Interview with Congresswoman Lois Capps
Interview originally published at Faithfully Liberal
Living on California’s Central Coast I had the pleasure of being represented in Congress by Lois Capps (D-23rd District). Lois came to Congress in March 1998 after her husband Walter, a long-time member of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) religion faculty, died in office. That was not long before my arrival in Santa Barbara. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to be in different events and forums and conversations with her, and I’ve come to know her as a genuinely committed person, whose faith has formed a compassionate and gracious person. I’ve also been impressed by her willingness to meet with and listen to religious leaders of the community.
As you’ll discover in the interview, before serving in Congress, Lois was a nurse — or better yet she remains a nurse to this day — one of three serving in Congress. A RN, she was for many years a school nurse in the Santa Barbara School District (and for part of that tenure she was the Director of the County’s Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Project). I think that this experience – in addition to her faith – has contributed to the compassionate spirit she brings to her work.
Because Aaron has interviewed a number of people in political life, I decided to invite readers of this site to hear from my Congressional representative. I appreciate her willingness to engage in the conversation and I hope you’ll enjoy her responses.
As a pastor living in your Congressional District, I have heard you speak openly about your faith. I’d like to begin by asking you a couple of questions about how your faith and its relationship to the political realm.
• First, how has your faith formed you as a person?
My father was a Lutheran minister so I grew up in a family where faith was an integral part of our daily lives. I learned at a young age that I derive great personal strength from my faith. Over the course of my life, my deep convictions have seen me through many joyous times, and also times of great difficulty. Personally, my faith reminds me of my priorities and keeps me grounded and grateful for the opportunities I have had in life.
• Following on that question, how has your faith formed you as a politician?
As public servants, Members of Congress are constantly making decisions based on our values, and our faith plays an important role in setting priorities that reflect these ideals. For this reason, I recently held a “Faith Day” in Washington, D.C. and invited leaders of all faiths from my district to participate in a day-long conference focusing on the role of faith and politics. It was truly a rewarding day, filled with much political discourse and ruminations about the role of faith as a uniting, not dividing, force. Unfortunately, I know how divisive political discourse can be on Capitol Hill. I have seen, however, how faith can bring together Members with differing political views to help find common ground. Drawing on America’s diverse religious teaching we find our nation’s common core values and strengths. While it is critical that we maintain a clear institutional separation of church and state as dictated by our Constitution, it is also clear that there is an important place for the voices of people of faith in the public square.
• Much is being made of the leading Democratic candidates God talk. What do you make of this and what does it say about the role of faith in the Democratic Party?
I think my Democratic colleagues running for President are sincere when discussing their personal faith. Each candidate brings unique and significant personal experiences and perspectives on faith into their candidacy. From my experience in Congress, I think faith has always played a large role in the lives of my Democratic and Republican colleagues. At the same time, I do believe Democrats have become much more comfortable in recent years discussing our faith in the public forum.
• In recent years we’ve been told that “values voters” vote Republican, what are the values that Democrats uphold that might change the way that question is answered?
I like to think that we all share certain intrinsic values that transcend partisan politics. Growing up my parents taught me, just as I tried to teach my own children, that we should all work hard and treat others with kindness and respect. I believe these values belong to both political parties. I reject the characterization of “values voters” as a group reflecting a necessarily conservative perspective. I have always found “values voters” on all sides of political debates.
I realize that Iraq and national security are important issues but I know that health care is a matter close to your heart, and so I’d like to focus the remainder of my questions on that issue.
• I guess the place to start is to ask why health care is such an important issue to you?
I think access to quality health care is a basic human right. I’ve devoted my life to providing health care services to others as a hospital nurse, school nurse, public health educator and now on the Health Subcommittee in Congress. From my perspective as a policy maker, I think health care is up there with global warming as the single-most important domestic issue we face as a nation. That is why the issue is close to my heart, and also why I have devoted my life to the cause.
• Is health care a moral issue?
Undoubtedly.
• Several Democratic candidates have proposed health care plans that would cover most if not all Americans. Do you see any plan out there that is not only workable but fair?
I think there are a variety of good plans to improve health care. And I look forward to working with the Democratic nominee for President to produce the most effective health care plan possible.
• Recently the President vetoed the S-CHIP program that carried broad bipartisan support. Despite that shadow hanging over us, what immediate steps could we take that could garner broad support and would help bridge some of the gaps that exist in the system?
We are so fortunate to have an active community that steps in where gaps exist. The most important thing we can do is improve our preventive health care services. The promotion of healthy behaviors from an early age greatly improves the wellbeing of both individuals and families. Our Federally Qualified Health Centers do an excellent job of serving our local population who otherwise would lack access to health care. In San Luis Obispo County, they’ve adopted the Nurse Family Partnership model which provides outreach, education and a series of home visits to at-risk moms lasting from prenatal care through a child’s 2nd birthday. Supporting programs like these is the best way to help.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, now I’d like to end this interview by giving you the opportunity to briefly address one issue of your choice.
We must end the war in Iraq. While we have made progress in the Democratically-controlled 110th Congress, we are far from our goal of ending this war and responsibly bringing our troops home. One of my proudest moments in Congress was voting against the war in October 2002. Since then, I have been an outspoken critic of this war and the Administration’s complete mismanagement of it. I believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home as soon as is safely possible.
As you’ll discover in the interview, before serving in Congress, Lois was a nurse — or better yet she remains a nurse to this day — one of three serving in Congress. A RN, she was for many years a school nurse in the Santa Barbara School District (and for part of that tenure she was the Director of the County’s Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Project). I think that this experience – in addition to her faith – has contributed to the compassionate spirit she brings to her work.
Because Aaron has interviewed a number of people in political life, I decided to invite readers of this site to hear from my Congressional representative. I appreciate her willingness to engage in the conversation and I hope you’ll enjoy her responses.
As a pastor living in your Congressional District, I have heard you speak openly about your faith. I’d like to begin by asking you a couple of questions about how your faith and its relationship to the political realm.
• First, how has your faith formed you as a person?
My father was a Lutheran minister so I grew up in a family where faith was an integral part of our daily lives. I learned at a young age that I derive great personal strength from my faith. Over the course of my life, my deep convictions have seen me through many joyous times, and also times of great difficulty. Personally, my faith reminds me of my priorities and keeps me grounded and grateful for the opportunities I have had in life.
• Following on that question, how has your faith formed you as a politician?
As public servants, Members of Congress are constantly making decisions based on our values, and our faith plays an important role in setting priorities that reflect these ideals. For this reason, I recently held a “Faith Day” in Washington, D.C. and invited leaders of all faiths from my district to participate in a day-long conference focusing on the role of faith and politics. It was truly a rewarding day, filled with much political discourse and ruminations about the role of faith as a uniting, not dividing, force. Unfortunately, I know how divisive political discourse can be on Capitol Hill. I have seen, however, how faith can bring together Members with differing political views to help find common ground. Drawing on America’s diverse religious teaching we find our nation’s common core values and strengths. While it is critical that we maintain a clear institutional separation of church and state as dictated by our Constitution, it is also clear that there is an important place for the voices of people of faith in the public square.
• Much is being made of the leading Democratic candidates God talk. What do you make of this and what does it say about the role of faith in the Democratic Party?
I think my Democratic colleagues running for President are sincere when discussing their personal faith. Each candidate brings unique and significant personal experiences and perspectives on faith into their candidacy. From my experience in Congress, I think faith has always played a large role in the lives of my Democratic and Republican colleagues. At the same time, I do believe Democrats have become much more comfortable in recent years discussing our faith in the public forum.
• In recent years we’ve been told that “values voters” vote Republican, what are the values that Democrats uphold that might change the way that question is answered?
I like to think that we all share certain intrinsic values that transcend partisan politics. Growing up my parents taught me, just as I tried to teach my own children, that we should all work hard and treat others with kindness and respect. I believe these values belong to both political parties. I reject the characterization of “values voters” as a group reflecting a necessarily conservative perspective. I have always found “values voters” on all sides of political debates.
I realize that Iraq and national security are important issues but I know that health care is a matter close to your heart, and so I’d like to focus the remainder of my questions on that issue.
• I guess the place to start is to ask why health care is such an important issue to you?
I think access to quality health care is a basic human right. I’ve devoted my life to providing health care services to others as a hospital nurse, school nurse, public health educator and now on the Health Subcommittee in Congress. From my perspective as a policy maker, I think health care is up there with global warming as the single-most important domestic issue we face as a nation. That is why the issue is close to my heart, and also why I have devoted my life to the cause.
• Is health care a moral issue?
Undoubtedly.
• Several Democratic candidates have proposed health care plans that would cover most if not all Americans. Do you see any plan out there that is not only workable but fair?
I think there are a variety of good plans to improve health care. And I look forward to working with the Democratic nominee for President to produce the most effective health care plan possible.
• Recently the President vetoed the S-CHIP program that carried broad bipartisan support. Despite that shadow hanging over us, what immediate steps could we take that could garner broad support and would help bridge some of the gaps that exist in the system?
We are so fortunate to have an active community that steps in where gaps exist. The most important thing we can do is improve our preventive health care services. The promotion of healthy behaviors from an early age greatly improves the wellbeing of both individuals and families. Our Federally Qualified Health Centers do an excellent job of serving our local population who otherwise would lack access to health care. In San Luis Obispo County, they’ve adopted the Nurse Family Partnership model which provides outreach, education and a series of home visits to at-risk moms lasting from prenatal care through a child’s 2nd birthday. Supporting programs like these is the best way to help.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, now I’d like to end this interview by giving you the opportunity to briefly address one issue of your choice.
We must end the war in Iraq. While we have made progress in the Democratically-controlled 110th Congress, we are far from our goal of ending this war and responsibly bringing our troops home. One of my proudest moments in Congress was voting against the war in October 2002. Since then, I have been an outspoken critic of this war and the Administration’s complete mismanagement of it. I believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home as soon as is safely possible.
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