Rep. Marino wants national health care hybrid

Oct. 17--Editor's Note: This is the latest in a series of stories based on editorial board interviews with candidates in advance of the Nov. 6 election.

SUNBURY -- Rep. Tom Marino, Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, met Tuesday afternoon with The Daily Item's editorial board, answering questions on a broad range of topics including healthcare, jobs, the national debt, immigration, and the ongoing investigation into the death of a journalist in Turkey.

Republicans are currently working on two health care plans, Marino said. "And I think we need a hybrid. I didn't agree with Obamacare, the way it was handled, but I have to say no one addressed it before Obama. I just think he went about it wrong. It was not something we could take in one fell swoop, that we could deal with. We needed to take it one step at a time. We are not really getting rid of the Affordable Care Act. We are fixing it. The individual mandate no longer exists, for people who don't have the money or don't want to be involved."

Marino said Republicans are taking those fixes in sections. For example, he said, "We are looking at allowing people to go across state lines to get health insurance. That should bring down costs because of competition." He also said he would not support any legislation that eliminated the coverage of people who have pre-existing conditions. "Politics has nothing to do with this," he said. "Race has nothing to do with this. If a person is born with a pre-existing condition it is not that person's fault. And we have a responsibility to take care of people who can't afford to take care of themselves."

Marino said he is not supportive of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, something his Democratic opponent, Marc Friedenberg, has proposed. "Let the market decide, the employers decide what the appropriate wage, competitive wage should be," he said.

Regarding the national debt, which according to the Congressional Budget Office, has increased 17 percent over the past year, Marino said that "within a short period of time you will see that coming down. I think we are headed toward a surplus and not a deficit. The economy is booming, I feel confident we'll see a surplus and be able to start paying down the debt. But it will take years, even if we do it right."

Marino believes some of that debt can be paid down through more people working, more manufacturing, with more people paying taxes -- and not solely through budget cuts. "I think we're on our way and I'm proud to have voted for the tax cuts."

Marino said those currently receiving Social Security have nothing to worry about. "We (House Republicans) are not pulling the rug out from people who deserve to be paid," he said. "There may be changes that have to be made for people now in their 20s and 30s ... perhaps increasing the age of retirement."

About the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Marino, who represents the U.S. with NATO, said, "I'm glad the president is taking a tough stance on this to get to the bottom of it. If the Saudis are responsible there has to be something done on the part of not only the United States but other countries. Sanctions of some type. There are still a lot of questions to be answered. A lot of investigation taking place in cooperation with our allies and we will get to the bottom of this."

Asked if he thought Trump was taking a tough enough stance with the Saudis, Marino said, "I could sit here and take a tough stance because I am not the president of the United States. The president has a fine line to walk and there are times when you don't want to become the antagonist, but I know what is taking place on investigations like this. A lot of it has to do with political posturing."

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