With the March 20 primary on the horizon, Democratic candidates are hoping to sway voters in their direction.

As part of a continuous dialogue between candidates and their potential constituents, Democrats vying for the 18th District congressional seat are touting their positions on hot-button topics that have sparked debate and division in Washington.

Fostering Job Creation

With GOP congressional primaries a non-issue after the Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that Darrel Miller of Danvers was 17 signatures short of the 600 required to place his name on the ballot, voter attention has turned to two candidates that will face off in the Democratic primary this spring: Matthew Woodmancy from Pekin and Easton resident Steve Waterworth. Woodmancy, 28, an Assistant Manager at Gumby’s Pizza in Normal, saysWashington leaders must be “willing to make the hard choices to balance this budget and return this nation to prosperity.”

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that in 2012 the federal government will spend over $1 trillion dollars for the fourth year in a row. The nation’s current $15.4 trillion deficit, which stood at $10.63 trillion when President Obama took office, must be mitigated, Woodmancy says, by “strengthening the unions of America so that more qualified people are available to employers. We must become competitive with the world market in order to attract manufacturing back to the United States.”

The current tax code acts as a malaise to the middle class and should be amended to place “legitimate and fair” taxes on all citizens, not “allowing for loopholes or shelters beyond those that encourage businesses to grow and strengthen the economy.”

The Pekin Democrat is in favor of fostering long-term job growth in the private sector and says education would “provide a workforce capable of meeting the needs of modern manufacturers. Woodmancy also says trade agreements must be renegotiated to ensure that foreign manufacturers that receive trade incentives conduct 50 percent or more of their manufacturing in the United States for products sold in this country.

Waterworth, 64, says spending cuts should not be implemented without a decrease in the foreign trade deficit, which he calls “a tax on the economy. As the trade deficit is reduced, jobs will be created and revenue will increase,” he says, noting that over the past three decades monthly transfers of billions of dollars of American wealth to countries like China and India is “the major reason for our economic decline.”

Increasing import taxes on Chinese consumer goods will create confidence within the private sector for small business owners to begin investing in their businesses and creating jobs, he says. “Jobs . . . not just for highly-trained Americans but jobs more importantly for lesser or even untrained Americans.”

Building Our Role in World Affairs

With the rise of the Arab spring and talk of Israeli pre-emptive strikes against Iran, Waterworth says the United States should continue to play a major role in foreign affairs. The Easton Democrat, referencing America’s debt to China, says the foreign trade deficit puts America’s best foreign policy efforts at risk. We are “trillions of dollars in debt to a country that is also trying to be a major player on the world stage. It’s not a recipe for American foreign policy success.”

Woodmancy says the U.S. “must honor our commitment” in Afghanistan “to assist in the stabilization of their government, to assist in the rebuilding of their nation and to protect human rights.”

Amidst the impending threat of Iran’s nuclear program, the country, he says, “must work together to reach a diplomatic solution,” adding that Iran is within its rights to develop “a safe and economical energy infrastructure.”

Immigration reform is another hot-button topic on the agenda this year, and much controversy has surrounded how the U.S. government should treat the 12 million immigrants here illegally. The Pekin Democrat says the government should “revise the immigration code to allow people with good records and honest desires” to come to the U.S. Those immigrants who reside in the country illegally “should be dealt with on a case by case basis” and returned to their country if they are found to have committed illegal activity.

Waterworth calls immigrants “an important resource for the good of America” and says “one caveat is that we have to slow . . . the flow of illegal immigrants. As we decrease our foreign trade deficit bringing millions of jobs back to China, immigrants will be seen as an important resource and not a drag on our economy.”

Protection from Poverty

Amid the country’s growing concerns are rising costs of entitlement programs, which have driven America’s debt increasingly over the years. Medicare and Social Security programs are projected to go bankrupt by 2024 and 2036 respectively. By 2020, Medicare and Medicaid costs could account for one-fourth of federal spending.

“In order to preserve the Social Security System, we must remove the earnings cap of $108,000 and apply a flat rate of 6.2 percent on all wages or earnings for all Americans,” says Woodmancy. “Employer contributions will continue to be 6.2 percent but would cap at $200,000. If we level the playing field in this manner, we shift the burden of Social Security on all Americans, preserve the ability of employers to create jobs and pay decent living wages and protect our senior citizens from poverty.”

Waterworth denies he will support the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which will have broad powers to cut Medicare spending should Congress fail to bring spending under control. He says cutting Medicare would have a “bad effect” on the medical system. “Medicare insolvency problems without a doubt are the result of the loss of American wealth to other countries like China,” he says, adding that Medicare funding challenges can be “largely solved” by decreasing the foreign trade deficit.

Energy Needs

The issue of U.S. energy production and conservation to decrease the nation’s reliance on foreign oil has spurred debate in the nation’s capital. “Americans aren’t addicted to oil,” says Waterworth, “they’re addicted to the mobility that oil gives them.” Advocating America’s return to “plentiful energy” created in America rather than exporting wealth to OPEC and other “big oil” companies, he says “oil must be replaced” so Americans can continue to maintain their current standard of living.

“Expanding the drilling for oil at the expense of our environment is no longer an alternative,” Woodmancy adds, citing the development of “safe and abundant resources,” such as clean coal and Thorium reactors, as the “only two sources we can and should be exploring.” The development of such options, he says, would provide “safe and sensible fuel” for future generations and put hundreds of Americans back to work.