Tom Tarter, U.S. Senate Republican candidate profile

Candidate profile

Dr. Tom Tarter

Running for:United States Senate

Political/civic background: I have never held or sought public elected office. I was elected President of the Associated Students of Linfield College in 1976. The ASLC managed the Student Center and provided social and cultural programs. I was elected to a 6-physician Board of Governors of a 350-physician group practice in Champaign, Illinois (the Carle Clinic Association), and to the Board of Directors of Health Alliance Medical Plans in Urbana, Illinois. While on the faculty of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, I was elected to the SIU Faculty Senate where I served for 2 years. Most recently, I served on the Health Policy Council of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association. For the last 6 years, I have served as Chairman of the Decatur Memorial Hospital Cancer Committee, and our community cancer program is accredited by the Committee on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. In our last accreditation cycle, which just concluded, the program received 5 of 6 commendations, one of the best cancer programs in the State of Illinois.

Occupation: Urological Oncologist (Urologist with sub-specialty in oncology)

Education:Medicine M.D., Albany Medical College Albany, New York; Anatomy Ph.D., 1983, Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine; Biology B.A., 1977, Linfield College McMinnville, Oregon

Campaign website: DrTarter.com

Twitter: @DrTarter

The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board sent candidates for the U.S. Senate a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing the state of Illinois and the country. Dr. Tom Tarter submitted the following responses:

Please tell us about your civic work in the last two years, whether it’s legislation you have sponsored or other paid or volunteer work to improve your community.

I have been a national leader in the treatment of urologic cancer and am recognized as an expert in urologic cancer care. Over the last 2 years, I served as Chairman of the Decatur Memorial Hospital Cancer Committee which oversees our community cancer program and is accredited by the Committee on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. In our last accreditation cycle, which just concluded, the program received 5 of 6 commendations, indicating that we have one of the best cancer programs in the State of Illinois.

I have also served on the Health Policy Council of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association which was focused on federal healthcare policy. I moderated a session at our annual meeting on delivery of urological care to rural America.

I provided free prostate cancer screenings in Decatur, Illinois over the last 8 years underwritten by the Carpenters Union targeting high-risk groups, especially African American men.

Outside of volunteer work in the field of healthcare, I have been a volunteer and contributor for the Sangamon County Republican Party.

What are your views on the decision by the U.S. House to impeach President Donald Trump? Has the impeachment process been fair or not? How so? If, in your view, the president should not have been impeached, would you have supported censure? Please explain.


The articles of impeachment are not based on crimes. No crime is alleged in the two Articles. The Constitution is clear that a President can be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. If the President abused the power of his office, a crime must be alleged. In terms of the second Article, Obstruction of Congress cannot be alleged when a President claims executive privilege. Even in the absence of a claim of executive privilege, it is the duty of Congress, to have the dispute decided by the Judicial Branch. The separation of powers and the impeachment process is basic civics, and protects our democracy from the tyranny of the majority. The impeachment Articles do not allege criminal conduct, and unlike the three other presidential impeachments in our 230-year history as a Constitutional Republic, it is not bipartisan. The only bipartisan votes have been against impeachment.

I also would not support censure, because, speaking for Republicans, we are tired of being pushed around by the radical left. We support the President for the incredible progress he has made on illegal immigration, the economy with jobs and wage growth, nuclear testing in North Korea, resisting expansion of worldwide terrorism by Iran, standing up to China on trade, support of Israel, re-negotiating trade with Canada and Mexico and many other accomplishments.

Plans for impeachment, according to the Washington Post began before President Trump was sworn-in. Articles Impeachment efforts in the House have failed twice before. The Russia collusion Muller investigation lasted 675 days. There were 2,800 subpoenas, 500 witness depositions, and requests for information from 13 foreign governments. The investigation cost the American taxpayers $40 million. Articles of impeachment were promised then and not delivered. Some House members have promised to continue impeachment efforts after the President is acquitted. The impeachment of President Trump is a gift from the House Democrats for our country to have a united Republican federal government after November 2020. After that, I will help President Trump get the work done on immigration and health care for We The People.


How would you reduce the federal budget deficit, which now stands at about $1 trillion for 2020? What changes, if any, to the U.S. tax code do you support and why?


While there are a number of opportunities to cut spending by addressing low-hanging fruit like duplication of services and government waste, the best way to reduce the deficit is to address our spending addiction with zero-based budgeting across the board. We need to require government agencies to justify their spending based on needs, and not simply increases in every category based on what they spent the year before. I support making the Trump tax cuts permanent because even blue states benefited from an increase of tax revenue. Dick Durbin fought against the Trump tax cuts, yet in 2018, tax revenue in Illinois increased by $1.5 billion. When the economy grows, state tax revenues increase. Economic growth with low taxes and regulatory relief on business will lead to increased revenues for the federal government which will help reduce the deficit.


What changes would you like to see made to our nation’s healthcare system? Would you shore up the Affordable Care Act or work to repeal it in full? What’s your view on Medicare for All? And what should be done, if anything, to bring down the cost of prescription drugs?

I do not support a single-payer health care system. “Medicare for All” is a lie. It is a single-payer system that prohibits cost-sharing. Another report came out in May 2019, other than the Muller Report, and that was a report of the Congressional Budget Office on a single-payer health care system, which was requested by House Democrats. The report explains fundamental economic truths, that when a service is perceived as free, the demand for that service increases. The only way to control costs in that case is to reduce services (rationing of care), and to reduce reimbursement (loss of providers). There are 104 Democrat sponsors in the House and 14 in the Senate of a single-payer health care plan. Dick Durbin supports “Medicare for All” and I do not.

He says that “health care is a right, not just for the wealthy.” Of course, health care is a right. The wealthy will take their health care dollars where they get value (a good outcome for a low cost). About 60,000 Canadians cross our border each year to purchase health care services. India’s medical travel industry will bring in $9 billion in 2020. With a single-payer plan, I also worry about a harmful decline in medical research and innovation. There are sensible market-driven solutions to reducing the cost of healthcare in the United States. I truly believe that we do not need to spend 17.5% of GDP on health care. Dick Durbin says that he wants doctors to treat patients and not spend our time-fighting insurance companies. Fighting insurance companies pale in comparison to the $34 billion we spend staying in compliance with Medicare regulations, most of which have nothing to do with patient safety and health outcomes.

I will work for Americans to have access to the best medical care in the world while instituting commonsense policies that make health care and insurance more affordable. This includes price and outcome transparency, expanded dollar amount and uses of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), regulatory relief on providers and hospitals, malpractice tort reform, small business insurance pools, low-cost short-term insurance plans, and primary care membership plans.


The Trump administration is awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court as to whether it can end the DACA program — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — which shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Do you support or oppose DACA and why? Should a path to citizenship be created for the so-called DREAMers? Please explain.


The constitutionality of the Executive Order for DACA by President Obama will be decided by the Supreme Court. Supporting or not supporting DACA isn’t the right question for a candidate. The question is before the Supreme Court. Supporting or not supporting the Dreamers is the real question. The Dreamers are a special category of illegal immigrants. They are special not because many would make great citizens who have made contributions. They are not special because Dick Durbin pleads their case on the well of the senate with big pictures of beautiful doe-eyed young adults who have not committed crimes. They are special because they have registered with the federal government, and have visas. No other illegal immigrants have this privilege. I do not support illegal immigration, and I certainly do not support government services such as healthcare, education, driver’s licenses and the privileges of citizenship for illegal immigrants.

However, for the small proportion known as Dreamers, I will support an expedited pathway to citizenship for the 900 who have served in our armed forces. For the 8% or nearly 60,000 Dreamers who have criminal records, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, they can achieve legal resident status after paying their debt to society but should not have a pathway to citizenship. For the remaining 91%, I would support a point system with time to citizenship dependent on work history, educational attainment, community service, and desire to assimilate to our society.

What are the three most important issues in your district on which the federal government can and should act?


The most important issue is immigration. I will support full funding of the Department of Homeland Security appropriation request to fully fund Customs and Border Protection CBP) with a wall and technology. I will support the CBP Air and Marine Vision and Strategy 2030 ten-year plan to keep our country secure. I do not believe a comprehensive immigration bill is possible. Big comprehensive legislation fails, and we need wins.

In addition to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations, I would support federal legislation to deal with asylum claims and illegal border crossings. I would like to have more immigration judges and courtrooms on the border, in addition to the family detention facilities. The asylum claim backlog needs to be resolved. Asylum claims need to be adjudicated fairly and humanely, but much more expeditiously. Illegal immigrants should not be released into the interior with little hope of a voluntary court appearance. Illegal immigrants who have a criminal history need to be deported. Illegal immigrants should not be allowed an asylum claim if they traveled through another country without seeking asylum in that country. I will support legislation ending birthright citizenship, and the Court can decide if the legislation violates the 14th amendment, which was ratified in order to allow children of former slaves citizenship. American babies born overseas are not citizens of countries where they are born.

Our legal immigration system is outdated. The number of H1 and H2 visas needs to be constantly evaluated to accommodate the needs of our country. For those legal immigrants who seek a pathway to citizenship, the number allowed each year needs to be based on our country’s needs. The family-based chain migration system needs to transition to a merit-based system that serves the future needs of America. To this end, country caps and the lottery need to be eliminated. We need more immigration, not less. We need to expand the American family to those who will contribute and assimilate. My neighbors are Americans who are from Hungary, Syria, and Jordan. We are Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. Our kids grew up together, and we celebrate Independence Day together. We need more, not less legal immigration for the future of our great nation.

Another crucial issue is standing with President Trump against socialism and helping him continue to grow our booming economy. Despite Dick Durbin’s opposition, the 2017 tax cuts and regulatory relief on business have stimulated our economy. The unemployment rate is at a historic low in all racial groups, women, and individuals without a high school diploma. The U.S. leads the world in wage and salary growth, and hundreds of billions in profits have come back from overseas. I support making the tax cuts permanent, cutting spending to reduce the national debt, reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses, and balancing our budget.

The third most important issue is healthcare. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been a doctor in Illinois for 23 years. I will ensure Americans continue to have access to the best medical care in the world while instituting commonsense policies that make health care and insurance more affordable. This includes price and outcome transparency, insurance sold across state lines, expanded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), regulatory relief on providers and hospitals, malpractice tort reform, small business insurance pools, low-cost short-term insurance plans, and primary care membership plans.


What is the biggest difference between you and your opponent(s)?


Knowledge of the issues is the biggest difference. There is no Republican (or Democrat) candidate for United States Senator in Illinois who has more experience, and who is more knowledgeable on U.S. healthcare policy than me. This will be the number one issue in the general election. In addition to the usual campaign engagements, I read and I do my homework. I know what I don’t know, and I work very hard to understand the issues from immigration reform, to the Farm Bureau legislative agenda, to Veterans issues, to energy policy, etc. I don’t hear anything in-depth on the issues that affect the citizens of Illinois from my opponents. They throw out a lot of red meat, which may serve them to a certain point in a Republican primary, but I trust that the voters will know who they can trust to represent them in the Senate, the greatest deliberative body on Earth. My work ethic also translates into a more advanced campaign. I have raised the most money, spent the least, done state-wide polling by a firm that has polled for the RNC, and I have hired my political team. I anticipate earning the Republican nomination for United States Senate in Illinois.

What action should Congress take, if any, to reduce gun violence?


I am committed to the protection of a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. Citizens have a right to protect themselves. There are already many restrictions on ownership of firearms. Local authorities, not Congress, have the duty to protect their neighbors from gun violence. Congress should direct the Department of Education to provide schools with guidelines to protect students and to harden schools to reduce the risk of gun violence.

Is climate change real? Is it significantly man-made? Is it a threat to humankind? What if anything should Congress and the federal government do about it?

There is general consensus that the climate is changing but the degree to which human activity contributes is debatable. No one is saying the climate isn’t changing, but we need to develop realistic solutions that don’t destroy our economy, further overburden our taxpayers, and make Americans less safe by making us dependent again on countries that wish to do us harm. One of President Trump’s least-heralded accomplishments is increasing our domestic energy production to the point where we are now a net energy exporter and fully energy independent, which is a significant accomplishment that makes our country safer and more prosperous.

We should be taking steps to improve our environment and reduce our carbon footprint. The best solution is increasing our nuclear energy. Here in Illinois, nuclear energy generates 52% of our state’s electricity while emitting no greenhouse gases. It is also our most reliable power source, producing electricity around-the-clock. On a bigger scale, nuclear energy provides 55% of our country’s clean energy, making it the largest domestic source of clean energy and the most reliable energy source. The American government has put billions of dollars into the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository that was shut down under the Obama Administration. We need a central repository for waste that is open and utilized. We have the ability right now to increase nuclear energy in America to lower greenhouse gases, and create jobs. The alternative Green New Deal would destroy our economy and reduce our energy independence.

What should Congress do to ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare?


Social Security is misunderstood by most Americans. It was designed as a trust fund when the average life expectancy was 61 years. In those days, with a retirement age that hasn’t changed, if a retiree got a check, he beat the odds. But the trust fund has been raided over the years for other government programs and IOUs were issued with each raid. Now the IOUs are running out, and the system will be insolvent by 2037. The trust fund is not interest-bearing and is a ruse. Today a trillion dollars goes into the fund through taxes and a little more than a trillion dollars goes out in benefits. There is no “fund.”

There are only so many options for saving the social security system, which was originally intended for the elderly, who had no other income. The options are 1) raise social taxes, 2) index the retirement age to the average life expectancy, 3) make the benefit the same for everyone so that higher-paid beneficiaries would receive less and lower-paid beneficiaries would be paid more, and 4) allow a portion of the Social Security withholding to be invested in an interest-bearing instrument like an IRA for those citizens who elect to do so. I personally prefer a combination of options 2, 3 and 4. Social Security can be saved, but the more time that is wasted by career politicians, the more difficult the will be. Medicare is tied to Social Security, and the same solutions apply.


What should Congress do to address the student loan crisis? Would you use the word “crisis”?

There are no circumstances in which the taxpayers should favor a single subset of individuals and pay off their debts. Our tax dollars should be going towards keeping our country safe and growing our economy, so those benefits can be enjoyed by all our citizens. At 67, I am still paying off student loans from medical school. I have not and will not look for the American taxpayers to assist me. I believe in personal responsibility and not government handouts. I believe we need to teach our children to take responsibility for their futures. If they do so, we’ll see more of our young people make smart decisions as to their educational paths, including looking to lower-cost secondary education or pursuing careers in manufacturing and the trades, where skilled labor is desperately needed and young people can have lucrative and rewarding careers. I would support a loan forgiveness program for doctors, teachers, engineers, and other professions to have student loan relief if they decide to work in underserved areas. Part of their form of payment could go towards loan relief without giving away government handouts that hurt our taxpayers.


What should our nation’s relationship be with Russia?

There are many areas where we don’t agree with Russia and have to be strict with them, but there are areas where we need to be diplomatic with Russia. We need to be trading partners with Russia as they have one of the biggest economies in the world. We also need to have open educational and diplomatic exchange between our two counties. But at the same time, we must fight back against Russian aggression, whether it is interfering with our elections or military aggression in Europe. On a personal level, my wife and I were able to adopt our three beautiful sons from Russia when relations were better between our countries. Unfortunately, Americans can no longer adopt children from Russia. I anticipate that relations will be more normal after Putin is no longer in charge. Until then, we need to be polite and firm.

What’s your view on the use of tariffs in international commerce? Has President Trump imposed tariffs properly and effectively? Please explain.


President Trump’s approach has brought countries with which we have unfair trade deals to the table to renegotiate. I applaud President Trump for his leadership on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that eliminates NAFTA and creates freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America. In Illinois, particularly, the USMCA is a huge win for our farmers, manufacturers, and businesses that do trade with our neighboring North American countries.

China has been taking advantage of the United States for far too long. The United States has been losing money and intellectual property while China has been reaping the benefits. In early December, the United States and China reached a historic phase one agreement that benefits our intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange.

We must continue to renegotiate decade-old trade agreements to put America first and create fairer trade between us and other countries. While the tariffs initially called for a temporary sacrifice among the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, our economic future already looks much brighter based on President Trump’s leadership on trade agreements.

Does the United States have a responsibility to promote democracy in other countries? Please explain.


Many countries around the world look to the United States as the beacon of hope and the example of democracy. As the freest and democratic country in the world, we should promote that for all countries around the world. If a nation seeks our help to preserve their democracy or seek our advice on how to build a democratic society, we should help. What we should not do is exert dominance in countries by nation-building that could potentially lead to upheaval and conflict. Unfortunately, we have tried too hard in the past to nation-build and have been caught up in never-ending conflicts that put our service men and women in harm’s way, and cost our country billions in treasure.

What should Congress do to limit the proliferation of nuclear arms?


We first need to be more proactive against countries like Iran and North Korea who pose serious threats to countries around the world with their efforts to gain nuclear arms. We have seen firsthand how President Trump’s leadership has halted North Korea’s nuclear testing. We must work with our allies to cut off the supply of materials used in making nuclear weapons. We should work with our allies and international nuclear arms agencies like the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs to monitor counties to ensure they are complying with treaties and not maliciously producing nuclear arms.

We also need to develop common sense treaties with allied countries and countries who wish to produce nuclear arms to keep Americans and our allies safe. These treaties should have no sunset clauses or misinterpretations like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Please list all relatives on public or campaign payrolls and their jobs on those payrolls.


My wife works for the Sangamon County Republican Central Committee as an administrative assistant to the Chairman. My son Andrei works in the Sangamon County Circuit Court Clerk’s office.


What historical figure from Illinois, other than Abraham Lincoln (because everybody’s big on Abe), do you most admire or draw inspiration from? Please explain.


My great, great grandfather James H. Howard who served in the last years of the Civil War. He was a selfless man who served in the Civil War out of conviction to preserve the Union. He enlisted in place of his oldest son who was drafted. He left his farm in Waukegan, Illinois to put his life on the line to preserve the Union. As one of the older men in the war, he quickly rose to the rank of sergeant and became a father figure to the men in his company. I’ve read over a hundred letters he wrote home during his time in the Civil War. He was a man of religious conviction and had great compassion for his fellow men. He died of his war wounds a few months after the war on his farm in Waukegan. James H. Howard is the historical figure from Illinois I admire the most. My middle name is Howard to carry on the family name. I believe my great, great grandfather would be proud of me for sacrificing my career and comfortable life for this campaign to make Illinois and the United States healthier, more secure, and more prosperous.


What’s your favorite TV, streaming or web-based show of all time. Why?

It’s hard to pick just one show, so my favorites are The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Family Ties, and Firing Line with James Buckley Jr. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Family Ties always provided good humor and family time, while Firing Line was intellectual but highly entertaining. Frankly, I don’t watch much television, but I enjoy the History and Food Channels.