(WUSA) - The Virginia Senate race is heating up with just 13 days left until the election.
9News's Peggy Fox is tracking where George Allen and Tim Kaine stand on the issues.
JOB CREATION
How would you create jobs as a United States Senator? Here's Tim Kaine's answer.
"First, level the playing field for small businesses. The job creators are not Exxon Mobile. The Big tax breaks to big oil companies that
doesn't create jobs. Second, I'd build
more. Investments and infrastructure,
you know like Rail to Dulles or highway so bridge, or the broad band roll out."
George Allen says cutting taxes and regulations will create
jobs.
"Reducing the tax to
a more flat simple fair and competitive tax
20 percent, 500,000 jobs will be created a year. There's too many onerous burdensome
regulations what are an impediment for business small business. Particularly Obamacare. "
OBAMACARE
That's why Allen says he's out to repeal and replace the Affordable
Health Care ACT.
"Obamacare is an impediment to any business that is anywhere
near 50 employees. Doesn't want to get
anywhere near 50. I'm one who is a strong proponent of
affordable for personal portable health politices and have your own health care savings account."
Tim Kaine: "To repeal
the Affordable Care Act, that would be a bad thing. You would take kids who are 21 to 26 and
you'd kick them off their family policies. The Affordable Care provided seniors
free preventative care under Medicare
and helped them with prescription drug prices, suddenly, they're not going to
get that."
BUSH ERA TAX CUTS
President Obama favors letting the Bush era tax cuts expire for those making $250,000 or more. Tim Kaine wants the threshold raised to
income levels at $500,000, and put the
revenue toward budget cuts, reducing the impact of the Sequestration's $1 trillion of cuts to both defense
and domestic spending.
Tim Kaine: "If we let
the bush era tax cuts expire over 500-thousand. We
don't have to make a trillion dollars
worth of cuts, we have to make 500 billion worth of cuts."
SEQUESTRATION
George Allen: "The
paramount responsibility of the Federal government is defense. We ought not to be cutting national security. What's
needed is, these cuts need to be stopped.
There are a variety of ways to cut spending."
Allen is opposed to tax increases.
Allen: "We have a weak fragile economy, raising taxes
doesn't create more jobs. Except maybe at the IRS. "
Both candidates' positions are closely aligned with their parties' presidential candidates. Neither Allen nor Romney give details of what they might cut to balance the budget, since they're opposed to raising taxes. Allen says allowing more coal mining and off-shore drilling will create a manufacturing renaissance, and make tax increases unnecessary.