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Interview with Laurence Verga, Virginia 5th District Candidate

Laurence Verga is a conservative running for Congress in Virginia’s 5th district and was kind enough to allow me to ask him a few questions.  He has a background in commercial real estate and has worked for several large companies including ABC/Disney, AT&T, and CBS/Viacom.  Mr. Verga is also the founder of the Verga Project at the University of Virginia Health Services, which funds research towards a cure for polycystic kidney disease.  You can find out more about him at his website, Laurence Verga for Congress, and his Facebook page.

Why have you decided to run for Congress?

I was compelled to run to fight back against the reckless policies of President Obama and the Democratic Congress that are putting at risk my childrens’ ability to pursue their dreams freely. Frankly, I am also running to reform the Republican Party from within. We need to regain the trust of the American people through principled conservative and ethical leadership.

Who is your favorite character in American politics, past or present, and why?

It would be easy to say Ronald Reagan, so I will veer to Kit Carson. Carson was an essential figure in developing the Western portion of our great nation, but is somehow forgotten in history.  He was a brave and noble man who always answered the call to service for his country.

Health care reform is a big topic in the news today. What do you think should be done to lower health care costs, and what types of reforms would you be willing to support?

Health care is an issue that hits close to home for me due to my possession of kidney disease. In my decades of extensive experience with our health care system, I have found it to truly be the best in the world, yet far too expensive, making adequate care out of reach for millions of Americans. The answer to these problems is not a government takeover, but common-sense, free-market reforms that will increase access by reducing costs for all.
Specifically, I propose we:

1. Eliminate burdensome and unnecessary government regulations
2. Allow consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines
3. Give consumers full tax-deductibility for health insurance
4. Comprehensive tort reform
5. Expand pooling capabilities for small businesses and those with pre-existing conditions
6. Incentivize wellness through high-deductible health savings accounts

What do you think the Federal government’s role in education should be?

I don’t think the federal government has a proper role. Education should be left to the states and localities who know best about the needs of their local communities.

What do you think needs to be done to solve our illegal immigration problem and secure our borders?

We need to finish the fence and mandate that all companies use E-Verify, imposing strict fines on those that hire illegals.

What do you think Congress should do to improve our economy and get more Americans back to work?

It is time that we restore our prosperity by unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans from the oppressive reins of government. This is the key to job creation and can be achieved through bold tax cuts and sweeping elimination of burdensome regulations.
I have proposed four tax cuts to get Virginians back to work:

1. Reduce the corporate income tax rate from 35%, the second highest in the world, to 25%, the average of the free world. We need to incentivize companies to come to America and employ our hard-working citizens. Why should they now when they can do business more cheaply in other countries like China, which has a lower corporate income tax rate of 30%?
2. Reduce the average small business tax rate, which is currently an unconscionable 34%, to a more competitive 25%. Small businesses create 75% of all new jobs. Lowering this burden on small businesses will incentive them to open shop, expand, and hire more employees.
3. Eliminate capital gains taxes, which is a double tax that affects everyone from Wall Street to the middle class investing their earnings. With the additional capital, individuals and businesses will have a greater ability to reinvest in our economy, which will create even more jobs in the free market.
4. Eliminate the death tax, which also is a double tax that dis-incentivizes wealth creation and burdens the next generation of family-owned businesses trying to continue and prosper, especially for family farms in the 5th District. There should be no taxation without respiration!

What do you see right or wrong with the Federal Reserve System? Would you support auditing the Fed?

I would not only support auditing the Fed, but think we need to take a serious a look at the Feds role in our government. Specifically: Do we need the Fed?  Are they hindering the free market and leading us to more unnecessary state control of the free market?

Current key challenges with the Fed:

1. The Fed and the government need to stop ‘monetizing’ our financial system as endless printing of money devalues currency. Loans for business are the back bone of a growing an economy- loans should be valuable as they are based on asset backed currency not just printed currency.
2. Right now the Fed is challenging the economy with artificially low interest rates. Banks loan when they can make money from interest rates, we need to have market based interest rates, based on available asset cash; assures a solid foundation for the risk reward of loans.

Would you support an amendment to the Constitution similar to this, “Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.”? Why or Why not?

Yes I would.  Representatives are one of the people and thus should be held to the same laws as their constituents. For precisely this reason I have decided to deny the excessive congressional health care package.

What do you think should be done to decrease our dependency on foreign oil? Do you support nuclear power, clean coal and natural gas, and drilling for oil here in the U.S. and offshore?

We must develop all of our domestic energy resources, which will not only secure our energy independence, but strengthen our economy through investing significant capital domestically instead of in unfriendly foreign countries.

Do you believe the Constitution is a “living document”? Why or why not?

It is not. If Congress wishes to make Constitutional changes, be my guest. But until then, they need to stop violating their oath to uphold the Constitution.

Here is a tough one. Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Prescription Drug Program have a combined unfunded liability of over 100 trillion dollars. What should Congress do to keep these entitlements from bankrupting our country?

I support Paul Ryan’s plan to reform all these entitlement programs. His plan restores their solvency and lowers their burden on the budget.

Why should voters in Virginia’s 5th district vote for you?

I am the only principled conservative in the race that has the necessary resources and organization to defeat moderate tax-raiser Robert Hurt in the primary and Congressman Perriello in the general.

Thank you Mr. Verga for your time.

If you would like to donate to Laurence Verga’s campaign, click HERE.  I would also encourage everyone to check out his website to learn more about his ideas for Virginia and our great country.

Related posts:

1. Interviews of the Virginia 5th District Candidates
2. Interview with Candidate Doug Keller

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