By David Taber

U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, fielded questions from a roomful of over 100 constituents Feb. 24 in the aldermanic chamber at Somerville City Hall. 

‚ÄúYou are showing the best side of what is left of our democracy, and I thank you,‚Äù said Michael Brauer of Cambridge, praising the congressman for hosting the public forum.  Responding to audience questions, Capuano held forth on a wide range of subjects including healthcare, immigration, education, and the war in Iraq.

On immigration, he was closely questioned regarding statements he made at a similar event held in Brighton last week, where he defended his vote last year in favor of a bill that would enable the construction of a 700-ft. fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Capuano said he is opposed to an open border because foreign nationals would flood the labor market and depress wages. 

He reiterated this argument at the Saturday forum.  ‚ÄúThis country, economically, cannot support a billion people at this time,‚Äù he said.

He said he did not know how many foreign-born wage earners the labor market could withstand, but determining that number is an important step in developing a coherent policy on immigration. 

“If it’s a million, it’s a million. It’s not two million, it’s not five million, it’s a million,” Capuano said.

One questioner pointed to the example of Foss Park and said immigrant day laborers, who congregate there every morning, are not in direct competition with U.S.-born workers for jobs.

Capuano responded that he is in support of legalizing everyone who is in the United States right now and that, assuming that those laborers are legal residents, theirs is a labor issue, not an immigration issue.

‚ÄúIf they are not unionized that is their problem, and the unions are not doing their jobs,‚Äù he said.   

‚ÄúThe fence is a symbolic issue, I am not an expert on how to strengthen the border,‚Äù he said. 

He also reiterated that he is in favor of deporting foreign-nationals who commit serious crimes, but he does not have a fully developed policy position on this issue either, he said. 

‚ÄúWhat criminal acts should result in deportation is a good question,‚Äù he said. 

Discussing the recent democratic takeover of the house and senate, Capuano took pains to make it clear that the federal government is still divided, and that even the democratic party is not a monolithic institution. 

‚ÄúI don‚Äôt want anybody to think we can dance in the streets, that all of our problems are solved,‚Äù he said.  For example, even with a democratic majority in Congress, there are not enough votes to oppose President Bush‚Äôs requested authorization for supplemental spending to support the war effort, he said.

While he opposes the spending bill, most members are opposed to what they see as cutting off support for troops in the field, so anti-war Democrats, particularly U.S. Rep John Murtha, D, Pennsylvania, are looking for backdoor ways to begin troop withdrawal, he said.

The latest trial balloon floated in that direction is legislation that says only troops who meet the military’s standards of readiness can be sent to Iraq, Capuano said.

The shear number of troops engaged in Iraq has forced the military to ignore their own readiness standards, and, if it is held to them, there will not be any troops to send, he said.  It is not clear yet whether such legislation would get the 218 votes necessary to pass in the House, and even less sure whether enough Republicans would support the legislation to manage the 60 votes that would ensure passage in the senate, the Congressman said.

There are Democratic Presidential candidates who do not have what he considers an acceptable position on the war, Capuano said. 

What unites the Democratic Party is a conviction that, “government can and should play a positive role in people’s lives,” he said.

“But believing in an activist government is not the same as being fiscally irresponsible,” he said.

“I am not willing to give you programs, even ones you want, if you are not willing to pay for them,” he said.

Capuano singled out President George W. Bush for particular criticism as far as fiscal responsibility is concerned.  ‚ÄúSince the day George Bush took office, on average, every minute of every day he has borrowed just short of $1 million,‚Äù he said.

‚ÄúEvery minute, the public pays half a million dollars in interest,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúBeing in that much debt after WWII was worth it,‚Äù he said, ‚ÄúWe saved the world.‚Äù

“What have you got in the last six years that comes close to that? My answer is nothing.”

And, responding to questions about the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and about funding for public education, Capuano made his feelings clear that many publicly funded services are at or nearing a state of crisis.

Three years ago it was estimated that Medicare and Medicaid were going to be bankrupt in 20- to 30- years, he said.  Since the prescription drug choice plan, the final cost of which is estimated to be $800 billion, was passed it looks like these programs will be bankrupt in 10 years, he said. 

With regard to education, he said cuts to spending across the country and the failure, at the federal level, to fully fund the programs in No Child Left Behind, have convinced him “this country is slowly moving away from the concept of public education.”

The country needs to engage in a sustained dialogue about which skills are important for young people to learn in a new, dynamic economy, he said.  ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt think as a society we do what it takes,‚Äù he said.

The forum will be re-broadcast in its entirety Thursday, March 1 at 8 p.m. on city cable channel 16 (RCN 13).