Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 8, 1994 TAG: 9408080010
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What will you do for the people living in poverty to make sure they have adequate health insurance and also adequate housing?
- Glen Mitchell, Blacksburg
COLEMAN: "The poor have access to health care through Medicaid, and that protection will continue under every health care reform proposal I've seen. The challenge in reforming health care is threefold: to ensure that middle-income Americans can have the confidence and security that their health coverage will be available when they need it; to make certain that Congress doesn't turn our health care system into a new government-run bureaucracy; and to protect the high quality of health care we now enjoy in this country. Housing is a difficult question. Billions are now being spent to attempt to provide housing for the poor; I believe we can use that money more creatively to help low-income families realize the American dream."
NORTH: "The best contribution we can give to someone in poverty is a good job in a healthy economy. I oppose our present policies, which tax too much, mandate and regulate too much, and spend too much of government funds - thus destroying, not creating, jobs. A healthy economy will allow all people to have adequate health insurance and adequate housing."
ROBB: "Escalating costs have made access to health care and decent housing beyond the reach of many Virginians. These are not luxuries, but necessities.
"I am absolutely committed to enacting health care reform during this Congress that will enable the men, women and children in our commonwealth who are poor and lack insurance to access the health care system.
"Also, I have worked with the city of Roanoke, in partnership with Total Action Against Poverty, the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Roanoke Partnership and the Public Housing Joint Tenants' Council in their efforts to secure a HUD grant for public housing assistance in Roanoke."
WILDER: "Clearly, the best way to ensure that there is adequate health care for the poor is, first, to decrease poverty and, second, to provide preventive health care to poor children. The best way to create financial stability for low-income Virginians is to provide stable housing prices. Virginia provided real leadership for America on both of these issues during my term as governor. In the area of health care, we expanded Medicaid coverage to include all of Virginia's children by the end of this decade and without costing the state a penny in new spending. And in the area of housing, we initiated a program to provide down payments and loan assistance to working people living in public housing. This program freed up valuable public housing space while providing opportunities and hope for families building their future."
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Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB