QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS : Congress: 24th District

Questionnaires were distributed to candidates this month. Answers have been edited to fit the available space.

Mideast Crisis

Q. Do you generally support President Bush’s handling of the Mideast crisis precipitated by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait? Briefly explain any differences you have with Bush’s actions.

Waxman: Yes. I wish the President were able to get Japan and Western European countries to carry more of the burden.

Cowles: Yes.

Phair: No. The United States military action is counter-productive, elevating Hussein to an undeserved status as the anti-imperialist leader of the Middle East, and limiting the opportunity for a negotiated regional resolution.

Ultimate Goal

Q. Should the ultimate goal of the United States be to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait? Or should it be to remove Hussein from power or at least greatly reduce his military capacity, either through war or negotiations? Waxman: Hussein’s power must be eliminated, or at least restricted. We must win internationally enforced guarantees that he will cease and desist from accumulating and developing nuclear and chemical weapons.

Cowles: The primary objective should be the removal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Phair: The international community and regional representatives should work for an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and drastically reduced armaments for all of the Middle East.

Weapons Sale

Q. Do you support the Bush Administration’s proposal to sell billions of dollars of additional weapons, including F-15 fighters, TOW missiles and Apache helicopters, to Saudi Arabia?

Waxman: Yes, on the condition that there be an explicit understanding with the Saudis that these weapons are for defensive use only. We must make certain that these weapons are not used against Israel.

Cowles: Yes. The necessity of using American forces in the Gulf on a continuing basis to deter further aggression by Iraq or any other Arab state would be greatly reduced by the government of Saudi Arabia having the military sophistication of its neighboring states.

Phair: No. I oppose any additional arms to any Middle East nation.

B-2 Bomber Production

Q. Do you favor continued production of the B-2 Stealth bomber beyond the 15 already in production?

Waxman: No. I am not convinced that additional B-2 Stealth bombers are needed.

Cowles: Yes. The B-2 Stealth will prove to be a continuing military deterrent into the 21st Century.

Phair: No. In general, the Stealth has proven not to meet even the military goals for which it was designed.

Deficit Reduction

Q. President Bush and congressional leaders recently agreed to a compromise package of tax increases and spending cuts designed to reduce the federal budget deficit by $40 billion this fiscal year and $500 billion over the next five years. This deal, if it gains final congressional approval, would increase taxes on gasoline, cigarettes and alcohol; raise Medicare premiums; impose a new tax on luxury goods, and reduce itemized deductions that can be taken by taxpayers with incomes over $100,000. Do you support this plan?

Waxman: I most definitely oppose the budget. The increased Medicare premiums were absolutely unconscionable. The budget ignored the ridiculous tax bubble and avoided the obvious need for an increase in income tax on high-income taxpayers.

Cowles: No. The compromise budget package did not fully address the basic problem of excessive government spending. Raising gasoline taxes will hurt the lower- and middle-income earners. The elderly, with the majority earning under $15,000 per year, cannot afford additional Medicare premiums.

Phair: No. I propose to repeal Gramm-Rudman, take the budget out of the closet, make honest revenue projections, increase taxes on the rich and drastically reduce the military might, while increasing allocations for housing, health, education and environmental repair.

Campaign Spending

Q. Do you support efforts to restrict campaign spending and reduce the amount of contributions that can be made by special interest groups?

Waxman: Yes. Reasonable limits should be set and much prompter disclosure should be required. Citizens should know during a campaign who is paying for it.

Cowles: Yes. We have created a system where incumbents receive more than 75% of political action committee money and 99% of incumbents are reelected every two years.

Phair: Yes. Even though this might be more injurious to challengers, the present impact of campaign fund raising is craven vote-selling by incumbents.

Campaign Financing

Q. Do you support full or partial taxpayer financing of political campaigns?

Waxman: Yes. I support partial public support for campaigns.

Cowles: No.

Phair: Yes.

Capital Punishment

Q. Do you support capital punishment? If so, do you think it should be imposed on those convicted of importing or selling drugs?

Waxman: No.

Cowles: Yes, I support capital punishment. Yes, if while engaged in the importation or selling of illegal drugs a firearm or other violent force is used, causing death or injury to persons or property.

Phair: No.

Abortion

Q. Do you support a woman’s unrestricted right to an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy?

Waxman: Absolutely.

Cowles: Yes.

Phair: Yes.

Unpaid Leave

Q. President Bush in July vetoed legislation that would have required businesses employing at least 50 people to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for childbirth, adoption or serious illness to employees or immediate family members. Do you favor this or similar legislation?

Waxman: Yes. Employees deserve it. Business would quickly become accustomed to it.

Cowles: No. Current legislation provides for maternity, military and other unpaid leaves. Extending this further would continue to erode the competitiveness of small business.

Phair: Yes. Our economy drafts most adults into employment and gives lessened family support or parenting to children, aged and disabled persons.

Assault Rifle Ban

Q. Do you favor extending President Bush’s ban on the import of semiautomatic assault rifles to the domestic production of such weapons?

Waxman: Yes.

Cowles: No.

Phair: Yes.

Endowment Restrictions

Q. Should Congress impose any content restrictions on obscene or indecent materials in reauthorizing the National Endowment for the Arts?

Waxman: No.

Cowles: No.

Phair: No.

Arts Support

Q. Do you think the federal government should continue to support the arts through the NEA?

Waxman: Yes. NEA is a major source of funding for innovative artistic endeavors. We should not be intimidated by the fact that some of these endeavors are unpopular.

Cowles: No. It is not the function of the federal government to use taxpayer money to fund projects or art that do not have a common interest for everyone or for art that many people might find objectionable or indecent.

Phair: Yes.

Anti-Crime Legislation

Q. Do you support anti-crime legislation passed by the Senate in July that would re-establish the federal death penalty, limit death-row inmates’ appeals and relax the exclusionary rule that prohibits the use of illegally seized evidence in criminal trials?

Waxman: No. This bill is an over-reaction to the crime problem. I do not believe crime should be used as a justification for curtailing civil liberties. The rights established by the Warren Court should be maintained.

Cowles: Yes.

Phair: No. These measures have not proven effective in crime reduction, but do threaten important constitutional rights.

Reducing Drug Use

Q. Do you believe our present strategy of criminal prosecution, interdiction of supplies, and imprisonment of users and dealers is significantly reducing the level of drug use in the United States? If not, what should be done?

Waxman: It is too soon to say. Many of these tactics are just being implemented on a large scale. They should be given a reasonable time to succeed or fail.

Cowles: Yes.

Phair: No. Education and treatment programs should be expanded. Most drug use should be decriminalized and the savings transferred to prevention programs.

Limiting Terms

Q. Do you support limiting the number of terms members of Congress can serve? If yes, what should the limits be for members of the House and Senate?

Waxman: No. The constitutionally mandated two-year terms for House members and six-year terms for senators give voters ample opportunity to reject officeholders who they feel are too old, no longer effective or have become corrupt.

Cowles: Yes--House, 10 years. Senate, 12 years.

Phair: Yes. Three terms for the House; two terms for the Senate.

CONTENDERSHenry A. Waxman, 51, a Democrat from Los Angeles, has been in the House for 16 years. An attorney, he is a dedicated liberal and environmentalist and has been a leader in the battle to extend the Clean Air Act.

John N. Cowles, 40, a Republican, is a vice president of Smith Pacific/Crown Albums. A Hancock Park resident, he unsuccessfully challenged Waxman two years ago and claims voters are tired of the incumbent.

Maggie Phair, the Peace and Freedom Party candidate, is a community issues organizer. She lives in Los Angeles.