I call the Health Delivery System reform. It means making the health care system serve patients with a focus on primary care and preventing illness and avoiding costly mishaps.
PBN: By what accomplishments would you define your first term in office?
WHITEHOUSE: I think I was a very ardent advocate for closing the donut hole in the health care law. We’re halfway there for the delivery-system reforms in the health care bill which are virtually unknown because people haven’t been fighting over them. I think [that] I helped fight to protect Medicare and Social Security is an accomplishment. We’re still fighting that battle. I think [also] the new pier and crane at Quonset Point, the new facility at ProvPort and the work about to begin on the 95 Viaduct.
PBN: What infrastructure investments are you fighting for that would help to boost the state’s economy?
WHITEHOUSE: Roads and bridges are always important because Rhode Island is worse than average because of age and quality. With water infrastructure – sewer and fresh water – we’ve been spending a lot of money to clean up the bay but we have a lot of old equipment underneath. There’s a lot of work just to stay current. I’d mention the ports again because that’s important especially at Quonset to let us be a short-ship site and offshore wind-turbine assembly site and [to] create jobs.
PBN: Some, including you, have said the state’s biggest unemployment hurdle is the mismatch between available jobs and the skills of would-be workers. Some say it is the lack of new business ventures. What is your case for it being the skills gap?
WHITEHOUSE: I think it varies business by business. As I go around touring, I visit business by business and the thing I hear the most is “I need customers and orders coming in.” That’s obviously No. 1. We also see a lot of companies where that’s already happening. For them, a big concern is they interview and hire but [the employee] doesn’t have the skills and by the time they train them, that’s an extra cost.
PBN: When the skills gap is talked about, some concentrate on midlevel skills for jobs, for example, in the trade industries. Others tout more high-level jobs such as biomedical engineering. Is either of those more important to revitalizing the state’s economy?
WHITEHOUSE: I think the trade skills are necessary for manufacturing and I should add that computer skills are easier to train for than very advanced biopharmaceutical expertise. I think we need to focus on both because I think the health care sector can be a growth sector but we can’t overlook manufacturing, which is an important part of our economy.
PBN: Besides workforce development, what do you think are the keys to turning the state’s economy around?
WHITEHOUSE: I think continued business growth is important. We’ve had 30 months of economic growth nationally. The country has been going in the right direction, but Rhode Island has lagged. I think rewarding and encouraging companies that are growing and hiring here is important. I’d mention legislation to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move jobs offshore and give money you save [with that] to companies that are moving jobs back on shore. We have to reward companies when they’re hiring with tax breaks that help companies when they are in growth mode.
PBN: Can you further explain those tax breaks?
WHITEHOUSE: Last year I introduced the Job Creation Tax Credit Act, which would have provided refundable tax credits of 15 percent of wages paid in 2011 and 10 percent of wages paid in 2012 for hiring unemployed workers. I’m also a co-sponsor of the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act, which would provide a 10 percent income tax credit on new payroll, through either hiring or increased wages, added in 2012.
PBN: You’ve proposed legislation to give tax breaks to businesses that hire. But small businesses say that what they need to finance growth is more available loans. What are your efforts in that area?
WHITEHOUSE: In all the touring I’ve done, I don’t think I’ve once heard a concern about corporate taxes. So, I’d agree with you on taxes. It’s about bringing in customers. You have to bring in many [customers] to pay taxes. Right behind the issues of orders and customers the things I hear are “We want to grow” and “We need access to credit and capital.” I think that’s lightened up a little but it remains an issue. … I think it’s less a question of putting in more effort than waiting for the mood to shift in Washington. The level of obscurity is pretty high.
PBN: Your opponent suggests an overhaul of the Transportation Security Administration in order to make travel faster and easier for Americans. Where do you stand on this?
WHITEHOUSE: I’ve seen the lines at airports get better and better as TSA gets better at what they do. I think the danger of another airplane-based terrorist event and what that would do to the United States economy is very real and TSA needs to have a first priority to protect against that. I think there are better ways to market Rhode Island than weakening our airport security. When talking international tourism, tourists go to international airports. They come [to Rhode Island] for an event. We have BrandUSA [the country’s global marketing campaign board] coming in to work with marine trades to market Narragansett Bay to the world market as a sailing destination.
PBN: What is your position on allowing casino table gaming, which is up for vote, of course, on the state ballot?
WHITEHOUSE: I’m not a big fan of casino gaming. I’ve never supported expanding it in Rhode Island. The voters will have it on the ballot and they will have a chance to review their previous decision. I think there is a danger that now faces [Rhode Island] if casinos that open in Massachusetts are able to take customers away from existing facilities and cost the state in revenue and jobs. But I don’t see this as the basis for a sound economy.
PBN: Rhode Island is one of the worst states in the country in terms of public-research-university funding. How can we change that?
WHITEHOUSE: We’ve tried to make funding available. The University of Rhode Island is doing much better. Brown University has more than doubled [research funds] and we’ve seen them be much more active.
PBN: Brown University is private though. How do we get URI on par?
WHITEHOUSE: No. 1 is you have to have funds available and unify efforts to create scientific research to not put that in peril. Another is to find areas where URI excels and find all available grants. The Senate passed some legislation of mine earlier this year and I’m very optimistic it will eventually make its way to the president’s desk. That’s the National Endowment for the Oceans Act, which will help fund research on our oceans, helping URI and our coastal communities gain insight into the impacts of global climate change, and helping us better understand the environmental forces affecting industries like our marine trades and commercial fishing.
PBN: Another education issue is the heavy student-loan burden many graduates are facing. What would you do to alleviate student debt?
WHITEHOUSE: I’m deeply concerned about the debt burdens our students are forced to take on in order to afford a college education. Earlier this year, I fought alongside Jack Reed to successfully prevent student-loan interest rates from doubling. Going forward, I believe we should strengthen programs like Pell Grants in order to reduce the need for expensive loans. I also believe we should allow our students to discharge their privately issued student-debt loans if they are forced to enter bankruptcy.
PBN: Your opponent has criticized what he calls your party’s dependence on foreign oil and supports eliminating the use of it within 10 years and instead relying on United States resources and offshore drilling. What is your position on this?
WHITEHOUSE: Energy independence is a goal that we can all agree on. Republicans and Democrats have very different views about how we should achieve it and what the stakes are. Climate change is a real threat to Rhode Island but some Republicans deny its existence. … My Democratic colleagues and I believe that we should stop giving away taxpayer dollars to big oil companies that don’t need it and start investing in cleaner technologies like electric vehicles and safer energy alternatives like wind and solar. Offshore wind energy is a particularly exciting option here because in addition to providing clean energy to our state it also has the potential to be a major source of new jobs. Quonset Point is uniquely positioned to become a hub for wind-turbine manufacturing, thanks in part to federal funding I worked with the delegation to secure. •
