The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California and asked of all candidates for this office.

See below for questions on Federal Resources, Foreign Policy, Federal Budget

Click on a name for other candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Pat Gray:

We need to elect a Representative who is concerned about the people of the district. We need to elect a Representative who receives most of the funds for the campaign from people who live in the district. In this way, we can feel confident that our concerns will have priority with our Representative.

Answer from Mike Garza:

We need to strengthen Republican representation in California's Congressional delegation, so California gets its fair share of Committee Chairs and federal resources!

Letting the Democrats have a majority in this state's delegation is depriving California of its fair share of political influence in Washington, D.C.!

Answer from Tom Lantos:

The major problem is that the federal funding provided to all states for homeland security, education, environment, transportation, care of our seniors, healthcare, and other critical programs is declining because of this Administration's massive tax cuts benefitting the super-rich and favored corporate special interests. The solution is to assure that big corporations and wealthy Americans contribute their fair share toward the costs of government.

Answer from Harland Harrison:

Cutting federal spending can make the system more fair to California, but the current pork-barrel politics will always short change a state like ours. As the most populous state, our two senate votes count for less per person. As a high-earning state, California pays enormous taxes, and can never hope to get the same share back. Scrambling for a "bigger piece of the pie" may make a legislator look good, but his constituents actually lose because they pay higher taxes for that pie. Only reducing the burden of the federal budget will make the system more fair to Californians.

Answer from Pat Gray:

Our foreign policy must be one of peace and justice for all the people of the world. The United States must work with other sovereign nations to protect the earth. All nations must agree to work together to go beyond the Kyoto Protocol and strive for sustainability and equity to protect the people of the earth from the effects of global warming.

Answer from Harland Harrison:

In making foreign policy, we should first realize that nobody hates us! But when our government brutalizes people, some of them will try to get even. Since safety and peace are my highest priorities, I want to stop the "war on terror", withdraw troops from Iraq, and stop providing weapons and money to Israel. Our aggression has made us less safe, not more. The US attack on Iraq killed more than 5,000, horribly burning many civilians. The entire world saw the US lie and betray agreements. As a result, resentful individuals strike back against US soldiers and their allies. Meanwhile Israel uses our weapons to oppress the Palestinians, stealing their private property, killing their children, crushing their houses, and denying their freedom. Many Palestinians willingly die to get even. The United States must quit this vicious game, must bring the troops home, and must stop supporting such oppressive regimes, if we wish to live in peace and safety in the world.

Answer from Tom Lantos:

The events of September 11 demonstrated that our country is linked with events and actions of people far beyond our frontiers. Therefore, we must remain actively and productively engaged in shaping the international environment. Most important, we must work together with our allies and international organizations like the United Nations in shaping world conditions. We should maintain a strong military force, but using force must be the last resort, only after diplomacy and joint action with our allies have been exhausted.

In our fight against terrorism, it is critical to work with our allies and international organizations to eliminate the funding for terrorism. One of the most serious threats to our security are weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the hands of rogue regimes and terrorist organizations. We must work through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organziations to eliminate WMDs.

Answer from Mike Garza:

Support the President and Republicans in Congress in their fight against :

1. Global terrorism and nuclear profileration
2. International drug-dealing and "white slave" trade
3. Spread of AIDS in Africa and world-wide

Answer from Mike Garza:

1. Halt unnecessary government "pork-barrel" spending and

all subsidies to the tobacco trade

2. Get rid of Ethanol and other unnecessary regulations

which raise gas prices to consumers

3. Increase rents charged for private exploitation of

federal land for timber, oil, cattle and minerals

4. Improve safety of our meat supply, i.e., adequate

testing to eliminate "mad cow" and other dangers

Answer from Tom Lantos:

President Bush's proposed budget for 2005, which was delivered to Congress in February 2004 is simply irresponsible. In all my experience as an economist and a member of Congress, I have never witnessed such utter disregard for this country's fiscal reality. It makes the massive Reagan-era deficits look like pocket change.

It is wrong to slash taxes for the wealthy while we're spending less on the real and urgent needs and priorities of the American people, and pushing our ever-mounting debts onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts that spiraling budget deficits will rise to a staggering $521 billion next year and increase the national debt by $3.65 trillion over the next ten years. The Administration in its budget projection revealed that the cost of its so-called Medicare reform program is one-third higher than projected just two months ago when it was passed largely along partisan lines. The new budget continues to under-fund key education programs and veterans' programs. It protects spending on defense and homeland security but will require reductions in health research, housing, and law enforcement, and actually reduces funding for transportation and environmental protection. It does not do enough to address some of our country's most pressing problems including the millions of Americans who are unemployed.

Answer from Pat Gray:

We must change the priorities of our federal government from foreign affairs to domestic issues. I want to reduce the funds spent for foreign affairs and redirect these funds to things needed at home, such as; Universal Health Care, good quality public education, creating a system of renewable energy and to encourage strong local economies. We must stop the loss of American jobs.

Answer from Harland Harrison:

My priorities are to cut spending and to balance the federal budget every year. As a principle, we should never use the federal government to do anything which the states, private industry, or other governments could do. The current budget contains huge, unnecessary, expenditures which exist only to benefit special interests. The US does not need troops in Japan or Europe; they can defend themselves. Agricultural products like soybeans do not need subsidies; American farm products already saturate world markets. There are so many federal grant programs, that some companies make a business of telling people about them!

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.