24Jun
Our national debt of over $9 trillion, and growing by over $1.5 billion per day, has weakened our economy and created a monumental tax burden for future generations. While the Bush administration has squandered billions on an unnecessary war and government mismanagement, Congress continues to be controlled by special interests.
I am beholden to no special interests and am strongly committed to putting our fiscal house in order. I will reach across the aisle in an honest effort to cut unnecessary spending and will pursue a “pay-go“ policy that requires new programs to be paid for by other cuts in spending.
Our world is being challenged as never before by escalating demand for energy, food and other vital commodities. Of particular concern is the urgent need to develop alternatives to high priced oil. The Bush administration and my opponent Darrell Issa continue to call for more oil drilling to solve our energy problems while Germany, Brazil and other nations develop better solutions. Continue reading »
11Feb
We need to gradually, responsibly withdraw our troops from Iraq as soon as possible so that we will be able to effectively fight the terrorist networks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other parts of the world.
Our military and civilian officials should drive the withdrawal. The perception that U. S. troops will be in Iraq indefinitely discourages Iraqi ownership of the political process and fuels terrorist hatred. We should have our troops out by the end of 2009.
While violence is down in Iraq, for many reasons, the national reconciliation promised by Iraqi politicians has not occurred. We are stuck in a peacekeeping role as we continue to drain our treasury and degrade our military strength.
We need to bring other countries into the effort to preserve the progress that has been made and pressure the Iraqis to resolve their political issues. For the most part, our allies and friends have abandoned us because of their dislike for the current administration’s foreign policies. We need to reestablish a good working relationship with our allies and include Iraq’s neighbors, who want to avoid the spillover chaos of all-out civil war.
11Feb
I will work diligently to ensure that we provide excellent medical care to all of our injured veterans.
Where Veterans Hospital facilities are remote, we must pay for veterans to go to comparable, or better, civilian facilities closer to home.
The incumbent, Darrel Issa, has only a 29% approval rating from the conservative Disabled Veterans Association and his Congressional Republican colleagues from Southern California also have very low approval ratings. These results indicate an appalling lack of support for veterans, and you can be sure that I will do better. I will work with Congressman Bob Filner (96% approval) and Congresswoman Susan Davis (95% approval) who have shown real leadership and results in supporting our veterans.
11Feb
We must continue to improve our education system nationally to provide the skilled research and workforce needed to solve problems, compete globally, and meet the needs of the future.
I would urge expansion of early education programs, further reductions in classroom sizes, especially in middle schools and high schools, and making higher education costs affordable. We need incentives to attract qualified science and math teachers and to provide experienced and motivated teachers for inner-city schools.
I want to repeal the No Child Left Behind legislation because it sets unreasonable standards and punishes schools that need help most. While student achievement needs to be measured, I believe the federal government has taken too heavy a hand in that process. The best schools are the product of effective management at the local level, parent participation in the school and in their child’s education, and support and appreciation for teachers who are motivated to care through a sense of their own accomplishment, rather than testing forced on them by Washington.
11Feb
We must reverse the trend toward global warming by investing in clean energy production.
Indeed we can become global leaders in new industries that protect the environment and answer the need for alternative energy solutions.
We must practice good stewardship of our resources in the country, balancing the demands of business and consumer with the obligation we have to ourselves and to generations to come of leaving this land and its resources beautiful and healthy.
Our national debt of over $9 trillion, and growing by over $1.5 billion per day, has weakened our economy and created a monumental tax burden for future generations. While the Bush administration has squandered billions on an unnecessary war and government mismanagement, Congress continues to be controlled by special interests.
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