Here & Now

8th Congressional District Election Profile

Frederica Freyberg:

We caught up with the first-term Republican congressman, Reid Ribble.

Reid Ribble :

When I was running my roofing company 20 years ago

Frederica Freyberg:

Holding a forum on small business in his district.

Jamie Wall:

All right. Thanks.

Man:

Nice to see you. Thanks.

Frederica Freyberg:

We followed his challenger, Democrat Jamie Wall, through a Green Bay farmers' market. Former business owner, former dairy farmer, on their own turf in the 8th congressional district. But what of policy issues facing Washington and Wisconsin? Reid Ribble says Paul Ryan’s high-profile place as Mitt Romney’s running mate puts the Ryan budget plan front and center in the national debate. Ryan is the chair of the House Budget Committee, of which Ribble is a member.

Reid Ribble:

I think the American people need to have the debate on the national budget. They need to have the debate on Medicare. And so as Paul Ryan said in his speech at the national convention, we’re ready for that debate we’re anxious for it. Let’s begin the conversation with the American people.

Jamie Wall:

The fact that Paul Ryan is running for vice president helps educate the country and helps educate the voters, not only here, but all around, as to what’s going on with the budget these guys have been proposing. And they’re not good budgets, not for regular Americans.

Frederica Freyberg:

Especially, Wall says, the part that deals with Medicare.

Jamie Wall:

Congressman Ribble has supported taking Medicare and removing the guarantee of coverage from senior citizens, replacing it with a coupon toward private insurance and that coupon, that voucher, doesn’t come near to covering the cost of coverage. It would leave every senior citizen in the country more than $6,000 out-of-pocket.

Reid Ribble:

If you’re retired right now you would see no change. If you’re within ten years of retirement, or aged 55, you would see no change. So those at or near retirement have exactly the system that they have, and there would be no change, because they’ve lived their lives based on this promise that all of us together have provided to each other. But then underage 55, to make sure that there would be something for that younger worker, we said we’ve found a way that we believe will help drive costs down.

Frederica Freyberg:

They also disagree on how to proceed with the Affordable Care Act.

Reid Ribble:

My preference would be a full appeal. Because I don’t think the Affordable Care Act is getting at the core issue. It’s not getting at health care costs

Frederica Freyberg:

Ribble says getting young people into the system and providing for preexisting conditions could be done with a portable market-based approach, minus the government mandate. For his part, Wall cites his support for coverage of preexisting conditions and keeping young adults on their parents’ policy, but diverges with Ribble on how to achieve the best health care reform plan.

Jamie Wall:

It wasn’t a perfect bill. But there’s parts of it we should improve on and build on instead of throwing the whole thing in the ditch.

Frederica Freyberg:

When we met with Reid Ribble, he had a thick book with him.

You have the internal revenue code book right before you. What kind of changes would you like to see in the tax system?

Reid Ribble:

The tax code is, to me, it’s almost like enemy number one for economic growth. And so I’m an advocate of a much simpler tax code that would ultimately reduce deductions and expenditures, take those savings and apply them to everybody.

Jamie Wall:

Historically when the country’s done well economically, it’s because the regular person has had some money in their pocket that they’re able to spend. That’s why I’ve been a fan of things like the payroll tax cuts that have put a little bit of extra money into the hands of– into the wallets of regular people, they can spend at the grocery store, spend at the hardware store, get down into circulation. My opponent, congressman Ribble, has supported tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. I’d like to see that sort of turned on its head and us helping companies that want to expand here at home.

Frederica Freyberg:

While they don’t agree on policy particulars, they do agree there’s partisan dysfunction in Washington.

Reid Ribble:

And that’s part of what’s wrong with this country. It’s why we can’t fix things, because everybody wants to demonize something and beat it over the head with a club rather than offering an alternative.

Jamie Wall:

The country’s got real problems. The economy’s in tough shape. We’ve got a set of folks in Washington who haven’t been able to work together. I think there’s a reason why congress is pretty darn unpopular among the American public right now. These folks just can’t organize a two-car funeral.