Barb Davis White, Republican, 5th Congressional District of Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives

In light of the current economic crisis, what needs to happen to ensure American economic stability in the future?

What needs to happen is government really needs to be out of the economic picture. Taxes are being raised and we have the same players monitoring the bailout … we need government out of free enterprise. America was founded on free enterprise; it wasn’t founded on government control.

Can the United States achieve energy independence? If so, what steps do we need to take for that to happen and how long do you think it will take?

We can achieve energy independence through alternative … energy sources. Nuclear energy is clean and it is powerful … also, drilling our own oil is not absurd. We are sending billions of dollars to the Middle East and they are buying guns with it and making atomic bombs.

With tuition costs rising, what, if anything, would you do to make college more affordable?

I would start at the top and I would start looking at ways the money is being spent, especially at the University of Minnesota. It has become a business, and I believe the students should be first. I believe that there should be tax credits for students going to school … if that can’t help and subsidize students, I don’t know what can.

What is your stance on gay marriage?

I am against gay marriage. I believe marriage, institutionally, should be between one man and one woman.

What is your stance on abortion?

I believe every baby, as soon as the sperm gets to the egg … is a chosen little person. Rape and incest are hideous, hideous things. Those two things set aside, I don’t believe abortion should be used for our convenience or for birth control.

What, if anything, would you change about the health care system?

I would reform health care. I believe the patients are just getting the shaft right now, because you have such high administrative costs, high drug costs. We should have the best health care in the world in the United States, and I believe that health care needs to be reformed, and I do not believe it needs to be in the hands of the government.

How should the United States address the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Iraq needs to declare its sovereignty. The president there needs to take some of the oil money that they have acquired, and they need to start to take care of their own country. I believe we should bring our troops home.

What is the single most important issue our country must deal with today and how do you plan to address it?

It is the economy, without any question of a doubt. I don’t believe the government should have bailed out Wall Street. I believe that our economy could heal itself if businesses were given tax credits and if we worked with small businesses again and stop allowing government to come in and restrain the hands of free enterprise.