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Civil Beat focuses on issues, not events. When it comes to politics, that means we want to make sure we ask the candidates about their positions on key issues.

Read Mazie Hirono‘s responses to 10 questions from Civil Beat. Her Republican opponent in the 2nd Congressional District race, John Willoughby, also shared answers to the same questions.

1) Would you support extending the Bush tax cuts? If so, why? If not, what should be done with the tax cuts and why?

The Bush tax cuts, 80% of which benefitted the richest 2% of the people in our country, were not paid for when first passed. They added trillions of dollars to our federal deficit. Continuing the Bush tax cuts for those people earning more than $250,000 per year would do nothing more than give the richest Americans an extra $36 Billion next year, which will be added to our deficit.

We should, however, work to pass the Obama tax cuts for the middle class and for small business. These tax cuts actually result in money that gets put back into our economy. Working families in Hawaii and the rest of the country are worried about jobs and the economy. It’s these families who need a tax break, not the super-rich. All the talk about high taxes is meant to scare people. If we let the Bush tax cuts expire for those people earning over $250,000 – as they should – we’ll simply be back to the same tax levels as under the Clinton Administration, when the economy was growing faster than it ever did under George Bush.

2) Should American citizens suspected of terrorism and arrested on foreign soil be held without trial? Should the government use drones for targeted killings away from the battlefield? Is waterboarding torture? Why or why not?

America is a nation of laws, based on our Constitution, and according to those laws, United States citizens have certain rights. These include the right not to be detained indefinitely without trial. Even Justice Antonin Scalia, in the case Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, wrote that unless Congress suspends the writ of habeas corpus, the U.S. government must either try an American citizen accused of bearing arms for the Taliban, or let him or her go. So this is not a conservative versus liberal argument, this is an argument about enforcing our Constitution and our laws.

Like much of what goes on in the Middle East, nothing America does is without risk. While the use of drones has saved American lives, it has also taken civilian lives, resulting in more anti-American attitudes that put our troops at risk. Clearly, the decision to use drones must be calculated to minimize civilian casualties.

Ultimately, I don’t believe that peace in the Middle East will be won by military action. Therefore, strategies such as diplomacy, sanctions, and other types of smart-power, must be employed.

Waterboarding is torture. On just the second day of his Presidency, President Obama signed an executive order requiring interrogations of anyone held in U.S. custody to abide by the Army Field Manual. That document prohibits interrogations that many would say constitute torture, and it explicitly lists waterboarding as an example.

3) Should the U.S. ban deep-sea offshore drilling?

The BP disaster brought into sharp relief the shortsightedness of the mantra “drill, baby, drill.” Oil is a finite resource. We need to get off our dependence on it. Offshore oil drilling must not be permitted without ensuring strong safety and environmental controls.

Clearly, developing alternative and renewable sources of energy for Hawaii, the most oil-dependent state in the nation, is a top priority. Every year, we spend $7 billion to bring oil to Hawaii. That’s $7 billion that should stay in our economy through energy self-sufficiency. I support increasing the research and development of alternative energy in Hawaii. By ending the Big Oil giveaways and encouraging the development of biofuels and the use of Hawaii’s plentiful wind, solar, and ocean energy, Hawaii can lead the way in developing innovative solutions – as well as create jobs in a new, clean-energy economy. We need to provide incentives and subsidies for renewable energy, not for the oil industry.

4) Would you support the U.S. extending its mission in either Afghanistan or Iraq? Should the U.S. consider a preemptive strike against Iran?

The Afghan war is now the longest war in our country’s history and recent events are not reassuring. We need to set a timetable and be clearer in defining our mission. We owe it to our troops. I have personally visited our troops serving in Afghanistan. I have worked hard on their behalf, and because of that work I was given an “A” by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. As for Iraq, combat operations officially ended this month, and that is the right thing to have happened.

As for a preemptive strike against Iran, Iraq was a preemptive strike. Have we learned nothing? The same neoconservatives that pushed for the Iraq War – and who swore that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction – are the same people pushing for a preemptive strike against Iran. We shouldn’t have listened to them then, and we shouldn’t listen to them now.

Top American military leaders have warned against military strikes against Iran. According to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, “another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need. In fact, I believe it would be disastrous on a number of levels.” Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said that “Iran getting a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing. Attacking them would also create the same kind of outcome. In an area that’s so unstable right now, we just don’t need more of that.” And General David Petraeus has warned that a strike on Iran would be used by the Iranian government to unite it’s otherwise divided populace.

5) Do you support the regulation of the financial industry just signed into law? Why or Why not?��

The excesses of Wall Street and the lack of regulatory oversight brought our country to the brink of economic chaos. Yes, I supported the financial industry regulation bill signed into law. And while this bill is intended to rein in misbehaving banks and their large executive bonuses, put an end to bank bailouts, and protect American consumers, eternal vigilance should still be our watchword on behalf of the American public, because Wall Street has shown little sign that it will police itself.

6) What is the biggest environmental problem facing the country and why? What would you do about it?

The biggest environmental problem facing the country is our collective inability to timely and effectively deal with the myriad of environmental challenges that confront us – whether it is climate change, depletion of our fisheries, destruction of coral reefs, the rising acidity in our oceans, loss of rainforest, loss of habitat for endangered species, or the pollution of our air and water. And yet, we have to do what we can, incrementally if necessary.

For example, I have supported two major bills in Congress addressing climate change: the Safe Climate Act and the Climate Stewardship Act. I have also sponsored legislation to expand the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, which will help preserve this precious national heritage for generations to come. And I have focused many of my appropriations requests on obtaining resources to protect endangered species and combat native species here at home in Hawaii.

But of course, we must continue to do more. Foremost on that list is the need to accelerate the research and development of alternative energies, and wean ourselves off the fossil fuels that are such a driving force behind climate change.

7) Do you support a cap and trade approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions or would you favor a carbon tax instead? Or neither?

I support reducing our nation’s escalating production of carbon dioxide. I am flexible on the means to do this, so long as the process sets fixed reduction goals and promotes the development of green jobs and clean, renewable energy.

Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the nation. We import 90% of our energy in the form of fossil fuels. This is not a sustainable model. And it’s not just Hawaii. The country as a whole spends too much of its money paying for fossil fuels from countries that wish to do us harm. This is not just a matter of helping the environment, but also a matter of enhancing our nation’s security.

The U.S. military recognizes this. I have met with military leaders here in Hawaii and elsewhere who are moving rapidly to make their own military installations energy independent. They are doing this through the use of wind, wave energy, solar, and biofuels.

8) Do you support the Akaka bill? If so, what would you tell Hawaii residents will happen if it passes? What will it mean to the state? If not, why not?

I support the Akaka Bill, and am an original co-sponsor of it in the House. Native Hawaiians should be recognized as indigenous people as are Alaskan Natives and Native Americans. The Akaka Bill establishes a path for recognition and it is the first step in what will likely to be a long journey to the establishment of a Native Hawaiian governing entity. At the same time, the right of non-native Hawaiians will be protected under the State and Federal constitutions.

After its formation, the Native Hawaiian governing entity, along with the State of Hawaii, and the federal government, will begin negotiations in several areas, including: transfer of state lands and federal surplus lands, exercise of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and the authority to tax, to name a few.

9) What is the best thing the last Congress did? Why? What’s the worst thing? Why?

Economists across the spectrum agree that Congressional action was needed to prevent our country from sinking into economic chaos, and then to stimulate the economy to save and create jobs and begin our recovery. Congress stepped up and did this in spite of the fact that partisan politics threatened to derail these efforts at every turn. The fact that our country is facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression seems to be lost on some people. This crisis is real – just talk to all the people who have lost their jobs, businesses that can’t get credit, or service agencies that can’t meet the growing need for services. I continue working hard to get our economy moving again.

In addition, Congress passed historic health care reform legislation that provides insurance to millions more people while still lowering the federal deficit (and preserving Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act). Congress passed financial regulatory reform that will rein in the worst practices of the big banks and credit card companies. Congress passed legislation that extended unemployment benefits to millions of Americans when they most need it, and that’s one of just several jobs bills this Congress has passed.

The worst thing is the fact that Congressional Republicans have done little to nothing to support our economy, create jobs, reign in Wall Street, or stop jobs from being shipped overseas. Instead, they have made it their stated plan to become of the party of “No.” I think President Obama put it well when he recently declared that if he said the sky was blue and that fish live in the sea, the Republicans would say “No.”

10) Transportation and infrastructure are critical to an island state. How would you work to increase federal support for Hawaii’s roads, airports and harbors?

As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I have been a strong advocate for more federal support for Hawaii’s infrastructure. Jim Oberstar, the chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has been the strongest national voice for fixing our nation’s aging infrastructure. Chair Oberstar has come to Hawaii and seen firsthand, with me, critical infrastructure issues on Oahu and Maui.

I will continue working closely with our local and state officials, as well as the local community, to determine what our most pressing transportation and infrastructure needs are, and how we can best address them. And I will continue working closely with Chair Oberstar to make sure those needs are met, and Hawaii gets its fair share of federal resources. Finally, I will continue working to get more money for infrastructure to create and save jobs, which will further help to stimulate the economy.