CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE : Herschensohn Opposes $7.6 Billion in Storm Relief to Florida

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn attacked Democratic foe Barbara Boxer Wednesday as “the No. 1 spender in Congress,” but he also said that President Bush should not be offering billions in federal aid to rebuild hurricane-ravaged South Florida.

Federal funds should be spent only for emergency assistance and for repair or reconstruction of federal facilities, the conservative radio and television commentator said during an exchange with reporters on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk.

“I am for federal aid in terms of an emergency basis. I am not for it on a long-term basis,” added Herschensohn, the GOP nominee for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Alan Cranston, who is retiring.

After noting that Bush had asked Congress to appropriate $7.6 billion in disaster aid, Herschensohn said: “That, to me, is not something the federal government should be doing. I am not for that.”

Herschensohn said that residents of Florida and other hurricane-prone areas are aware of the potential danger and should be prepared to cope with the consequences themselves, just as Californians should in the event of an earthquake disaster.

“It is not a shock that a hurricane hit Florida,” he said. “We all knew that it could, and that it probably will (again) in years to come, and the state itself has to accommodate itself to the kind of dangers that are imminent--that we know beyond a doubt will occur. If it isn’t one year, it’s going to be another. That’s the duty of the state.”

When asked specifically if Washington should help homeowners rebuild, Herschensohn said, “In terms of rebuilding, that is not up to the federal government to do because the federal government doesn’t have any money.”

“If the federal government had money, that would be something that is an entirely different matter. But since we already owe $4 trillion in money that we’ve stolen from the next generation, we have to take care of those things that are federal in nature alone.”

The $4 trillion was a reference to the accumulated federal debt.

Herschensohn believes the federal government should do only those things outlined in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, as he interprets it. He wants a dramatic reduction or elimination of any domestic regulatory program that provides no economic benefit for the nation. But Herschensohn also opposes cuts in defense and has proposed increases in spending for national security such as for the Strategic Defense Initiative and the B-2 bomber.

In calling Wednesday’s press conference, on the sidewalk in front of a state employment office on West Venice Boulevard, Herschensohn followed GOP ticket-mate Sen. John Seymour in launching post-Labor Day attacks on their Senate foes. They are Boxer, the five-term congresswoman from Marin County, and Dianne Feinstein, the former San Francisco mayor.

Feinstein is challenging Seymour for the final two years of the Senate seat won by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson in 1990. Wilson chose Seymour for an interim appointment to the seat when he resigned to become governor in January of 1991.

Seymour held a series of press conferences Tuesday and Wednesday to accuse Feinstein of ducking debates with him because she did not want to answer questions about a state lawsuit accusing her of failing to properly report more than $8 million in contributions and expenditures during her 1990 campaign for governor. Feinstein has acknowledged filing errors, but also claims the suit was politically motivated.

Herschensohn’s appearance was to promote the charge of the National Taxpayers Union that Boxer was “the No. 1 spender in Congress” this year, on the basis of appropriations bills that she sponsored or co-sponsored.

“Boxer’s anti-job, pro-regulation record is so bad that she should be called the job terminator,” Herschensohn said. “Barbara Boxer will destroy jobs for the working men and women of California.”

Also, Herschensohn claimed that legislation Boxer had supported would result in the loss of more than 2 million jobs in California, including 1 million in the health care field and 343,234 as a result of passage of the Clean Air Act of 1990.

Two million jobs would be about 14% of all jobs in California, according to the September report of the state Employment Development Department. In a breakdown of employment sectors, the department lists only 828,000 people working in the health service field in California.

Boxer said the National Taxpayers Union study is misleading because, beginning this year, it only counts legislation the individual member sponsored or co-sponsored. Not recorded are House floor votes for cost-cutting amendments. Under the taxpayer group’s old format that counted all votes on bills, Boxer ranked 130th out of the 435 House members, she said.

“The truth is that Barbara Boxer has always been a crusader against wasteful spending,” a Boxer campaign position paper said. “Barbara Boxer understands the difference between investment in people and government waste.”

Boxer aides noted that while she has proposed deep cuts in defense spending, with a probable loss of jobs in California, Boxer also has called for use of the money saved to invest in the domestic economy, thus creating new jobs.

“If we can build bombers, we can build buses,” Boxer told a Labor Day rally in Northern California Monday. “If we can build submarines, we can build subways.”

After Herschensohn ended his anti-Boxer presentation, a reporter asked if he supported the increase in wheat subsidies proposed by President Bush last week. He said no.