In the race for the House seat of North Carolina's 1st Congressional District, Democrat G.K. Butterfield is seeking a sixth consecutive term against Republican Arthur Rich, who has never held public office. With less than a week until Election Day, take a look at how the candidates match up on key issues.
-Butterfield: Encourages domestic manufacturing and promotes the export of American goods, and has proposed energy saving plans intended to cut costs for local businesses and promote green jobs.
-Rich: Wants to promote start-ups in North Carolina by eliminating the role of federal government in state and local businesses. Wants to create jobs by increasing industry and domestic trade, and supports the overhaul of the current unemployment benefits system
-Minimum wage
-Butterfield: Advocates for an increase in minimum wage, citing that this will be one step towards ending the cycle of poverty in North Carolina and the United States.
-Rich: Proposes to eliminate taxes on minimum wage and thus increase income, resulting in more disposable income in order to help workers upgrade existence toward a livable level.
-Butterfield: Supports requiring states to implement education reforms independent of the national government. Wants to extend the current interest rates on federal loan program for many undergraduate students, saying that allowing current interest rates to expire would burden students
-Rich: Is against federal influence in state education, and promotes pay raises for teachers and administration.
-Butterfield: Has voted yes on legislation expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines, and has voted against legislation banning federal health coverage that includes abortion.
-Rich: Is strongly pro-life.
-Butterfield: Voted for informing Mexico about the Minuteman Project, a group of volunteers who have taken on surveillance of the Mexican border for undocumented immigrants, and also voted against building a fence along the Mexican border.
-Rich: Advocates for "shared responsibility" of undocumented immigrants between federal agencies and those employing immigrants. Is against breaking up families and seeks to guide undocumented children to citizenship.
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