Interview with Louisiana GOP Senate Candidate John Kennedy

Candidate Interview - August 2008

Interview with Louisiana GOP
Senate Candidate John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a Republican challenging Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu‘s (D) bid for re-election to a third six-year term in the United States Senate. A lawyer by profession, Mr. Kennedy has built a distinguished record of public service in the Pelican State. Last year, Mr. Kennedy was re-elected without opposition to his third term as State Treasurer.

Prior to his service as Louisiana’s Treasurer, Mr. Kennedy served as Secretary of the Department of Revenue, Special Counsel to then-Governor Buddy Roemer, and Secretary of Governor Roemer’s cabinet.

WDPAC recently enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion with Treasurer Kennedy.

Q: Mr. Kennedy, you are now in your third term as Louisiana’s Treasurer. Your public career also includes stints as Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Revenue, Special Counsel to the Governor, and Secretary of the Governor’s Cabinet. Looking back over those experiences, what stands out as your proudest achievement?

As a public servant, my job is to serve taxpayers. I have a record of standing up for taxpayers when politicians wanted to waste their hard-earned dollars. As State Treasurer, I serve as the state’s top fiscal watchdog and manage Louisiana’s $5 billion bank account. Part of my job is to invest this money as well as manage the state’s debt. I have earned Louisiana’ taxpayers over $1.4 billion and saved taxpayers over $415 million with frugal debt management.

In my tenure as Secretary of the Department of Revenue and now as State Treasurer, I have managed a very successful Unclaimed Property Program. In the last ten years, we have returned over $125 million to Louisianans.

Q: Sir, you were a Democrat until switching to the Republican Party just last year. Why the change?

This decision didn’t come overnight.

I have always been a fiscal conservative. I often stood alone in the Democratic Party because it was the right thing to do for taxpayers.

I stood up against Governor Blanco’s spending proposals and anemic hurricane recovery plans. I stood up against a powerful Agriculture Commissioner who wanted to waste $150 million of taxpayer money. I challenged the legislature to reform the state’s broken earmark system. That’s the main reason I became a Republican.

Change is carrying the day in Louisiana and it started with the election of Republican Governor Bobby Jindal last fall. The party of reform in Louisiana is the Republican Party. I want to build on this reform movement and bring real, fundamental change to Washington.

Q: Many of the tax policies enacted in 2001 and 2003 are temporary. Among those set to expire at the end of this decade include repeal of the death tax, marginal income tax rate reductions, and the reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends. Should these policies be allowed to expire or should they be made permanent?

I support making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Our economy is moving in the wrong direction and raising taxes is not the answer. I do not support any new taxes.

It’s time to eliminate the Death Tax once and for all. It’s simply unfair to tax people three separate times, once when they earn their money, second when then invest it and receive income off those investments and third when they die and leave it to their heirs or to charity.

The U.S. has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world and in order to remain competitive, I support lowering the corporate tax rate.

Q: One tax issue of particular importance to many wholesaler-distributors revolves around the last-in-first-out (LIFO) method of accounting. It appears that LIFO repeal now ranks high on a list of potential revenue raisers. Will you now commit to vote to preserve LIFO?

Yes. I will commit to preserve LIFO.

Q: Where do you stand on proposals to increase or eliminate the earnings tax cap as an approach to shoring-up the solvency of Social Security?

I oppose raising Social Security taxes.

Growing entitlement spending combined with the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation creates a challenge we must solve in the immediate future.

I pledge to maintain promises made to Seniors under the current system.

Q: There is no more important issue to wholesaler-distributors than “card check” which is shorthand for eliminating the secret ballot in union organizing elections. If you are elected will you oppose this issue and vote against the card check bill if it comes before the Senate?

I strongly oppose “card-check” and I will vote against such a bill in the Senate.

Q: Health insurance costs are a leading concern of large and small employers and health care reform seems likely to be a leading issue for the coming 111th Congress and the new administration. Reformers appear to fall into three broad “camps:” those who favor incremental changes; those who want to reduce the influence of government policy on private health insurance programs; and those who favor a greater federal role. What are your thoughts?

As both the cost and the number of uninsured continues rising, some are advocating for a government-run health care system. I believe a big government takeover will simply result in higher taxes, less access and more bureaucracy. I believe in free-market, private sector innovations to offer solutions that provide access to affordable, quality and portable health care in America.

Q: What if anything can and should the federal government do to provide immediate relief from skyrocketing gasoline prices? And with a longer view in mind, what is your prescription for enhancing the nation’s energy security and ensuring a sustainable, stable and affordable energy supply?

America’s dependence on foreign oil is unsustainable. Importing oil from volatile regions and countries that hate America threatens our economic and national security. Skyrocketing prices at the pump and record oil prices are hurting American families. That’s why I believe we need a comprehensive approach to solving the nation’s energy crisis. There won’t be a silver bullet, but America must expand domestic drilling, invest in clean and renewable energy and support conservation efforts.

Twice this year, my opponent put Party politics over Louisiana’s energy needs when she opposed pro-drilling legislation. In May, she cast the deciding vote against oil shale development in the West at the request of another Senator. And in July, she blocked an up or down vote on legislation to drill in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Q: Are there any closing thoughts you’d like to offer as to why the voters of Louisiana should elect you to a six year term in the U.S. Senate?

Washington is broken and the most dysfunctional part of Washington is the United States Congress. Congress has failed to solve a single problem that keeps moms and dads awake at night. We can do better.

If you believe Washington is working, I’m not your candidate, but you if you believe we need fundamental, bedrock change, you should support my campaign. I believe that if you want to change the Senate, you have to change the Senator.

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