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BACKGROUNDFirst Name: WilliamLast Name: BrownsbergerOffice you are running for: U.S. RepresentativeState: MassachusettsCongressional District: 5Campaign Address: 334 Trapelo Rd. Belmont, MA 02478

Campaign Website: wb4congress.comTwitter: @wbrownsbergerFacebook: Will Brownsberger for CongressType of Race (Open Seat, Challenging Incumbent Republican, Challenging Incumbent Democrat, Incumbent): Specialelection for an open seatHow many years have you lived in your state or district? Approximately 40 years.

Are you a current or former elected official? If yes, what office(s)? Yes. Current State Senator, 2nd

Suffolk and

Middlesex, 2012-present; State Representative, 24th

Middlesex, 2007-2012; Belmont SelectmanGeneral Election Date: December 10, 2013Primary Election Date: October 15, 2013When is the filing deadline to get on the ballot? August 14, 2013Why are you running for office in 27 words or less?We need leadership in Washington that looks past the soundbites and special interest politics and makes the toughchoices necessary to move the country forward.

GENERAL ISSUES(Public)

JOBSYES [ ] NO [ x] Do you support a major public investment in jobssuch as repairing crumbling schools and highways,wiring the country with high-speed Internet, and ensuring that states have the resources needed to keep teachers, police,and firefighters working? I support investing in many of these things but not as a jobs program.YES [ ] NO [x] Do you support a strong Employee Free Choice Act, along the lines of the original proposal in 2007, whichwould increase democracy in the workplace with card-check elections?

YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support raising the minimum wage and indexing it to the cost of living?

SOCIAL INSURANCEYES [ ] NO [x] Will you vote against any bill that cuts Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, or Medicaid benefits including raising the retirement age and cutting cost-of-living adjustments? (Benefits can be defined as money paid out tobeneficiaries, as opposed to money paid in or money paid to others such as drug companies.)YES [ x] NO [ ] Do you support increasing Social Securitys solvency for decades by scrapping the cap so thatmillionaires and billionaires pay Social Security taxes on more than just the first $113,000 of their income?YES [x ] NO [ ] Do you support saving taxpayers $130 billion by allowing Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate prices withpharmaceutical companies?YES [ ] NO [x ] Do you support a Medicare Buy-In for All, which would allow any American to buy into the federal Medicareprogram?

WALL STREETYES [ x] NO [x ] Do you support breaking up "too big to fail" financial institutions, even if that means breaking up some of

the major power players on Wall Street? In the sense that I support restoration of Glass-Steagall, but not necessarily onthe basis of size alone.YES [ ] NO [ ] Do you believe there has been adequate investigation into whether Wall Street bankers broke the lawbefore and during the 2007-2008 financial crisis? I dont feel I can evaluate investigative progress from outside.YES [ ] NO [ ] Do you believe there has been adequate prosecution of bankers that engaged in illegal activity before andduring the 2007-2008 financial crisis? I dont feel I can evaluate prosecutorial decisions from outside.YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support restoring the wall between commercial and investment banking (along the lines of Glass-Steagall) to protect families savings from being used for risky Wall Street speculation?YES [ ] NO [x ] Do you support a financial transactions fee (aka speculators fee) which would impact major investors,not ordinary investors, in order to make Wall Street pay their fair share and reduce reckless speculation?

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YES [ ] NO [x] The federal government currently lends to banks at very low interest rates. Would you support a plan toextend those low rates to student loans?

FAIR TAXATIONYES [x] NO [ ] Are you willing to increase income taxes on those making over $250,000 a year so that our system oftaxation is more progressive and everyone pays their fair share? If it is part of a broader deficit reduction and taxsimplification package.YES [ ] NO [ x ] The Fairness In Taxation Act (HR 1723) would raise nearly a trillion dollars over 10 years by raising taxeson income above $1 million per year. It would go beyond the current top rate of 39.6% and be 45% for incomes above $1million, 46% above $10 million, 47% above $20 million, 48% above $100 million, and 49% above $1 billion all below the

top rate of 50% under Ronald Regan. Will you co-sponsor this bill in Congress? I think a one-sided bill like this is mostly adistraction from the hard job of building consensus about our financial future. I also support tax simplification before rateincreases.YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support ending carried interest the loophole that allows Mitt Romney to pay 14% or less intaxes? Note: I do support this, but am concerned about enforceability of the changes.

DEMOCRACYYES [ ] NO [ ] Do you support citizen-funded elections, in which candidates receive matching funds for donations below$100, allowing candidates to spend more time talking to voters and less time calling wealthy out-of-state donors? I'm notsure how this would work in practice.YES [x] NO [ ] Would you agree to at least one debate in your race for Congress with questions submitted and chosen bythe public online?YES [ ] NO [x ] Do you support reforming our voting system by implementing "same-day voter registration" nationwide?This has to be done on a state by state basis because voting systems differ.

RIGHTSYES [x] NO [ ] Do you support, and will you work to uphold, the rights decided by Roe v. Wade?YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support allowing gay couples to marry?YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship?YES [ x] NO [ ] Do you oppose warrantless wiretapping of citizens emails and phone calls?YES [x ] NO [ ] Do you support Network Neutrality laws that guarantee the Internet is a level playing field for all users?

ENVIRONMENTYES [x] NO [ ] Do you believe global warming is real and requires immediate action from the government?YES [ ] NO [x] Do you oppose the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline?YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions?YES [x] NO [ ] Do you support a repeal of the fracking exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act?

FIGHT THEORYYES [x] NO [ ] Are you willing to make promises (aka take pledges) on some issues that represent your core Democratic

and progressive beliefs, so that voters know on which issues you will draw a line in the sand?YES [ ] NO [ ] If 80% of the public supports the position held by congressional Democrats on a high-profile issue, and20% supports the position held by congressional Republicans, would you fight for that position against obstructionistRepublicans? Depends on the issue.YES [ ] NO [ ] If elected to the House, do you promise not to join the Blue Dog Caucus or New Democrat Caucus? I don'tknow enough about the NDC to make a promise against joining it.

COMMENTS ON ANY OF THE ABOVE:See comments in stream above.SHORT ANSWERS:Republican President and military general Dwight Eisenhower said 50 years ago, "We must guard against the acquisitionof unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrousrise of misplaced power exists and will persist." What do you think the state of the military-industrial complex is today?I am concerned about the military-industrial complex, and support steps toward a reduction in our military force structure.

Broadly, I think we should focus on increasing our use of soft power, which occasionally could include conflict resolutionassistance, and reduce our use of hard power, which often backfires.Can you share a time in your career or background when you challenged the Democratic Party establishment?In 2009, I discovered that the legislative leadership was awarding contracts in a non-competitive, secret process. Over afive-year period, leadership had awarded millions of dollars to a vendor who happened to be a major donor to manyelected officials. I took my concern about this to the leadership team, who told me to drop the issue. Rather than takingthat advice, I resigned my own leadership position and took my concerns to my rank and file colleagues. With a lot of hardwork through the personally painful months to follow, we ended the practice and brought some real transparency toMassachusetts government spending.Can you share specific examples where you worked with grassroots groups or the larger progressive movement to

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achieve a goal?I was a leader in working for the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2008. Work toward this goal includedthe engagement of representatives from many grassroots organizations, including as panelists at hearings related to thebill and as outside advocates contacting other representatives.What, if anything, would you change in the Affordable Care Act and the Democratic strategy during the health care fight?I don't have a good answer to this question -- I think it is very hard to evaluate legislative strategy from the outside.What does an inside-outside partnership between elected leaders on the inside and the grassroots on the outside looklike, and how will it impact your governing?Often legislators need to work with outside groups to build momentum around an issue. By mobilizing constituents,outside groups can get the attention of other legislators and help motivate them to act on an issue. Outside groups canalso be important information resources for legislators. Outside groups can also play a role in developing media coverageof an issue.