Fayetteville Observer Voter Guide 2022: Meet the candidates for U.S. House District 7

North Carolina State Rep. Charles Graham, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. David Rouzer for the U.S. House District 7 seat.

Below are the candidates' responses to a Fayetteville Observer questionnaire. Responses have been edited for style and grammar.

David Rouzer

Name: David Rouzer

Age: 50

Immediate family: Father; mother, Jennifer; brother, Andrew

Occupation: Member of Congress

Elected office held: U.S. Congress, North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District

Contact: Campaign Manager, Chance Lambeth, chance@davidrouzer.com; davidrouzer.com; facebook.com/electdavidrouzer

What is your position on abortion? Should it remain legal in North Carolina and if so, with what restrictions? If it is banned at either the state or national level, what exceptions should be made? I am pro-life and will always fight for the rights of the most vulnerable among us who cannot speak for themselves. In their 1973 ruling on Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court made up a constitutional right to abortion the U.S. Constitution says nothing about and therefore did not — and does not — exist. The recent Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs took this issue out of the hands of the courts and returned it to the people. The respective states, through their elected representatives, can now decide what laws, if any, they want governing if and when an abortion can occur. At the federal level, Congress has traditionally prohibited federal taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions here and in other countries, and I will continue to work to keep these provisions intact.

What is your opinion on whether the federal government should forgive student loans? Just recently, the Congressional Budget Office announced President Biden’s student loan forgiveness will cost taxpayers approximately $400 billion. This reinforces what Americans already know. Forgiving student loans rewards very few at the expense of others, incentivizes students not to pay off student loan debt in the future, further increases college tuition and other fees, and stokes the flames of inflation. Student loan forgiveness is just another hidden tax imposed by the federal government on those who work and pay their bills.

What can be done about gun violence in the United States? We need solutions to improve school security and address the root causes of gun violence. We have a crisis of the heart and mind among some youth and younger adults in our country resulting from a variety of issues — everything from a bad home life, mental health issues, drug abuse, garbage consumed from violent and desensitizing content, and gangs to cite just a handful of factors. Only when we address these and underlying societal issues with moral clarity will substantial progress be made. In the meantime, I strongly support and am a co-sponsor of legislation to better fortify our schools and put in place well trained counselors as well as school resource officers:

• H.R. 7966 – the STOP II, Secure Every School and Protect our Nation’s Children Act• H.R. 6712 – the School Resource Officer Act• H.R. 6132 – the Public Safety Enhancement Act• H.R. 2717 – the Safer Schools Act

Charles Graham

Charles Graham did not respond to the Observer's questionnaire.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Voter Guide: Meet U.S. House District 7 candidates Graham, Rouzer