U.S. HOUSE - MINN. DISTRICT 7 Representatives serve two-year terms with an annual salary of $174,000. *incumbent Collin C. Peterson* Party: DFL Education: B.A. Business Administration and Accounting, Minnesota State University Moorhead Political/career experience: Minnesota State Senate, 1977-1986 U.S. House of Representatives, 1991-present. Torrey N. Westrom Party: Republican Education: Bemidji State University, William Mitchell College of Law Political/career experience: Minnesota state representative 1997-2013, Minnesota state senator 2013 to present 5. How will you work to ensure successful funding of the FargoMoorhead Diversion? 2. What are the biggest issues facing the nation and the 7th District? 3. What changes, if any at all, would you make to the Affordable Care Act? 4. What would you do to help farmers in the 7th District? Voters in the 7th District should keep me in office because I have always been and will continue to be an independent voice on the issues most important to them. My district is rural and agricultural, and I will continue to be a champion for our rural communities, farmers and small business by listening to my constituents and working on their behalf in Washington DC. What’s most important to me is continuing to be an independent voice on the issues for Minnesota’s Seventh District in Washington DC. I represent my district and I’m proud to serve as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. Earlier this year I helped write and pass a bipartisan five-year farm bill, and I will continue working with USDA to make sure that the bill we passed is implemented as it was intended. I also plan to continue my work to help mitigate flooding in the Valley. In 2010, I voted no on the Affordable Care Act because I did not believe it would lower the cost of heath insurance, it would not fix the regional disparities in our Medicare reimbursement rates, and it would only cover around 30 percent of the uninsured people in my district. However, we need to make sure that we keep elimination of preexisting condition exclusions and keep children on a parent’s health plan until they’re 26. I think there’s room to fix and improve many of the problems. As the top Democrat and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, I helped write and pass a bipartisan five-year farm bill, and I will continue working with USDA to make sure that the bill we passed is implemented as it was intended. There is much work left to be done, and I will work to protect challenges to the crop insurance program so that our farmers continue to have a safety net in the years to come. As work continues to bring permanent flood protection to the Red River Valley, I will continue to support funding for a diversion and for water retention projects that will help to mitigate flooding throughout the Valley. As this process moves forward, I will continue my efforts to bring people together so we can achieve permanent flood protection for the region. Like many Minnesotans, I am concerned that our nation is heading down a dangerous path of unsustainable spending money we don’t have, but I firmly believe that by sending new leadership to Washington now, we can reverse course and get our country back on track. We need someone who will stand up to the big spenders in Washington, instead of rubberstamping the President’s failed liberal policies. Voters are worried about out of control spending, our increasing debt, ObamaCare and the overreach from the EPA. Skyrocketing health insurance premiums under ObamaCare are hurting families and small businesses. Farmers are worried about the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency rule that would redefine “navigable waters” and open the door for more costly regulation. I believe we should rollback government overreach and focus on smaller, smarter government. I believe we need to repeal ObamaCare immediately. There are a handful of decent policies that exist in this 2,400 page law, like coverage for preexisting conditions or allowing children up to the age of 26 to stay on their parent’s insurance, but most of the bill has proven to be unpopular and unworkable. I will work to repeal ObamaCare and start over with bipartisan, common sense solutions for doctors and patients. We need reform that increases flexibility, expands options, and lowers costs. I was raised on a dairy farm, and know firsthand the hard work and sacrifice that goes into running an agribusiness. I will be a strong and vocal advocate for agriculture in Congress, and fight for policies that help keep Minnesota a leader in agriculture, starting with reining in an out-of-control EPA and protecting policies that support ethanol and renewables. Farmers who work in the field, not bureaucrats in Washington, know best how to maintain and protect America’s heartland. Flood diversion in FargoMoorhead is a top priority for both Minnesotans and North Dakotans. A plan and implementation strategy that meets the needs of both states can only be found through dialog and compromise. I will work on a bipartisan basis with state and federal officials to secure funding for a plan that will provide a solution that works for residents and landowners for generations to come. 1. Why should voters choose you over your opponent? Candidates’ answers are in their own words and were not altered. However, in some instances, longer responses appear online. 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