Fetterman, Oz and third-party U.S. Senate candidates in Pa. on the issues

The candidates for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate Seat, including John Fetterman (Democrat), Dr. Mehmet Oz (Republican), Erik Gerhardt (Libertarian), Ron Johnson (Constitution), Dan Wassmer (Keystone), and Richard Weiss (Green) weigh in on top issues for the 2022 election.

About the WESA Candidate Survey: In August, WESA sent surveys to all candidates running in competitive races for federal and state offices in our listening area, including Allegheny, Armstrong, Cambria, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. Our candidate survey was based upon input we solicited from voters.

Editor’s note: We have removed candidates’ efforts to characterize their opponents’ positions and fixed basic capitalization and punctuation issues, but have not otherwise edited their answers.

In the wake of the Dobbs decision, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly has proposed a federal ban on abortion after 6 weeks, with exceptions for life or health of the mother, but not for rape or incest. Would you support such a proposal — yes/no?

• Please explain your stance and identify other changes, if any, you would support at the federal level.

Fetterman: No. The right to an abortion is non-negotiable, period. Women should have control over their own bodies and their own lives. I support eliminating the filibuster to pass a bill like the Women’s Health Protection Act to codify the right to an abortion into law.
Gehardt: Yes it should stay with the state and be a constitutional question for the people to decide.

Johnson: The constitution says no life shall be taken, my personal belief is this. I am pro-Life. SCOTUS should have turned this over to the states to begin with. I would support his proposal but it should be left up to the citizens of each state.

Oz: I’m pro-life with three exceptions: life of the mother, rape and incest. And as a senator, I’d want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state’s decisions on the topic.

Weiss: No. I support an unrestricted, no questions asked, right to a safe and prompt abortion up to the end of 20 weeks of pregnancy, calculated starting at 2 weeks after last menstruation.  Saint Thomas Aquinas believed ensoulment occurs after animation or quickening.  After 21 weeks I would not support abortion other than in the case of a nonviable fetus (e.g. brain death), threat to the life of the pregnant person, or severe defect.  For reference, I would not consider down syndrome to be a severe defect.  Luke 1:44 occurred after 21 weeks.  “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy…” Luke 1:26

The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Do you favor federal action to change the minimum wage?

• Please explain your stance and, if you support a change, identify the minimum wage rate you believe is appropriate.

Fetterman: Yes. The minimum wage must be raised to a living wage of $15 an hour. It should be tied to inflation and go up automatically every year, so that American workers never again have to go 12-plus years without a raise. Personally, I think that any senator who is against raising the minimum wage should have to live and work for $7.25 per hour so they can demonstrate to all of us how it’s even possible to survive. It’s not.

Gerhardt: No I do not. I do however support open avenues to a free market capitalistic system and allow the skill of people dictate their wage.

Johnson: I think the $7.25 is out dated but, I would make it to grow with the economy.

Oz: I support a higher minimum wage when employment and economic conditions warrant increasing the minimum wage.

Weiss: Yes. I support an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour or more. Alternatively, I support a universal basic income of $300 per week for each adult U.S. citizen, which would amount to a subsidy for employers. I also support Medicare for All single payer universal health insurance, which would relieve employers of payments for health insurance for their employees. Finally I support collective bargaining of all workers like they have in Denmark, where fast food workers make $19 per hour.  A Big Mac there costs only a few cents more; McDonald’s has not gone out of business.

Earlier this term, the U.S. House passed the “For the People Act” (H.R. 1), with provisions requiring states to offer options like early voting and automatic voter registration, and to create independent commissions to draw Congressional boundaries, rather than have the legislature and governor do so. The measure died in the Senate. Would you vote for H.R. 1 in office? Yes/no?

• Please explain your answer, and suggest any federal action — either in H.R. 1 or outside it — that you think would be appropriate for Congress to take on the conduct of elections.

Fetterman: Yes. I have been vocally supportive of legislation in Congress that would strengthen our democracy and expand voting rights, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the For the People Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act. It’s crucial that we make it easier for people to vote and knock down the restrictions designed to reduce turnout, especially among voters of color. We should also work to eliminate dark money in politics and increase donor and lobbyist transparency.
Gerhardt: No. I believe a block chain system of checks and balances should be built to monitor [irregularities] from registered voters pre-election paired with voter ID for cross reference to make sure everyone gets only 1 vote.

Johnson: Yes, the government needs to stay out of the elections. Each state should have a nonpartisan, non-affiliated commission to handle the elections. We are in this mess now because the fed. government doesn’t know how to stay out of stuff.

Oz: I do not support the federal government trying to involve itself in state and local election laws.

Weiss: Yes. Everyone should be registered to vote at birth or allowed to register on the spot at their polling location, and if they don’t have photo ID, then vote with a fingerprint to eliminate any double voting.  Paper ballots. Hand marked. Hand counted. On camera. Make Election Day a holiday. Copies may be counted by scanner as a quality control measure that may prompt a physical hand recount however the physical hand count on camera should be the official count. Ballots should be on camera from the time they enter the polling place as blanks to the time they’re completely counted.

President Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which will move the United States toward reducing carbon emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. That’s short of a 50 percent reduction by 2030, which scientists say is necessary to limit the worst impacts of climate change on the globe. Would you support further legislation aimed at that target — yes or no?

• Please explain your stance, and describe any changes you wish to see to federal energy or climate policy.

Fetterman: Yes. I’m proud to say I have never taken a dime from the fossil fuel industry, and I never will. Republicans need to get real about climate change, and Democrats need to get real about our energy needs. We can’t just abandon the people who keep our energy grid running, and tell them to go learn how to code. That’s why I don’t support a fracking moratorium in Pennsylvania. This idea that we have to choose between jobs and a clean environment is wrong. We must uphold the union way of life for workers across Pennsylvania in a responsible way.

Gerhardt: No. We need to produce on all cylinders as we do not have the electric generation capabilities or the oil production for such a massive endeavor. The current math limits us to meet the quota for all Americans at 8 million electric car a year will take 41 years. We cannot do the work without oil burning vehicles as current EVs are not equipped to handle the work yet and won’t be ready for at least 10 years.

Johnson: No, all this crap about forcing people to buy EV, is nonsense stay out of it.

Oz: I support an all-the-above energy approach. We must also invest in natural gas, a workable, clean solution for mass energy production, while renewables continue to innovate.

Weiss: In order to address climate change, a mobilization similar to that during World War II is needed.  The Green New Deal, originally proposed by Green Party NY Governor candidate Howie Hawkins in 2010, can be found in its current form here. Until the political will for such a mobilization is achieved, I support any phasing out of fossil fuels and just transition to renewable energy as quickly as possible.  “Just” means any displaced workers will be compensated and retrained for new jobs. The renewable energy sector creates far more jobs and produces cheaper energy that does not cause cancer. 

Inflation is a concern for Pennsylvanians, and some legislators have called for either reducing or suspending the federal gas tax. Would you support such a measure?…