Congress: 26th 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.

Berman: Yes. But, unfortunately, the eight-year Reagan-Bush tilt to Iraq, which ignored its military buildup, its weapons of mass destruction, its human rights violations and its support of terrorism, helped create an environment in which Saddam Hussein thought we would not respond to his invasion.

Dahlson: Yes. I particularly appreciate the fact that he is not trying to have America go it alone and is involving the United Nations and has put pressure on some of our allies and trading partners to contribute to the effort.

Zimring: No. Bush has us acting as mercenaries. No American should be compelled to sacrifice his/her life to defend a totalitarian monarchy. Rather than acting as the policeman for the Mideast, we ought to have cooperated in an international boycott before engaging in what is really a unilateral military initiative.

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? Berman: Withdrawal from Kuwait is not enough. A Saddam Hussein-led Iraq with undiminished military capability would represent a continued threat to his Arab neighbors, Israel and American interests.

Dahlson: Since he came to power in 1978, Saddam Hussein has tried to become the dominate force in the Arab world and must be removed from power. As long as he is in power, he will continue his attempt to develop nuclear weapons and is a genuine threat to world security.

Zimring: Our immediate goal should be to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Ultimately, Hussein’s removal from power is desirable, but the United States should not go to war to achieve this. Hussein’s domestic enemies should be bolstered.

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?

Berman: No. It is not worth the life of a single American soldier to put down Iraq militarily only to continue massive arms sales to unstable regimes in the Middle East. We must remember that the arms we sent to Iran and Kuwait were used by the Ayatollah and the Iraqis. Our long-term focus should be on restraint in arms sales in the Middle East and on arms control in that region.

Dahlson: Yes. The Persian Gulf crises showed that the United States could deliver troops to any part of the world rapidly, but the equipment needed to fight a modern war requires considerably more time, and a war can be lost in this time. This forward positioning of equipment in the hands of our allies could possibly deter a war.

Zimring: Saudi Arabia’s performance in the first hours of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was pathetic. All the fancy U.S.-made hardware is useless without the will and ability to fight. Still, we might as well sell the weapons as the Saudis will surely buy them from some country.

B-2 Bomber Production

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

Berman: No. It’s an enormously expensive and unproven system. Its technological capabilities and strategic justification must be fully evaluated once the first 15 have been flown.

Dahlson: Yes. I am reluctant to diminish our arms program while the Soviet Union still has many nuclear weapons aimed at us. As things become more of a disaster in the Soviet Union, there is always a worst-case scenario that features a military coup with a willingness to start hostilities in a last-ditch effort to preserve the Soviet empire.

Zimring: No. The B-2 is a plane without a purpose and an enormous waste of taxpayer funds at a time of declining superpower hostilities.

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? What specific actions would you support to cut the federal budget deficit?

Berman: No. Significant deficit reduction is essential, but a fair package must make the rich bear a fair portion of the pain that reducing the deficit would cause. The package must cut Pentagon spending and find reasonable savings in entitlement and domestic programs, while protecting the elderly, the poor and society’s most vulnerable.

Dahlson: No. When there are new taxes, it is the poor and the middle class that get hit over the head. The place to start reducing the deficit is a review of all spending measures and a forced efficiency of the bureaucracy. More than $150 billion are being lost annually to waste, fraud and inefficiency.

Zimring: No. Taxes are too high already. The budget should be balanced by addressing the root cause--too much spending. Income taxes, in any case, represent government theft of a citizen’s property and, as such, are constitutionally prohibited. I favor a capital gains tax cut. This will stimulate the economy especially now that we are in a recession. However, a tax cut should benefit the middle class as well.

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?

Berman: No.

Dahlson: Yes, but only in special circumstances now included in California law. No, on drug dealers.

Zimring: No.

Abortion

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

Berman: Yes.

Dahlson: No.

Zimring: 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?

Berman: Yes. I was the author of the California pregnancy leave law, and I believe its benefits should be expanded and extended to all American workers.

Dahlson: No. This type of situation is best left to the individual company.

Zimring: No. Every business ought to be able to establish its own policies regarding this matter.

Oil Exploration

Q. Do you think the present Mideast crisis justifies opening up additional parts of the California coastline to oil exploration?

Berman: No. Oil exploration off the California coast would not make a meaningful dent. Instead, inducement to encourage conservation and alternative energy sources like solar and geothermal must be explored.

Dahlson: It is possible that a time approaches when we will need to do it for our national security. I hope that if that time comes when it is necessary, we will have improved technology so that we can eliminate damage to the ecology.

Zimring: No. The present crisis is inadequate justification, although there may be economic justification in the future.

Endowment Restrictions

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

Berman: No. I believe that artists, not politically motivated government officials, are best qualified to judge which projects deserve support.

Dahlson: Yes. If the taxpayer is going to foot the bill for this, then the taxpayer certainly has a right to specify the terms.

Zimring: The government shouldn’t be in the arts business, but if it is, content restrictions are appropriate.

Civil Rights Legislation

Q. Do you support civil rights legislation passed last month by the House that would give women and blacks who are victims of sexual or racial harassment in the workplace the right to sue their employer in federal court?

Berman: Yes.

Dahlson: I am not well informed on the entire contents of this bill. However, I support the rights of anyone to sue over sexual or racial harassment.

Zimring: Yes.

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 no, what should be done?

Berman: Probably, but we need to do more to decrease demand through drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

Dahlson: Yes or no is an impossible answer since we admittedly have no accurate figures on what has been brought into our country in the past nor on what is coming in at present.

Zimring: No. Clearly the policies of the last 70 years are an abject failure. Drug use and related maladies have grown worse.

Drug Decriminalization

Q. Would you consider supporting the decriminalization of drug use?

Berman: No.

Dahlson: No.

Zimring: Yes.

Limiting Terms

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

Berman: No.

Dahlson: Yes. Six terms in the House, two in the Senate.

Zimring: Yes. Congressmen and senators ought to serve a maximum of two terms, then make way for new blood.

Congressional District 26 The solidly Democratic district includes all or portions of 16 communities in the northeast, central and southern San Fernando Valley.

CONTENDERS Howard L. Berman, 49, a Democrat from Panorama City, is seeking a fifth term in the 26th Congressional District. An attorney, Berman served 10 years in the state Assembly and is regarded as a heavyweight in the House and in California politics.

Roy Dahlson, a Republican from Van Nuys, is a wholesale florist who is running an underfunded campaign. He considers himself a conservative Republican and is opposed to tax increases of any kind.

Bernard Zimring, 28, the Libertarian party candidate, is a swimming pool builder who lives in Van Nuys. He opposes tax increases and considers the federal income tax an invasion of privacy.