Q&A: Feingold charts course (hoping to make progress on...)

[katty]

more: http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/APC06/801170560/1036

Posted January 17, 2008

Q&A: Feingold charts course

He's hoping to make progress on five key domestic issues in 2008

The Post-Crescent

Sen. Russ Feingold has a plan. Getting ready to head back to Washington as Congress is about to resume, the Democratic senator from Wisconsin has compiled a list of his top five domestic agenda items for 2008: a health care proposal, changes to the No Child Left Behind Act, improving public financing of presidential campaigns, strengthening the Clean Water Act and giving the president line-item veto powers.


He acknowledges none of the proposals are actually going to get passed this year, but he wants to at least move the needle on them. Build some critical mass to present to the new president.


In an interview with The Post-Crescent editorial board, Feingold discussed those proposals, the war in Iraq and the current presidential campaigns.


Here's an edited transcript of his interview:


On the listening sessions he's been holding around the state


When I see people at these town meetings, they seem the most down, the most distressed than I've ever seen people overall, in 25 years of elected office. They're very frustrated with the administration and just feeling bad about government. So I've just started saying to them, "Hey, there's going to be a new president in a year." And people just smile.


On health care


It's the No. 1 domestic issue that's brought up at the town meetings. Lindsay Graham, who's a senator from South Carolina, and I have come together on a proposal. I support universal health care for all Americans. He doesn't, necessarily. But we agree that we ought to have a commission that allows three or four states to win a competition to become pilot projects to show their vision of how they can move toward universal coverage in their state.