League of Women Voters of New York Education Foundation
State of New York (Columbia, Greene, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Delaware, Otsego, Rensselaer, Dutchess, Essex Counties) November 7, 2006 Election
	John E. Sweeney Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 20

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of New York State and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. The American occupation in Iraq continues to be enormously costly in dollars and in lives. What is your position on how our government should proceed?

We cannot stay the course in Iraq, we must win the course. To secure the four troubled provinces, we can either strategically attack in those provinces or add troops into those areas and use smaller special forces (50,000 troop commitment) to train and provide security in a specialized, mechanized way. We must also create safe havens for Sunnis, Kurds, and Shiites.

2. What is your impression of the roll-out of the Medicare Prescription Drug program so far, and what changes would you propose to make it better?

I supported the Medicare prescription drug plan, but we did encounter some unexpected problems. I support legislation to extend the enrollment period for Medicare Part D and suspend for 2 years the penalties for enrolling late in the program. I have also requested this bill be considered before the Congress.

3. Where do you stand on the current balance between security and civil rights?

I believe civil liberties and the privacy rights must be protected, but they should not stifle efforts to fight terrorism. I support giving law enforcement enhanced tools to seek and capture terrorists. These methods have worked, most recently seen in the break up of the plot to bomb trans-Atlantic flights.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

• Original answers for a published Voters Guide were limited to 50 words and are presented as submitted. Candidates have since been invited to supply answers of any length for the Web.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 12, 2006 17:36
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