vision2020
candidate questionaire: US House
US House of Representatives, Idaho 1st district
Kevin Hambsch (Ref)
Butch Otter (Rep)
Linda Pall (Dem)
Ron Wittig (Lib)
Candidate Web sites:
Kevin Hambsch
(Reform)
http://www.reformparty.org/
(no response received from candidate)
Butch Otter
(Republican)
http://www.otter4idaho.com/
Linda Pall
(Democrat)
http://www.lindapallcongress2000.com/
Ron Wittig
(Libertarian)
http://www.lp-idaho.org/
A Moscow Vision 2020 committee composed these questions and collected
the following answers from the candidates.
1. What are the most significant issues facing the House of
Representatives in both the short and long term?
2. What is the role of the US military now and what will that role be in
ten years?
3. What is your position on the recent federal proposal to keep existing
federal roadless land unroaded?
4. Should the federal government do something about the rising price of
fossil fuels and/or the environmental impact of burning
fossil fuels? If so, what?
5.What changes would you recommend to current federal drug policy?
6. Do you believe the federal government will ever, or should ever,
agree to any recommendations of the Idaho Federal Lands
Task Force (the task force seeks to transfer management of federal land
in Idaho to the state)?
7. How would you use electronic communication through websites and email
to keep in effective contact with your
constituents?
Responses by Kevin Hambsch (Reform)
Responses by Butch Otter (Republican)
Responses by Linda Pall (Democrat)
Responses by Ron Wittig (Libertarian)
Responses by Kevin Hambsch (Reform)
No response was received from Mr. Hambsch.
Responses by Butch Otter (Republican)
1. From my viewpoint, tax relief, ensuring the continued viability of
Social Security and Medicare, fulfilling our commitments to
our veterans, returning education dollars and decision-making to states,
local governments, teachers and parents, and
recognizing the importance of the 10th Amendment are a few of the most
important issues for the Congress to address. Wise
use of our natural resources, protecting our water rights, and expanding
fair trade opportunities are equally important.
2. I believe we should abandon the "policeman for the world" approach to
our military resources and return to a more
traditional role of protecting America's interests whenever and wherever
they are threatened. Our service men and women
deserve the best training and equipment we can provide in exchange for
their commitment to protect our rights and sovereignty
and for going into harm's way.
3. I oppose the Clinton Administration's attempt to expand wilderness by
tinkering with the definition of "roadless areas."
4. It is quite clear that the current federal administration was asleep
at the wheel on the issue of rising fuel costs. At every turn
they have stymied attempts to make our country less reliant on foreign
suppliers and prevented the exploration and
development of important oil production opportunities.
5. I support the death penalty for serious narcotic trafficking agents.
6. The federal government should agree with the recommendations of the
Idaho Federal Lands Task Force and, as a member
of Congress, I will work diligently to ensure that the feds begin
returning management decisions to states and local units of
government. This year's fires serve as a tragic reminder that federal
mismanagement of our forests not only hurts the people and
communities that depend on logging jobs, but also causes serious damage
to critical animal habitat, threatens private property
and state endowment lands, and creates a huge burden for taxpayers at
all levels to underwrite fire suppression costs.
7. I believe electronic communication is an important and necessary tool
for closing the distance between Washington, D.C.
and Idaho. Besides regular visits to the district, I will aggressively
use e-mail, interactive web-sites, electronic town hall
meetings, and other forms of communication technologies to optimize my
responsiveness and availability to my constituents.
Responses by Linda Pall (Democrat)
1. What are the most significant issues facing the House of
Representatives in both the short and long term?
Both short and long term, education and health care continue to be
important areas where a partnership between federal
government, local and state government and citizens must work to improve
our lives. The shame of child poverty in an affluent
America must be ended. We have the resources to assure that neither our
senior citizens nor our children end up in poverty and
this should be a high priority.
2. What is the role of the US military now and what will that role be in
ten years?
U.S. military forces must be a smart, well-equipped defense force for
the United States. The threats of the cold war era have
changed into new and disturbing challenges, primarily international
terrorism and regional instability caused by civil wars and rife
with assaults on basic human rights.
The US must be a leader in the world, supporting human rights and basic
freedoms. Increasingly we will be called on to work
within the structure of the United Nations in peacekeeping. Our long
term interests are in decreasing regional threats and
increasing world cooperation and dialogue. It is unconscionable that
children in West Africa have been conscripted into civil
wars. It is a blot on our own freedoms that people in a lot of the rest
of the world do not have the opportunity to form labor
unions, worship as they want to and express their ideas freely and
openly.
We are operating in an increasingly interdependent world. Defense
weapons systems must be designed to address our real
threats of terrorism and not abrogate our existing treaties and
international agreements.
In ten years, I believe the major threats to our national security will
be to our information systems and infrastructure. This is of
serious concern to me. We should be investing in efforts to protect the
integrity of our information infrastructure and seriously
looking at a new way of combining more traditional military protections
with our essential information security needs.
3. What is your position on the recent federal proposal to keep existing
federal roadless land unroaded?
The Clinton Administration's roadless initiative is an excellent example
of what happens when members of our Congressional
delegation take a position of refusal to discuss alternatives, of being
AWOL on environmental concerns and discussions about
the future of the National Forest system. The Clinton Administration's
proposal was done without any substantial input from the
many interests in Idaho that should have been at the table. Some of the
area in question should NEVER be open to roads.
Some can be considered for further access. Some of the area should be
open for discussion and further analysis. Without
members of Congress who are open to discussion and trying to make a
national policy that will serve environmental interests
and legitimate concerns for access to forest resources, the dialogue is
closed. I believe this dialogue is necessary in the
determination of the future of federal lands in the West and Idaho's
Congressional delegation should take an active, involved
part rather than taking a hostile, negative stance to this important
policy making.
4. Should the federal government do something about the rising price of
fossil fuels and/or the environmental impact of burning
fossil fuels? If so, what?
The future of this planet depends upon our moving away from total
dependence on fossil fuels and developing systems that can
work with renewable energy. As far as the price issues is concerned,
government has a continuing responsibility to assure that
markets are without manipulation, assuring fair access within the law.
I would like to see within the Department of Energy and throughout the
government better coordination of policy so that we can
move toward the goal of working with renewable energy and alternate
energy systems. Just to give one example, Congress can
appropriate funds for the Department of Transportation to give
preference to communities and states that have an active,
comprehensive program of energy alternatives.
5.What changes would you recommend to current federal drug policy?
Current federal drug policy needs to give much more emphasis to
treatment and to bringing down the magnitude of the market
for illegal drugs. Incarceration is not the answer. The courts appear to
be addressing the questionable nature of the federal
sentencing guidelines. More attention needs to be directed toward
methamphetamines, including the treatment of addicts as well
as the prosecution and clean up of the dealers and their environmentally
toxic labs.
6. Do you believe the federal government will ever, or should ever,
agree to any recommendations of the Idaho Federal Lands
Task Force (the task force seeks to transfer management of federal land
in Idaho to the state)?
I am not familiar with the recommendations or positions of this task
force. I oppose transfer of federal land management to the
states. I support management procedures and protocols that involve state
and local governments appropriately in a cooperative
process of formulating policies and programs for federal lands.
7. How would you use electronic communication through websites and email
to keep in effective contact with your
constituents?
Please take a look at my current website. This is an example of what I
would like to do and, of course, improve upon. Vision
2020 list serve member Tim Hillebrand has ably assisted the campaign
with this project. We post press releases and other
information as they are produced by the campaign and encourage
interactive communication on the website and with multiple
mentions of the phone, e-mail and other manners of getting in touch.
It's been suggested that I could start an interactive
newsletter/listserve as well. Probably won't happen in the next 60 days
of the campaign but it's a good idea.
If you've looked recently, you'll know that Congressional website go
from the really awful to the stunningly superior. I have not
done any scientific survey but I really like Congressman Earl Blumenauer
of Oregon's website. I think this is one great avenue
for keeping the dialogue open. I think there is still no substitute for
being in person touch with constituents, including the town
hall meetings.
As a member of Congress from this district, I pledge that I will do
everything reasonably feasible to keep in touch and make
sure that the questions and comments you have are seriously addressed. I
hope you know from my 13 plus years on the
Moscow City Council that I am a hard and dedicated worker for the
community.
Responses by Ronald Wittig (Libertarian)
1. What are the most significant issues facing the House of
Representatives in both the short and long term?
Education: Get the federal gov. out of the education business. It has no
constitutional authority to be involved in education. This
is the responsibility of the community and the state. Since the federal
gov. involved itself in education in the 60's test scores have
gone down.
Tuition tax credits and vouchers are a better way to provide for
education.
Social Security: Get the federal gov. out of SS. If a private insurance
company operated the way the way the feds operate SS,
they would be arrested and charged with fraud and imprisoned. Each
individual should have the right to decide for them selves
how to save for their retirement, not forced into a fraudulent tax
scheme.
War on Drugs: Stop the insane war on drugs. The United States did not
have a serious drug problem until the government
started its war on drugs.
Prohibition of alcohol in the 20's and 30's created the same problems we
have today with drugs.
2. What is the role of the US military now and what will that role be in
ten years?
Our military's responsibility is the defense of our nation not offense
for 100 nations around the world. Bring our troops home
and get out of the UN.
3. What is your position on the recent federal proposal to keep existing
federal roadless land unroaded?
The federal government has no constitutional authority to hold land.
This is the responsibility of the states.
4. Should the federal government do something about the rising price of
fossil fuels and/or the environmental impact of burning
fossil fuels? If so, what?
The federal government has no place in the marketplace, except to
protect us from force or fraud. When there is profitability in
alternative energy sources, solar,wind,hydrogen,etc. the market place
will provide them.
Pollution is a property rights issue. When you pollute you are violate
someones property rights.
5.What changes would you recommend to current federal drug policy?
End the insane war on drugs. Legalize drugs much the same as alcohol and
require users to be responsible for their actions.
6. Do you believe the federal government will ever, or should ever,
agree to any recommendations of the Idaho Federal Lands
Task Force (the task force seeks to transfer management of federal land
in Idaho to the state)?
The federal government has no constitutional authority to hold lands
except those stated in the constitution. Return lands to the
states and the American Indians that it was stolen from.
7. How would you use electronic communication through websites and email
to keep in effective contact with your
constituents?
I would use electronic, print, and all other forms of communication to
keep my constituents informed as to what the federal
government is trying to do to them.
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