Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) first ran for Congress in 1997 as a gun-control activist in the wake of the 1993 mass shooting at the Merrilon Road LIRR station that left six people dead including her husband and also left her son critically injured.
Now running for her eighth term in office, McCarthy told the Great Neck News that reducing gun violence was still her top priority.
“That will never change,” McCarthy said.
But McCarthy also touted her economic record and said she would protect social programs like Medicare, Social Security and President Obama’s Affordable Care Act from what she called a new class of Republican lawmakers who are unwilling to compromise.
McCarthy expressed her pride on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, a federal body that provides financing to help American companies sell their products abroad. McCarthy co-sponsored the reauthorization, which passed with bipartisan support.
“We encourage small companies to get involved in taking their product and exporting it to other developing countries,” McCarthy said.
She also credited the bank with aiding industry on Long Island.
According to the bank’s figures, in the 4th District the bank supported $65 million in sales by backing $41 million in loans for seven local companies.
High-tech jobs and affordable housing are essential in order attract the workers needed for Long Island to thrive, said McCarthy, noting that many Long Island natives cannot afford to live there once they graduate from college.
“There can be solutions coming from the federal government to help localities,” she said. “There has to be smart growth.”
McCarthy, who has consistently spearheaded gun-control initiatives since arriving in Washington, said she is still committed to decreasing gun violence. She blamed the National Rifle Association for the political difficulty of passing federal gun regulations.
“They have petrified so many members… ‘if you don’t support the Second Amendment we’re going to come after you’,” she said.
McCarthy acknowledged that the 2010 Supreme Court ruling affirming an individual constitutional right to own guns had changed the legal landscape, but argued that regulations were still necessary and constitutional.
“You can have your gun, but we are allowed to pass laws to protect our citizens,” she said. “You cannot say to me, and certainly to the victims that have been affected by this, that large magazine clips and necessary for the average citizen.”
McCarthy is running against Republican Nassau County Legislator Francis Becker and Conservative lawyer Frank Scaturro in a newly reconfigured district that includes New Hyde Park, Floral Park, the Willistons, Mineola, Garden City, Rockville Centre, Franklin Square, Westbury, East Meadow, Freeport, Oceanside, Long Beach, Wantagh, Bellmore and Merrick.
The Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill was another important accomplishment for her and the House Democratic caucus, she said, arguing that the bill addressed some of the chief causes of the 2008 financial crisis.
“The was… lax regulation, allowing [banks] to bundle loans that shouldn’t have been made to anybody,” she said.
When asked about the growing national debt, McCarthy said recognized the importance of eliminating deficits but rejected Republican proposals to do so entirely through spending cuts.
“If there’s no revenue coming in, I don’t see how that’s going to bring down the debt,” she said, adding that she would not have social programs “cut off at the knees.”
McCarthy endorsed eliminating waste and duplicate programs from the defense budget, as well as acknowledging that entitlement programs would have to face changes to stay solvent.
“My job is to make tough choices. If I feel that it’s going to hurt Long Island and New York, I’m going to vote against it,” she said.
She said that options for extending the lifespan of Social Security and Medicare could include means-testing benefits and raising the income cap on the payroll tax. She rejected, however, efforts to privatize Social Security or turn Medicare into a voucher program.
“If you look at the programs over the years that have been privatized, they have not saved money,” she said, arguing that Medicare has lower administrative costs than private insurers.
McCarthy said that much of the challenge in crafting a bipartisan deal come from increased polarization in Washington – polarization that she blames on the newest class of Republican representatives, who she says are unwilling to compromise.
“Back in the old days they used to lock the doors of the Capitol when a contentious bill was there and make the representatives stay there,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea.”
McCarthy also defended Obama’s health-care law, which she said offered people the same insurance security that she has as a member of Congress. She acknowledged the law’s unpopularity among many Americans, and said that the reaction to the law could be partly attributed to Obama’s communication style.
“I think the President has a good heart. I think he came into office with the thought that bipartisanship would be easy,” she said. “He’s not Bill Clinton, who can explain the most complicated thing in the world and make it seem easy.”
On the tensions between Iran and Israel, McCarthy rejected claims that Obama has failed to support the Jewish state. She said that his record of military aid and political support to Israel was stronger than the last three administrations.
“What the President doesn’t want to do is bomb Iran at this point. And I hope we never get to that point,” she said. McCarthy also said that all tools should be on the table to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Fundamentally, McCarthy said, she works for the interests of the people she represents.
“We do things that probably aren’t sexy, but to the constituent they’re important,” she said. “I think people see me as an honest broker.”
