This week, the Ledger continues its question-and-answer series with Connecticut’s Congressional candidates with the candidates for office in the Fifth Congressional District – the incumbent, Democrat Christopher Murphy, and his Republican challenger Samuel Caligiuri.

CHRIS MURPHY
Christopher S. Murphy is currently serving his second term representing Connecticut’s Fifth District, which includes the towns of Danbury, Meriden, New Britain, and Waterbury. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and its Health and Telecommunications Subcommittees. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its National Security and Foreign Affairs and Government Management, Organization and Procurement Subcommittees.
Prior to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly. He spent four years representing Southington and the 81st district in the House, and then spent four years representing the 16th Senatorial District, which includes the towns of Waterbury, Wolcott, Cheshire and Southington. While in the Senate, he served as the chairman of the Public Health committee.
Murphy grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating with honors and a double major in history and political science. In 2002, he graduated from UConn Law School. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006 with the firm of Ruben, Johnson & Morgan in Hartford.
Murphy is married to Cathy Holahan, a legal aid attorney. The couple and their son Owen reside in Cheshire.

SAM CALIGIURI
In July 2001, with the arrest of Waterbury Mayor Phillip Giordano, Sam S. F. Caligiuri, who was serving as president of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen, became the city’s acting mayor. He was elected a member of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen in 1997 and, three years later, was voted president of the board. Now a state senator, Caligiuri is in his second term representing Connecticut’s 16th District, consisting of Southington and Wolcott and parts of Cheshire and Waterbury. He is the deputy minority leader of the senate Republican caucus, and serves as a member of five legislative committees. He is the ranking member, or leading Republican Senator, serving on the Elementary & Secondary Education committee and the Insurance & Real Estate committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Regulation Review Committee.
A graduate of Boston College, he earned a Masters degree from Yale Divinity School and a Juris Doctorate from Catholic University of America. An attorney by profession, Caligiuri is a partner in the Hartford office of Day Pitney LLP. In 2002, he was awarded the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Impact Award.
A lifelong resident of Waterbury, Caligiuri and his wife Lori are the parents of Grace and Owen.

ON ISRAEL

Q: The Obama administration is pressuring Israel to extend the recently expired moratorium on settlement construction, which was instituted as a precondition to the peace talks. The Israelis say, however, that the moratorium has placed an undue burden on families living in those areas and, in any case, believes the talks should carry no preconditions. Where do you stand? If you support extension of the moratorium, would you also support, as a precondition to the talks, asking the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state?

MURPHY: Prime Minister Netanyahu should make the decision that best balances the short term and long term interests of the Israeli people. Extending the moratorium would certainly create an atmosphere more conducive to negotiations and the U.S. position on this is clear. That said, I believe talks should continue regardless of whether or not he decides to extend the moratorium. I do not support any pre-conditions on discussion between the two parties. The Palestinians waited until the moratorium was about to expire before beginning talks and the expiration should not be used as an excuse to end negotiations. This is an historic opportunity to advance the cause of comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a two-state solution, which ensures security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.
On the second question, Israel’s unique status as a homeland for the Jewish people should be questioned by no one. It should be a precondition of any agreement. It is a fact recognized all over the world and the Palestinians gain nothing by not conceding that Israel is indeed a Jewish state.

CALIGIURI: I support Israel’s position on this issue. Israel and its leaders know best what it needs and the United States should respect that fact in its policy pronouncements. The United States should not impose unilateral “solutions” in the region, especially when they publicly contradict Israel’s stated views on an issue.

Q: What role, if any, should the U.S. continue to play in the talks?

MURPHY: The United States should continue to play an active role in the negotiations. That doesn’t mean we need to be in every meeting – there is obviously value in direct bilateral discussions – but we should participate when it is reasonable and constructive for us to do so in order to advance the discussions.

CALIGIURI: The United States should play a central role in such talks. Israel has made it clear that it wants our help in advancing the Middle East peace process – we should not shy away from that obligation. We must continue to work towards peace in the Middle East, but the United States should never seek to impose a solution unilaterally on Israel and other parties or support initiatives that undermine Israel’s security and independence. Furthermore, U.S. policy makers must recognize the reality that a genuine and lasting peace agreement must have the support of all parties and that the Palestinians must abandon the views of its current government that Israel must be destroyed before a lasting peace can be achieved.

ON IRAN

Q: Do you believe the sanctions on Iran are proving effective in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons? If not, what do you think the administration’s next move should be?

MURPHY: Time will tell. It is too soon to tell exactly how things will play out and what calculations are being made in Tehran, but it is clear that the sanctions are affecting the Iranian economy and their ability to do business. That’s going to influence political decisions, including how to proceed with the nuclear program. For the time being, our best strategy is to move forward with crushing sanctions. This regime is concerned with self-preservation above all else.

CALIGIURI: The sanctions could be stronger and more effective. As a matter of policy, I believe that it is vital to American national security that we take every step possible to prevent Iran from realizing its nuclear ambitions. I would support, as a key part of our strategy for doing so, the toughest possible sanctions against Iran. I believe these sanctions should limit Iran’s access to refined petroleum products and apply to Iran’s central bank and any foreign entity doing business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In addition, the United States should implement current sanctions laws and promote the implementation of additional sanctions by the United Nations.

Q: There is ongoing speculation that Israel may ultimately take military action to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Would you support such action?

MURPHY: Israel is a sovereign country and is free to make whatever decision it feels is in its best interest. However, I clearly can’t predict my position on a hypothetical future military engagement without knowing the circumstances.

CALIGIURI: It’s difficult to give a blanket “yes” or “no” answer without seeing intelligence reports, but military action is an option that must remain “on the table.”

Q: Recently, Hillary Clinton seemed to suggest that we may have to learn to live with a nuclear Iran, and the way to do that is to help Middle Eastern countries, like Israel, develop the capacity to defend themselves against this nuclear threat. Do you agree?

MURPHY: It should be U.S. policy to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. I hope that our current strategy of tough diplomacy combined with stringent sanctions will ultimately deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

CALIGIURI: I disagree with that suggestion. “Living with a nuclear Iran” should not be an option. As I stated earlier, a nuclear Iran represents an enormous threat to American national interests and must be resisted in every way

ON DEFENSE

Q: Cutting spending will be a priority for the next Congress. There are those promoting cuts to the defense budget in order to sustain domestic programs and/or cut the deficit. Where do you stand on this issue? What actions will you take to retain Connecticut’s stake in this budgetary item if defense programs need to be cut?

MURPHY: Congress should spend every dollar necessary to protect this nation. Clearly, we must make tough choices to reduce spending and reduce the deficit, but these choices should not compromise national security. I believe that all options should be on the table, including wasteful or duplicative military spending. An obvious example of this is the alternate engine for the F-35 fighter. The Defense Department estimates that it will cost an additional $2.9 billion to complete the project, on top of the $1.3 billion already spent on the duplicative engine. Additionally, we need to ensure that the Defense Department uses its funding wisely by purchasing from U.S. manufacturers, like those here in Connecticut. Too often the DoD uses waivers to skirt the intent of Buy American provisions, which puts manufacturing jobs at risk here at home.

CALIGIURI: Defending our nation is one of the core functions of the federal government. I will not support balancing our federal budget at the expense of our national security. Additionally, I support the security agreement between Israel and the United States providing for $30 billion in security assistance to Israel over a ten-year period. Adequate U.S. funding for Israel is necessary to protect our national security and must remain a top priority of Congress and the administration. This funding is critical to enabling Israel to maintain its qualitative military advantage in the region. I also support efforts to assist Israel in building more robust self-defense capabilities, including the purchase of F-35 fighter jets and installing bunker busters on existing F-15 and F-16 Israeli fighters.