Vernon: Use incentives for 'what we want to have happen'
Matthew Patane
mpatane@dmreg.com
The United States should use incentives and subsidies to encourage certain behaviors and industries, like increasing energy efficiency, Democratic congressional candidate Monica Vernon said Wednesday.
"I think in our country we have to make sure that we're not giving subsidies to, for example, the big subsidies to Big Oil," Vernon said during a meeting with the Des Moines Register's editorial board. "We want to make sure that we're giving incentives for things that we want to have happen."
Vernon is running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-Dubuque, for Iowa's 1st Congressional District seat. Blum won the district in 2014.
Asked how she would answer questions of fairness if the U.S. only provided subsidies to certain industries, Vernon said "those are the tough political decisions" to make. She said she doesn't believe subsidies for "green jobs" or similar fields would go on forever, but they are needed to spur initial development.
While her opponent would support a free market, Vernon said she supports a "fair market and a regulated market."
"He's looking at the free market. To me the free market sometimes means you're out there on your own, good luck," Vernon said, pointing to price hikes on EpiPen allergy devices as a consequence of a free market.
She also called for a simplification of the nation's tax code and crackdowns on corporate inversions, or instances of companies moving their headquarters abroad to reduce their tax bills.
Iowa's 1st Congressional District covers 20 counties in northeast Iowa and includes the cities of Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Waterloo. About 20,000 more active Democrats reside in the district than active Republicans.
A recent Loras College poll showed Blum leading Vernon 45 percent to 38 percent among likely voters.
Vernon also said she probably would not have joined members of Congress in overriding President Barack Obama's recent veto of legislation that would allow lawsuits against foreign countries that sponsor terrorism. It was the first time Congress successfully overrode one of Obama's vetoes during his presidency.
She said she would worry allowing the lawsuits would open up "a tremendous can of worms" for the nation's relations with foreign countries.
"Every time we ping at somebody, there's a possibility they double ping back at us. I would be very concerned about that," she said.