Lee Rogers,

Thanks for taking this time to answer questions from my readers. To start off with I have a question. Why are you running for Congress?

Lee Rogers,

I remember you won a charity auction to meet with Buck McKeon. Can you update us on it?

Because I don't feel like we're being represented in Washington. So the real question is, why wouldn't I run for Congress? We have a Congress with the lowest approval rating in history. Men and women who feel entitled to use their elected position for personal gain. Officials who play chicken with our economy, waiting until the last minute to pass necessary spending bills while the markets respond badly and we lose our country's top credit rating. I am a doctor and I enjoy helping people and making things better. I want to bring my sense of compassion to Congress and actually improve the lives of people in our district. It sounds grandiose, but it's true. It's certainly not because of all the "positive" press one receives.

Re: College of the Canyons Auction

Congressman McKeon has not fulfilled his charity donation to the College of the Canyons. We called his office in the district and in Washington several times, and no reply.

Lee Rogers,

You argue that we have too much partisanship in Congress. Have you been able to attract bipartisan support for your campaign? What type of Republican proposals might you support?

What is a difficult question you have been asked while campaigning?

Why did you choose to live in Simi Valley?

Mr. Rogers, the current generation of college students are in a bind financially. Many students have to take out an exorbitant amount of money in loans to get a college degree in hopes of getting a decent job so they won't be condemned to poverty and mediocrity for the rest of their life. The debt that they graduate with starting off in their careers is going to force these people to purchase cars, houses, general goods and services, and get married and start families later.

Do you think that this is a concern to address for the sake of our national economic health? Do you plan to legislate/support legislation in order to help students? If so, do you believe this is a high priority for our nation to address? And what ideas do you have to improve the situation?

What ideas do you support to protect online privacy?

This is one of the most partisan Congress's in history. Last year, only 66 bills were passed, the lowest number since the Vietnam War. The partisan primary process keeps election more liberal Democrats and more conservative Republicans. Then voters are stuck with a difficult choice in the general election. At least in California our new primary process will allow more moderate candidates, like me, to make it to the general election.

I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment. I own guns. I used to be an avid hunter and I believe that most hunters are conservationist. We all want to see a clean sustainable environment.

I'm a supporter of a clean Balanced Budget Amendment. We can't trust Congress to do anything, they've been deficit spending for 10 years. They almost need to be forced to live within their means.

Similarly, I'm fiscally responsible. You can't spend more money than you revenue, unless in a state emergency.

I was not a supporter of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). I don't support repealing it and replacing it with 'nothing', like the House is doing on Wednesday, but I think it needs to be improved.

@Simi Valley; Why did you choose to live in Simi Valley?

I think for the same reasons that many people choose to live here. Good schools (I have 2 daughters), affordable housing, low crime, suburban feel. Our family really likes living here.

I moved to SoCal because I was recruited to create the Amputation Prevention Center at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. Since we've opened, we have received proclamations from Gov Schwartzenegger, the California Assembly, and the LA City Council for our work in preventing amputations in diabetes.

What are some of your favorite restaurants in Simi Valley?

How do you feel about our current state of military spending?
What specific things would you do to curb some of the spending in the military?

@Joshua Galanti re: education

Education should be a national priority. Without well-trained, educated young Americans entering the job market, our employers will have to look elsewhere for help. Education is the great equalizer. It allows one to move along the social ladder. It creates the American dream. But it is becoming so expensive to get a good education. I hear you! I owe $250,000 for college and medical school. American students now owe collectively $1 TRILLION, more than is owed on all credit cards. We can't allow a good education to become something that only the children of the wealthy can obtain.

Right now, for-profit colleges exploit students. We should have College presidents making as much as CEOs from billion-dollar companies. We need reforms to keep education affordable.

@Privacy,

I would not support SOPA or CISPA. I am a privacy advocate, online and in reality. I don't like that McKeon has inserted language into the FAA bill (which passed) that authorizes 30,000 drones to be in US airspace by 2020. I don't support "indefinite detention" in the NDAA, also authored by McKeon.

@Simi Valley re: my favorite restaurants

You can frequently find me at Panera Bread on Cochran, I sit there for hours doing fundraising calls with my finance director in the mornings.

Unfortunately, we rarely get to eat out, but we order in from Thai Kitchen, Indian Hawali, and Toppers Pizza. Pick-up at CPK. All good.

@tyler re:How do you feel about our current state of military spending?

We are ending 2 wars. We don't need the same level of spending we've had the past 10 years, I think that's a simple fact. The US spends more on defense than every other nation on the planet combined! There has to be a way to be more responsible with our defense dollar. Instead, we have McKeon, whose campaign is fully funded by the military-industrial complex, dictating to the Pentagon that they need to purchase weapons that the DOD doesn't want or need. McKeon just hired a Northrop Grumman VP to be Armed Services Committee staffer/advisor. And this VP walked out of Northrop Grumman with a $500,000 bonus.

http://www.republicreport.org/2012/grumman-500k-mckeon/

What do you think he'll be advocating for, more spending or more responsible spending?

We need to take money we save from the wars and instead divert it to Veterans Affairs to take care of the thousand coming back with physical and psychological problems.

Why would you prefer to work with the bureaucracy of the federal government over the bureaucracy of insurance companies?

Are you hiring?

I know a campaign can be expensive. Have you given your own campaign money to show supporters you are really serious?

@Medical re: Why would you prefer to work with the bureaucracy of the federal government over the bureaucracy of insurance companies?

That is a very astute question, because there is significant bureaucracy in both.

But in short, yes. I like dealing with Medicare. The rules are published in advance. Follow the rules, the care is covered. Doctors are paid within 10 days of electronic submission of claims. There are no denials after the fact (unless there is an audit). Patients can get care virtually anywhere in the country. Medicare strictly controls what the supplement insurance can do. Patients are not balanced-billed for the remaining uncovered costs.

Private insurers, PPOs, may pay more than Medicare - they frequently use an index based on Medicare rates, like 110% or 125%. But it takes significant resources from hospitals and doctors to get paid. Frequently, pre-authorized procedures are rejected later (YES) and you're stuck fighting it after the service has been provided. Overhead of private insurers is much higher than Medicare, 20% compared with 3%.

HMOs require pre-authorization for nearly everything. That leaves patients with a significant delay in treatment while doctors argue with the medical directors of the HMO. It's a real detriment to care.

Closed systems, like Kaiser, work well as long as you stay in the system.

What are you beliefs on the Supreme Court's ruling of Citizens United V. Federal Election Committee? Do you believe the Court should have re-visited the case?

Brian, re: money in campaigns

The campaign is enormously expensive. It's a shame that it is such. Because they are so costly, ordinary people are discourage from running for office. Who can afford to take off nearly 9 months of work to campaign? The average wealth of those in the House is about $6 million and in the Senate $13 million. When you look at the disparity between Congress and the average citizen, it is not so much that there are more men in Congress or more white people, it is that nearly everyone is wealthy. So that is why policies from Congress virtually always benefit the rich.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/averages.php

I have put in about $25,000 into the campaign. To date, we've raised nearly $300,000.

@Looking email us at info@LeeRogers2012.com campaigns are run as cheap as possible, so it's usually temp work, interns, or volunteers.

What type of guns do you own?

@Shari re: Citizens United v FEC

That was a sad day in American history. It broke a dam of money now flowing freely into the political system. Billionaires can just put a couple million here or there and truly affect the outcome of the election. Elections can be bought.

I support a Constitutional Amendment to reverse the effect of the Citizens United decision. I think it has broad bipartisan support and broad public support. It's the only way to reverse course unless the SCOTUS revisits the issue, which they just declined the opportunity.

1st term congressmen often have another veteran congress person that they look to for guidance in the House and have somebody in mind that they would model their voting record after. If anybody, who in congress currently would you say would reflect what your voting record would most be like when you enter congress?

@Protection re: types of guns

I have a Beretta .45 pistol, a Remington .22 pistol, a Remington 12 ga. my dad gave me, an old double barrel 12 ga. my grandpa gave my dad, and a .270 Remington.

I really enjoy target shooting the pistols. Haven't hunted in a while though.

What did Buck McKeon do wrong with his Countrywide deals? Is there proof he knew he was receiving special treatment? Has he paid back the illegal gift?

Do you think Buck McKeon broke any laws?

Are there legitimate uses of drones either in the United States of America or in other countries?

Do you support marriage equality?

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released their report which can be found here: http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Countrywide-112th-Report-7.3.12-1207-PM.pdf

McKeon starts on page 60. It's very easy to read and has images of the emails and other correspondence between Countrywide and Mckeon.

The report found:

1. He received 1% off his loan, waiver of garbage fees, and didn't have to provide documentation for the loan.
2. He was was not truthful when he denied the above to the press

This report was created by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and it did clear another Republican, Pete Sessions (R-TX), but it implicated McKeon.

While what he did was not ethical, according to this article he may have skirted the federal bribery statute: http://www.hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30231&Itemid=0

But, yes, this could be considered an unreported gift by House rules and the Ethics Committee will have to take that up.

I want the special deals to end. No more VIP treatment for Congress, which we all know results in quid pro quos. No more family members on your campaign payroll, so you can convert donations into personal funds. Congress should play by the same rules that everyone else does.

I am encouraged that you didn't support "Obamacare". I own a medical services business and my clients are doctors, and I don't know any that profess to like or support "Obamacare". How would you go about improving it?

@Liberty re: legitimate use of drones

Absolutely!

In our country: Patrolling the boarder. Monitoring traffic flow or for forrest fires. Finding lost hikers. Keeping track of migrating wildlife.

Abroad: Military uses for surveillance and strike capability. Finding SOS ships or survivors lost at sea.

Improper uses: Warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Armed drones in the US in any case.

Also, we have to consider the danger to civilian jetliners traveling in the same airspace. Drones are very large, and a collision between the two would bring both down. Strict safety protocols need to be implemented and used. The loss of any life is unacceptable.

@Liberty re: do you support marriage equality

I can not find a single Constitutional reason to discriminate against anyone based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. All people protected in the Constitution are given the same rights.

Or, Co, and WA will be voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use this November. What do you feel is the federal governements role in marijuana enforcement? how about the "war" on drugs in general?

@tyler re: who's voting record would be similar to mine

I don't know the answer to that question, because I haven't studied everyone's voting records completely and as soon as I would say Rep. John Smith, I'm sure there is something that I could find "he" voted for that I may not have.

I can say, that I am very independent in my thinking. I want to approach each issue by looking at it through the lens of 'what's best for the district'. I'm not a party loyalist. I want to be a district loyalist. These people sent me to Washington to represent them, not to have my hands tied by a party or special interest or by some pledge I've signed. I've refused to sign any pledge, by the way. Even ones I agree with.

What was the first presidential election you voted in? Do you remember who you voted for?

@David Goodwin re: Obamacare improvements

That's a whole book!

I give you a sneak preview though. On Wednesday I'm doing 3 press conferences in front of 3 hospitals in Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita, and Simi Valley, proposing improvements to the law. Let's get real, the law is here to stay. The House is voting on a repeal (yet again) on Wednesday that is only political grandstanding. The Senate won't take it up and the President won't sign it. So we have to get over the politics and propose real solutions beyond just repeal and replace with "nothing". Everything will be posted on our website: www.LeeRogers2012.com

I do feel like supporters of Obamacare have done a poor messaging job with the law. Certainly the opponents are winning the messaging war. The provisions individually (except the mandate) are popular. But when you put it all together and call it Obamacare, it's not popular.

I understand where you're coming from though. We have to repeal the device tax and the keep the 510k process. Email me or check out the website on Wednesday - and I'm open to suggestions.

@tyler re: recreational marijuana

I think we've lost the war on drugs. There are so many moving parts to it, not the least of which is the instability in Mexico. I'm a doctor, I know that marijuana is less dangerous to society than alcohol. It's not sensible to fill our overcrowded prisons with non-violent drug users at a tremendous cost to us. Drug addiction is a medical problem. It should be treated by medical professionals, not incarceration. Before we consider legalization for recreational use, it should at least be reclassified by the DEA as a Schedule II, giving doctors the legal authority to prescribe it for medical use. Even cocaine is a Schedule II.

@Brian re; first presidential election

I turned 18 in 1996 and remember voting for Bob Dole.

Dr. Lee Rogers,

Thanks for coming on and answering so many questions.

If you have more questions for Dr. Lee Rogers send him an email or message on Facebook.

Thank you to my readers for posting questions also.