Congressman Henry A. Waxman, currently running for re-election in the newly re-drawn 33rd District, visited the offices of the Park Labrea News and Beverly Press last week. The following is a question and answer session between the Congressman and the staff.

Congressman Henry A. Waxman (photo by Edwin Folven)

Q: Many of your colleagues in Congress are in Charlotte, N.C. for the Democratic National Convention. Why aren’t you there?

A: “I decided to be here in L.A. because for the first time in a very long time I have a real campaign on my hands. After the primary, I was surprised to see an opponent become my challenger who is not a Republican. Although he has been a Republican all his life, he has switched to become an Independent, and he is spending millions of his own money to fund his own campaign. He is clearly going to outspend us. I just don’t know by how much. I figured I’ve got to take this campaign seriously, so I decided to stay in L.A. and go to different events and talk to people.”

Waxman said it was the first Democratic National Convention he has missed since 1976.

The congressman closely watched the convention however, and said he was particularly impressed by former President Bill Clinton’s speech, and was looking forward to President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday evening.

Waxman’s opponent in the November election is Bill Bloomfield, a retired businessman from Manhattan Beach. Waxman said he hopes to raise more campaign funding in the months leading up to the election. Many people are holding fundraisers for him, and he has been reaching out to different groups and individuals.

Q: You were recently endorsed by President Obama in your re-election bid. How important is that to you and your campaign?

A: “I think it is very important to have his endorsement, and I am proud to have it. We have worked very closely together during the past three-and-a-half years, particularly on the Affordable Care Act, but also on energy and the stimulus bill,” Waxman said. “I am going to run with President Obama in this district. I am going to run with the Democrats in this district. I am a Democrat and I am proud to be a Democrat. I want President Obama to be re-elected and I want Sen. Feinstein to be re-elected.”

Waxman added there will be some tough initiative choices on the November ballot. He said he supports Gov. Jerry Brown’s initiative to raise taxes to pay for education and other essential services. He is opposed to Proposition 32, however, because he believes the true intention is to limit the power of labor unions.

Q: As a Democrat, how concerned are you about the possibility of Gov. Mitt Romney being elected president, and what impacts do you think it could have?

A: “They could do a lot of damage to the Affordable Healthcare Act. They could stop a lot of things from going into effect. What they want to do to Medicare is take away the program as we have known it since 1965, and for those people who have relied for decades on a guarantee they would have access to medical services. In Medicaid it’s even worse, because Medicaid is the federal government’s payments to the states, and the states have to cover very poor people.”

Waxman said the Republicans are proposing a healthcare system using block grants that would be provided to the states. If the funding doesn’t cover the needs, individual states would be forced to make up the difference, which in California would be very costly, particularly during tough economic times. Seniors would receive vouchers to pay for healthcare insurance, and would have to make up any difference in cost themselves. Other individuals may have to pay higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.

The congressman also said the Republican agenda is negative for women. Waxman released a report recently stating that since January 2011, the Republican–controlled House has cast 55 votes that negatively affected access to healthcare for women, limited reproductive rights, and enabled health insurance companies to discriminate against women.

Q: You have represented the 30th Congressional District since 1975. What areas will you no longer represent in the redistricting process?

A: “I’ve represented West Hollywood for a number of decades and have been proud to represent that area. It has a constituency that I have worked with closely on a number of important issues. I am still going to be involved in some of those issues, particularly HIV and AIDS, senior issues and issues that particularly apply to the Russian population. I’ll do my best to continue to represent them, although I won’t officially represent them any longer.”

He said he is disappointed that some areas such as West Hollywood, and the Pico-Robertson and Beverlywood Districts, have been eliminated from the new 33rd District. He added, however, that he will be working closely with Congressman Adam Schiff, who now represents West Hollywood, and other local lawmakers in the surrounding areas such as Congresswoman Karen Bass on issues that affect the region.

The new 33rd district in which Waxman is running stretches from the Wilshire area south to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and includes Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and Torrance. Some of the issues affecting the new 33rd District are the possible closure of the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, and the loss of jobs in the aerospace industry.

Q: What issues do you see as the most important affecting the new areas of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and Torrance?

A: “I’ll do everything I can to make sure [Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo] remains in that area. It’s the glue that holds together whole industries that are related to it.”

Waxman is confident he will win in the new 33rd District, despite the fact that it is less Democratic than the former 30th District. He said his goal will now be to introduce himself to as many people as possible and to share his plans for continuing to improve the quality of life for all Americans.

Some of the things he is most proud of in his career are his work on the Affordable Care Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. He also said he is proud of authoring the Ryan White Care Act, which helps individuals with HIV/AIDS receive medication and healthcare services, as well as other programs that make medications more affordable for people suffering from life-threatening diseases. The congressman said he is working to create more federal revenue through the sale of broadband airwaves for which wireless companies are willing to pay large sums. He added that funding raised could be used for emergency response or reducing the deficit.

Q: Should you be called upon by the President to fill a Cabinet position, based on your experience and expertise, what post do you think you would be most qualified for?

A:“I’d rather not speculate about what I would be most qualified for. The legal qualifications [for a Cabinet post] is that the President choose you, and that the Senate confirm you. But I wouldn’t want to be a Cabinet member. I want to be a member of Congress. I want to work with the president, and the things I am most looking forward to doing with him are working on a deficit reduction package that protects the safety net and important government investments, and trying to reform the tax system so it’s fair to everybody. I particularly want to work on an energy bill that will make us more independent, particularly by moving us away from fossil fuels. It would reduce the pollution that causes climate change, which I think is a real threat. It’s amazing to me that the Republicans seem to have their heads in the sand, denying the science of global warming. Lastly, I want to work with the president on immigration reform. It’s crazy in this country not to have the Dream Act made into law permanently. We have a whole class of millions of people who are forced to live in the shadows. We have to figure out a pathway for them to live here permanently. It’s in our national interest to do so.”