CAMC's Questions to each accepted candidate:

Response from Marina Kats
Republican Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District


Each candidate who wishes to work with us should preliminarily present her/his case by responding in writing (~ 100 words) to the queries below:

A. Why are you running for the public office?

This country and this community have given so much to me throughout the years I feel that it is my moral obligation and, indeed, it is my deep conviction to serve the people of the 13th Congressional district by representing their interests to the best of my ability in Washington. The current Congress which includes my opponent, a career bureaucrat, has the lowest ratings in history for good reason. They have not properly represented the people and they have not performed their duties to serve our nation. I will change this. I will act in accordance with the needs of the people of the 13th district. I will be a true representative of the people.

B. What will you bring about, if elected, to the office?

I have three top legislative priorities.

1) Extending the 2001-2003 tax cut bill is essential, especially in this economic climate. I also want to work towards reducing the long term capital gains tax. Raising taxes, without doubt, will hurt the local economy.

2) Developing a comprehensive energy policy that includes further exploration and drilling of domestic oil sources as well as a means for introducing and developing various alternative energy sources. I want to vastly increase the R&D dollars for companies and university programs in our District performing vital research into alternative energy sources.

3) Immigration policy needs a drastic overhaul that includes comprehensive border security measures while also providing for a sufficient workforce to serve the economic needs of our country.

C. Why should this community support you over your opponent?

I am a successful small business operator, an attorney and a legal immigrant who has experienced our immigration system firsthand. I am also a family oriented mother of two daughters. My associates and I have always been producers, not takers of tax monies and I understand how tax policies can hurt or even destroy businesses and put people out of work. Furthermore, I do not have any special interest connections, financial or otherwise, that could influence my legislative agenda or my voting record in the Congress. I am only beholden to the constituency of 13th District and I will always work on their collective behalf in the Congress.

D. Why should this community not support your opponent?

My opponent is a career politician and government employee. She has no real-life experience operating a business nor does she understand the private sector from an employee’s perspective. That she cannot relate to the needs of small business operators or their workers is evidenced in her unwavering support of the failed policies of Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat congressional leadership. She has been in office for nearly four years and our region is more economically worse off than it ever was; her economic policy agenda which has included giving away millions of dollars in special interest group earmarks, our money, has not helped our community at all.

E. What commitments do you offer to this community for its support?

I offer my honesty and integrity. I promise to be readily available to the community and not just during the campaign season. Being an immigrant myself, I also understand the unique needs of the immigrant community. I am committed to helping new legal immigrants to our region assimilate into our culture so that they too can become productive Americans contributing to our society and enjoying their new lives in America. I am committed to turning the economic climate around by providing incentives for businesses to expand their operations and create jobs. I am also committed to restructuring the tax codes including reducing the capital gains tax which will avail more individuals the opportunity to invest in our markets and save for their retirement years.

F. What are your strategic and implementation plans of your office, if elected, in order to realize your commitments?

I will author and propose bills that lower taxes and also give businesses credits for creating new jobs. As an experienced attorney I am well versed in the art of negotiating and I will put these skills to use when dealing with the opposition on the other side of the aisle. This, I believe, will make me a much more effective legislator than my opponent whose voting record indicates a complete inability to negotiate or compromise and is severely lacking any sort of original legislative agenda of her own as evidenced by the scant number of truly consequential bills introduced by her during these past four years.

G. What qualifies you to fit for the office over your opponent?

My direct experience in running a very successful small business, my legal expertise, my life experiences as a lawful immigrant to the U.S.; starting with nothing and then living the American dream, and being a single mother raising two daughters has provided me with a lifetime of on-the-job-training that has prepared me to run and then to serve in the Congress. I know that we in the 13th District deserve a much more effective legislator representing our concerns in Washington. I am that person. I am a self-made professional business woman. I have achieved my great private-sector success with much hard work and devotion to my clients’ needs. I will bring this same devotion to the constituents of the 13th District. I have earned my living honestly and owe no special favors to anyone; I will always act honorably on the peoples’ behalf.

H. What do you see best in your opponent?

I do not personally know my opponent. I am, however, quite familiar with her record in the U.S. Congress that includes a voting record in which she follows in lock-step with the Democrat leadership and the millions of dollars in earmark allocations she has provided to special interest groups for their support. All of which I vehemently oppose.