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BACKGROUND
First Name: Peter Last Name: Koutoujian Office you are running for: United States Congress State: Massachusetts Congressional District: 5 Campaign Address: Koutoujian for Congress 689 Main Street Waltham, MA 02472 Campaign Website: www.koutoujianforcongress.com Twitter: @PeterKoutoujian Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeterKoutoujian Type of Race (Open Seat, Challenging Incumbent Republican, Challenging Incumbent Democrat, Incumbent): Special Election How many years have you lived in your state or district? 52 years Are you a current or former elected official? If yes, what office(s)? Current elected official Sheriff of Middlesex County (2 years) Former Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (14 years) General Election Date: 12/10/13 Primary Election Date: 10/15/13 When is the filing deadline to get on the ballot? 7/31/13 Why are you running for office in 27 words or less? I am running because my parents taught me that when you listen to people, empower people, and help them take action you can change lives.
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GENERAL ISSUES
(Public) JOBS
YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a major public investment in jobssuch as repairing crumbling schools and highways, wiring the country with high-speed Internet, and ensuring that states have the resources needed to keep teachers, police, and firefighters working? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a strong Employee Free Choice Act, along the lines of the original proposal in 2007, which would increase democracy in the workplace with card-check elections? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support raising the minimum wage and indexing it to the cost of living?

SOCIAL INSURANCE
YES [x] NO [ ] Will you vote against any bill that cuts Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, or Medicaid benefits including raising the retirement age and cutting cost-of-living adjustments? (Benefits can be defined as money paid out to beneficiaries, as opposed to money paid in or money paid to others such as drug companies.) YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support increasing Social Securitys solvency for decades by scrapping the cap so that millionaires and billionaires pay Social Security taxes on more than just the first $113,000 of their income? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support saving taxpayers $130 billion by allowing Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a Medicare Buy-In for All, which would allow any American to buy into the federal Medicare program?

WALL STREET
YES [x ] NO [] Do you support breaking up "too big to fail" financial institutions, even if that means breaking up some of the major power players on Wall Street? YES [ ] NO [x] Do you believe there has been adequate investigation into whether Wall Street bankers broke the law before and during the 2007-2008 financial crisis? YES [ ] NO [x] Do you believe there has been adequate prosecution of bankers that engaged in illegal activity before and during the 2007-2008 financial crisis? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support restoring the wall between commercial and investment banking (along the lines of Glass-Steagall) to protect families savings from being used for risky Wall Street speculation?

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YES [ ] NO [ ] Do you support a financial transactions fee (aka speculators fee) which would impact major investors, not ordinary investors, in order to make Wall Street pay their fair share and reduce reckless speculation? (See below) YES [x] NO [ ] The federal government currently lends to banks at very low interest rates. Would you support a plan to extend those low rates to student loans?

FAIR TAXATION
YES [x] NO [ ] Are you willing to increase income taxes on those making over $250,000 a year so that our system of taxation is more progressive and everyone pays their fair share? YES [ ] NO [ ] The Fairness In Taxation Act (HR 1723) would raise nearly a trillion dollars over 10 years by raising taxes on income above $1 million per year. It would go beyond the current top rate of 39.6% and be 45% for incomes above $1 million, 46% above $10 million, 47% above $20 million, 48% above $100 million, and 49% above $1 billion all below the top rate of 50% under Ronald Regan. Will you co-sponsor this bill in Congress? (See below) YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support ending carried interest the loophole that allows Mitt Romney to pay 14% or less in taxes?

DEMOCRACY
YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support citizen-funded elections, in which candidates receive matching funds for donations below $100, allowing candidates to spend more time talking to voters and less time calling wealthy out-of-state donors? YES [x] NO [ ] Would you agree to at least one debate in your race for Congress with questions submitted and chosen by the public online? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support reforming our voting system by implementing "same-day voter registration" nationwide?

RIGHTS
YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support, and will you work to uphold, the rights decided by Roe v. Wade? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support allowing gay couples to marry? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship? YES [x] NO [ ] Do you oppose warrantless wiretapping of citizens emails and phone calls? YES [ ] NO [ ] Do you support Network Neutrality laws that guarantee the Internet is a level playing field for all users? (See Below)

ENVIRONMENT
YES [x] NO [ ] Do you believe global warming is real and requires immediate action from the government?
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YES [x] NO [ ] Do you oppose the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline? YES [ ] NO [x] Do you support a carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions? (See explanation below) YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a repeal of the fracking exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act?

FIGHT THEORY
YES [x] NO [ ] Are you willing to make promises (aka take pledges) on some issues that represent your core Democratic and progressive beliefs, so that voters know on which issues you will draw a line in the sand? YES [x] NO [ ] If 80% of the public supports the position held by congressional Democrats on a high-profile issue, and 20% supports the position held by congressional Republicans, would you fight for that position against obstructionist Republicans? YES [x] NO [ ] If elected to the House, do you promise not to join the Blue Dog Caucus or New Democrat Caucus?

COMMENTS ON ANY OF THE ABOVE:

Environment Although I would not be in favor of a straight tax on carbon, I would consider supporting a cap and trade system if brought before Congress. Wall Street In order to ensure a more informed position, the campaign is currently researching this matter further to understand all sides of the issue. Fair Taxation I strongly believe that our tax code is in need of a comprehensive overhaul so we can get rid of loopholes to ensure that all Americans, including the wealthiest, pay their fair share of taxes. I believe the tax proposals included in HR 1723 should be considered in the context of comprehensive, progressive tax reform. Rights In order to ensure a more informed position, the campaign is currently researching this matter further to understand all sides of the issue and would welcome a discussion with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee on this topic.

SHORT ANSWERS:
Republican President and military general Dwight Eisenhower said 50 years ago, "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." What do you think the state of the militaryindustrial complex is today?
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! I believe we need to ensure that the influence of special interests in Washington is reined in that includes military contractors but also the big banks, oil companies, and other powerful corporations that have had their way in DC for far too long.
Can you share a time in your career or background when you challenged the Democratic Party establishment?

As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health, one of the most alarming statistics I faced was that one in three children in the United States are considered overweight or obese. It is a heartbreaking statistic and as Chairman, I felt strongly was one of the most important public health issues facing Massachusetts and the country. In 2004, I introduced a bill to improve nutritional choices for our children at school. The legislation called for enacting guidelines established by the Institutes of Medicine to provide healthier food choices for kids. For six years, I advocated for passage of the bill, but was confronted by the powerful beverage lobby. After years of working with public health organizations on this issue, we were able to get the bill enacted in July of 2010. The week the Legislation passed the Senate, the beverage industry had taken out full-page ads in the Boston Globe touting their efforts to reduce childhood obesity. A link to the Boston Globe story that ran before the Senate took action is below. http://www.boston.com/community/moms/articles/2010/03/11/mass_senate_to_vote_on_ban_of_junk_food_sales _in_schools/
Can you share specific examples where you worked with grassroots groups or the larger progressive movement to achieve a goal?

One of my greatest achievements in the Massachusetts Legislature was working with public health advocacy groups to bring attention and awareness to the issue of disparities in the delivery of health care to racial and ethnic minority communities. I worked with the Massachusetts Public Health Council to pass legislation that created a commission to study the issue and make recommendations to the Legislature on their findings. I then worked with the Patrick Administration and my colleagues in the Legislature to enact those recommendations. I also worked with the National Council of State Legislators (NCSL) to bring national attention to this issue.
What, if anything, would you change in the Affordable Care Act and the Democratic strategy during the health care fight?

The passage and signing of the Affordable Care Act opened the way for millions of Americans to gain access to quality, affordable health care. Under the new law, insurance companies can no longer deny an individual health insurance due to a pre-existing condition; young adults can stay on their parents health insurance until age 26; and prescription drugs are being made more affordable for our seniors. I support the Act and believe we all need to ensure that the American public is informed of the positive impact the law will have on families across the country. I do not believe that the medical device tax was an appropriate revenue stream for the Act and would support finding alternative revenue streams to replace it. I will also work to ensure that the implementation of the Act supports the great strides we have made in Massachusetts to ensure access and affordability.
What does an inside-outside partnership between elected leaders on the inside and the grassroots on the outside look like, and how will it impact your governing?
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! Im a big believer in the power of the grassroots to bring change not just through the electoral process but also after the votes are counted. A great example of how this can work is the effort led by now-Senator Elizabeth Warren to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She brought together consumer advocates and grassroots organizers from around the country to bring pressure on the Congress to create this agency as part of Dodd-Frank. The army she built beat the big banks, credit card companies, and mortgage giants against tremendous odds and I would support similar efforts as a Member of Congress.

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