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Mahoney Seeks Second Term In Congress

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2008

One of his opponents called Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, the luckiest guy around. Mahoney seemed to have no chance when he filed against six-term incumbent Mark Foley, but seven weeks before the election, the Republican confessed to being gay after allegations he solicited sex in e-mails to teenaged House pages.

Mahoney was born in Illinois, grew up in New Jersey, and obtained a bachelor's degree in computer science and business from West Virginia University. A personal computer accessories company he was working for, Tecmar, was sold. In 1986, he moved to Florida and became president of Rodime Systems, which manufactured disc drives. In 1995, Mahoney and business partner Lenny Sokolow started Union Atlantic LLC, a venture capital firm.

Mahoney had been a Republican for most of his life, but became a Democrat before filing against Foley.

Q: What will you do to help balance the federal budget?

As a businessman now in Congress, I know that the true cost to America of deficit spending is lost jobs, high gas prices and investment overseas. Over the past eight years we've seen a projected budget surplus turned into record deficits. To stop out of control spending, I joined my fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" colleagues in Congress to force the reinstatement of the "PAYGO" (pay as you go) rule that prevents Congress from going further into debt by spending money we don't have. I co-sponsored the Blue Dog Accountability Package that includes a balanced budget amendment, which provides for a Constitutional Amendment requiring Congress to pass a balance budget each year. I voted to bring the federal budget back into surplus by 2012 without raising taxes and I sponsored earmark reform to eliminate wasteful "pork projects."

Q: Is it important to give tax cuts to wealthy Americans when the country is running a massive debt? Before the tax cuts, the country had cut debt and since implementing them, our debt has skyrocketed. Any correlation?

The administration's tax cuts have not worked as average family incomes are down while the number of millionaires has doubled. Furthermore, many businesses have taken those cuts and invested them overseas to create jobs abroad. As we are facing an economic crisis, it is more important than ever that we use tax cuts to help the people who need them the most, namely middle-class families and small businesses. The right way out of this mess is to stop spending money we don't have and to build a strong economy where we create jobs with a future here in America.

Q: What can a member of Congress do to deal with high gas prices? Can our country become energy independent and how long with that take? How do we get there?

I believe America needs a comprehensive strategy to combat our growing energy crisis and reach energy independence. The first thing we can do is strengthen the dollar by no longer spending money we don't have. Oil is a dollar traded commodity and over the past six years we have lost 40 percent of the dollar's value. That means it takes more dollars to buy a barrel of oil.

Next we need to increase drilling. We must work to maximize production in the short term to keep $4 a gallon gas from becoming $5 per gallon. High energy costs are driving prices up and pushing the economy deeper into recession. That is why I voted to pass legislation that opened up drilling in the U.S. and off our shores and forced big oil to immediately start drilling on the 68 million acres of federal land that have already been leased.

Finally, we must recognize that, as T. Boone Pickens says, we can't drill our way out of our energy crisis. We need to kick America's addiction to oil by investing in safe nuclear energy and clean coal. We need to increase production of alternative fuel sources such as wind, solar and cellulosic ethanol from agricultural waste. I have made renewable fuels and energy independence a priority. I worked to include a Renewable Fuels Standard in the Energy Bill that will greatly increase the use of alternative fuel sources in our nation's energy production. And I led the fight to ensure that the Farm Bill contained specific funding to increase the production of cellulosic ethanol, which will create jobs and help South Florida become the biofuels capital of America.

Q: How will you change the culture in Washington D.C. to regain public trust concerning the influence of special interests on member of Congress?

It has been my top priority to clean up Washington and restore the American people's confidence in their federal government. I am proud that the first thing we passed was bipartisan legislation on congressional ethics reform, which puts an end to lobbyist funded gifts, meals, and trips. I fought for sweeping earmark reform that holds officials accountable and ends "bridges to nowhere." And I was an original cosponsor of a bill to create an Independent Ethics Council to make sure that wrongdoers in Congress are caught and forced to pay the price.

Q: How would you rate George Bush's presidency and where must we focus our efforts for the next four years and beyond?

I believe that President Bush has tried to do the right thing for America. However, I know that it not only takes good intentions but good judgment to succeed. The results of the past eight years are clear. Our next president is going to inherit an America where Osama Bin Laden has still not been brought to justice, where the economy is in recession, and where skyrocketing healthcare, insurance, food, and fuel costs are robbing working families and seniors of their American dreams.

I am optimistic that whether we have a President McCain or Obama, we are going to have a leader who recognizes that when all Americans come together, America always prevails. We have to end the partisan bickering and focus on fixing problems. The next President will have two top priorities: winning the War on Terror and reengineering our economy so we can compete in a global economy.

We must ensure our children's future by building a strong economy where we invest in education, work to kick our oil addiction, and invest in new technologies, like biofuels, that will create jobs here at home. It is important to remember where you came from and who has helped you along the way. I know that the values of Highlands County are the values that form the foundation for building a better America.

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