UCLA’s congressman said it is important to have the
university in his district, but he has no plans for introducing
legislation to help students if re-elected.
“(Henry Waxman) has no plans for higher education or
student issues,” said campaign manager David Sadkin.
Waxman, the Democrat incumbent, is running against Republican
Tony Goss for another two-year term in the House of
Representatives, and is predicted to win.
A UCLA alumnus, Waxman has appeared on campus twice this year,
most recently to speak at the political science graduation
ceremony.
Waxman also spoke at UCLA in May about the conflict between
Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East in an event sponsored
by Bruins for Israel.
Waxman has been a staunch supporter of providing aid to Israel,
and his district has one of the largest Jewish populations of any
district in the nation.
But despite his connection with the campus, many students are
unaware that Waxman is their congressman.
“I have never heard of him before,” said Melissa
Navarro, a second-year undeclared student.
He has been influential in the House, most recently as one of 81
Democrats to vote for giving President Bush the authority to use
force against Iraq.
While he preferred the alternative that would give Bush the
authority to use force only if the United Nations approved it,
Waxman decided to support the president after the alternative
failed, Sadkin said.
As the most senior Democrat on the House’s committee on
government reform, Waxman called for an investigation of Enron and
Vice President Cheney’s energy task force.
But it was difficult for Waxman to get legislation passed in
this term because Republicans had a majority in the House.
“It has been a very frustrating two years because of the
Republican leadership,” Sadkin said. “Getting
legislation passed all depends on whether we have a Democratic
majority elected.”
If Democrats cannot gain the 11 seats needed to get a majority,
Waxman plans on supporting the same issues but will have difficulty
passing legislation.
Goss, Waxman’s challenger, has nothing in his platform
about UCLA or student interests either, but said he would like to
help students when asked.
“I am definitely willing to do anything I could to help
students get an education,” Goss said.
If re-elected, Waxman wants to enact new policies to insure
Americans have access to affordable health care.
He also wants to protect the environment by passing new
legislation to reduce global warming and increase fuel efficiency
in automobiles.
Goss, meanwhile, is running for Congress to enact policies he
said will “help strengthen families” by changing
welfare policies to reduce the number of single parents and promote
marriage.
“Children raised in single family homes are more likely to
be involved in crime and more likely to have child born out of
wedlock,” Goss said. “At some point we need to stop the
cycle.”
It is unlikely that Waxman’s seat will be in jeopardy;
Goss said it would be an “upset” to defeat Waxman in
the election.
Goss received under 12 percent of the vote in 2000 when running
for election in a neighboring district against Democrat Xavier
Becerra.
“I’m running mainly to get these issues out
there,” Goss said. “Just by me speaking out then maybe
something will get done.”