Candidate selector: U.S. Congress 2nd District / LJWorld.com

Welcome to our candidate selector for U.S. Congress 2nd District. It's a fun and educational tool that can help you decide which candidate(s) you agree with the most.

Here's how it works. Below, we've listed a set of issues and the candidates' positions on these issues. Check the box next to a candidate's response if you agree with it. After you're done, we'll tell you which candidate(s) you agreed with the most.

Please note that this is meant to be fun and educational - but shouldn't necessarily be used as the de facto way of making such an important decision. We encourage you to learn as much as you can about each candidate.

What controls do you advocate for illegal immigration into the United States?

I support new steps to secure our borders. Until then we must enforce the laws we already have. Last December, I voted for legislation to build fences, increase the number of border patrol agents, implement a mandatory employee verification system, penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and increase penalties for illegal immigrants who stay beyond their visa.

For years, illegal immigration has gone virtually unchecked. We must regain control of our borders. First, American corporations must be held responsible when they knowingly or negligently hire undocumented workers. Second, Congress must immediately, significantly increase funding for border protection and enforcement.

This involves a multi-complex solution. We must enforce existing laws and we must put an end to the cause of the massive illegal immigration by altering our free trade agreements, such as NAFTA and CAFTA. These "free trade agreements" enable big business to exploit suppressed rights of foreign labor for profit. When this exploitation profiteering promotes greater oppression and poverty, many exploited people migrate North for the advantage of our opportunities and law enforcement

What steps should the United States be taking to resolve its involvement in Iraq?

Having been to Iraq, I know that we need to support our troops and stay committed to the Global War on Terror. The United States should continue to establish democracy in Iraq by supporting Iraq's government. Continuing to capture and kill al Qaeda's leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will reduce the threats to democracy, and training the Iraqi Security Forces will help protect Iraq from these terrorists. When the Iraqis are able to secure their own country, then we can bring our troops home, and our goal should be to do this as soon as possible.

The invasion of Iraq cost thousands of American lives and left Iraq without a functioning government. This chaos resulted from the administration's poor planning for Iraq's occupation, and due to their failures, the country has become a training ground for terrorists. We are not safer. We must help Iraq restore its essential functions, but our assistance cannot be a blank check extending indefinitely. The administration should set a responsible, realistic timeline for our troops' withdrawal.

We are in Iraq to combat "world terrorism" and install democracy. Many in Iraq support our cause of making them a democracy friendly to our "new world order" free trade system. Others obviously do not to the point of sounding like a civil war. I believe we should bring all our troops home to defend our Constitution, our borders and our way of life from the active invasion of our country that is taking place.

What steps should the government be taking to reduce the budget deficit?

Quite simply, the government must stop spending more money than it has to reduce the deficit. We should reform the budget process. One step would be to require federal agencies to justify their annual spending rather than giving them automatic annual increases. Families balance their own budget each month and we should do the same. So, I support committing to a plan that would balance the budget in 5 years without raising taxes.

Wasteful federal spending is skyrocketing. According to one Congressional Research Service study, spending on "earmarks" more than doubled in recent years. I'll support legislative rules changes to ensure that proposed spending is subjected to a competitive awards process that values national necessity over political gain. Even as wasteful spending exploded, the recent tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans dramatically decreased the federal government's revenue. I will support a rollback of these reckless, regressive cuts.

Operating within a balanced budget needs to be achieved. The interest alone that we pay on the money our government borrows for its operations is our third largest government expenditure. This simply cannot long continue. About everything has been tried to balance the budget except for a Constitutional Amendment to force it, which I do support. Only the will of the people can make even this work.

What checks, if any, should Congress place on the executive branch as it wages the Global War on Terror?

The Constitution appoints the President to be the Commander in Chief, but gives Congress the right to declare war. The War Powers Act further restricts the President's ability to engage in a military conflict without formally declaring war. In 2002, an overwhelming bipartisan majority of both the House and Senate exercised these checks by authorizing the President to commit our troops to the Global War on Terror. Congress should continue to exercise oversight in all areas of the Global War on Terror.

Surveillance is an important tool in the war on terror, but wiretapping programs must be conducted in a legal manner. Due to the executive branch's choice to engage in extralegal surveillance, the details of classified programs have been broadcast on the nightly news, harming our national security. Recent Supreme Court decisions have drawn clear guidelines for how executive power can enhance security without sacrificing freedom, and I will support legislation to advance these twin goals.

My military oath impressed on my mind that I was in the military service of my country for one reason, that reason being to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies and to obey the orders of those appointed over me agreeable to our laws and code of conduct. Congress must ensure that our enemies do not, by any tactics, cause us to abandon our Constitution of independence and liberty.

What is your assessment of how the No Child Left Behind Act has worked, and what changes would you vote to make?

Results are varied depending on location. The value of the program is to give an incentive for improvement in teaching and learning. Some measured improvement keeps the federal funds available. For a balanced budget this may be lost. However, at present I don't recommend or support any changes even though I am always firmly committed to keeping schools under state control.

Overall, Kansas public schools have had a good track record of educating our children, so I voted against No Child Left Behind Act because of its expensive and inflexible mandates on the state. I am concerned that NCLB has had some unintended consequences on our public education system, and I support improvements that make NCLB a fair and accurate representation of how well our schools are performing, such as increasing flexibility in NCLB's application to rural school districts.

I agree with the premise of No Child Left Behind: that every American student deserves a world-class education. Unfortunately, NCLB has so far failed to achieve this goal. One reason why is Congress's consistent underfunding of NCLB; another is the legislation's narrow view of student "success," which underemphasizes important figures such as graduation and attendance rates. Congress should either fix and fully fund NCLB or permit states to opt out of its unfunded mandates.

How, if at all, should the U.S. government promote a shift from reliance on oil to other energy sources?

America should overhaul its energy policy within the next 24 months. We must reclaim our leadership position in developing alternative fuel technologies and promote higher energy efficiency by modernizing CAFE standards. I also support an all-out R&D program aimed at delivering energy independence within 10 years. This program would create millions of jobs, free the nation from imported oil, promote a healthier environment, and most importantly, return a sense of hope to the American people.

The United States must develop alternative sources of energy. Ethanol, biomass and wind energy are just a few of the alternative technologies that have shown considerable promise in recent years. It is the continued development of these technologies that will allow us to draw back on our dependence on foreign oil. That said, this transition will not happen overnight and we must be prepared to expand domestic exploration and refining capacity in the interim.

The reason that we need to develop reliance on other energy sources is because of fossil fuel pollution causing low oxygen levels as the world's energy needs increase. Other energy sources can be developed. Open Congressional Hearings need to be called to determine the most promising areas of development, after which legislation needs to be passed to move development funds in the right direction. Grants should also be provided for private research and development.

Should the U.S. government increase funding of research using embryonic stem cells?

No. This is too much of an affront to the right and quality of life. Research that has been done using embryonic stem cells shows many negative results while adult stem cells are readily available and are seen to be just as promising.

Stem cell research is the most promising path to breakthroughs in the treatment of many severe, debilitating, and even fatal medical conditions. Because I spent over 20 years working in the pharmaceutical industry, I know the frustration of being unable to cure a devastating disease, and I believe it is an inexcusable -- unforgivable -- cruelty to stare at obvious solutions and refuse to embrace them. We must pursue the promise of stem cell research.

I support life. With this as the foundation, I am excited to support cutting edge research on non-embryonic or adult stem cells. This type of research has yielded dozens of advances in the effort to cure disease. Not only does embryonic stem cell research destroy life, which I oppose, but private companies have been conducting it for years in the United States with no positive results. In fact, not one treatment for a disease has come from embryonic stem cell research. Therefore, I do not support using taxpayer dollars to research that destroys an embryo.

What changes, if any, are needed to the federal farm subsidies programs?

Our farmers and ranchers are the best in the business. The federal assistance that we send them should be for the good work that they do, not for the work they agree not to do. As we draft the next Farm Bill, we must ensure that all federal farm subsidies incentivize production and provide access to real crop insurance.

Today's family farmers are threatened by falling revenues and rising expenses. As megafarms glut the marketplace with mass-produced food, wholesale prices are dropping below the level where family farmers can compete. After generations of success, many farms are closing forever, destroying a crucial element of Kansas's economy and heritage. In Congress, I'll support family farmers and slow consolidation. Capping subsidies will strengthen independent farmers, ensure a safer food supply, and improve the Kansas economy.

Everything is considered as necessary. This is a reason why a balanced budget is so difficult. We need to improve U.S. family farmers price support programs, especially by adding parity support prices. We also need an improved Farmers Owned Reserve Program and provide adequate funding for the National Strategic Grain Reserves Program.

Are there any measures the U.S. government should take to aid Kansas as its population becomes older and more urban?

One step the government can take to aid all citizens is to ensure the long-term viability of programs for our seniors. We have made a commitment to our seniors in the form of Medicare and Social Security and we must honor it. Unfortunately, these programs are in need of reform to ensure they exist for generations to come. So, we must consider meaningful long term reforms. I will also support legislation that is friendly to families, small businesses and agriculture because this the backbone of our small communities.

My opponent has aggressively supported the privatization of Social Security, a dangerous stance that risks the financial stability of our aging population. Privatization would undermine the guarantee at Social Security's heart: that every worker who pays into the system deserves a stable, predictable stream of retirement income -- not an unpredictable amount that depends on the state of the stock market on the day a worker retires. In Congress, I'll strongly oppose Social Security privatization.

None that I would trust. No program has ever been devised by the federal government that does not also create an element of control over state concerns and also bring with it more possibility for federal government corruption. Our Social Security Trust Fund, if it had been managed properly, would be worth more today than just being full of IOUs with a funding crises on the horizon.

What steps should the U.S. be taking to prepare for economic competition from evolving powers, such as China?

Congress must alter the "new world order" free trade agreements with foreign nations that deny their populations their unalienable rights that the United States protects for its people by constitutional law. "NWO" free trade agreements are not the same as fair trade because "NWO" big business is enabled to exploit conditions of populations across borders for profiteering. Hence, our factories move abroad for cheaper production capability to flood our markets and expand our trade deficit.

Expanding trade relations with China increases importation of some goods and allows us to export millions of dollars in goods, greatly benefiting the Kansas economy. However, some economists predict that China will become the largest economy in the world within two decades. In order to maintain our economic strength, the United States must push for China's compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) standards. China has not abided by WTO standards which has negatively affected market access of U.S. agricultural products. China has also sanctioned the piracy of U.S. advanced technology intellectual property. We must also become energy-independent, rather than competing with China and other countries for foreign oil.

America should invest in education in order to increase our students' competitiveness on the worldwide market. Additionally, to help level the global playing field, Congress should pass new fair trade agreements, as opposed to today's "free trade" agreements. "Free" here is meant only in the sense of "unrestricted"; these agreements do nothing to prevent our good American jobs from turning into exploitive jobs overseas. I'll vote to incorporate decent worker protections into future trade treaties.

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2006 race for US House 2nd District