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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

United States Senate

The Spokesman-Review

Mike Crapo

Republican

Age: 53

Personal: Married to Susan; five children.

Education: Graduated from Idaho Falls High School, 1969; B.A. in political science with emphasis in international relations, Brigham Young University, 1973; law degree, cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1977

Professional: Attorney, Idaho Falls, 1979-1992; attorney, San Diego, 1978-79; clerk, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1977-78

Political: U.S. Senator, Idaho, 1999-present; U.S. Representative from Idaho’s 2nd District, 1993-1998; president pro-tem, Idaho State Senate, 1988-1992; Idaho state senator, 1984-1992; Republican precinct committeeman, 1980-1984

Key issues: Economy: Favors fiscal restraint and responsibility in the federal budget, to “provide future generations with a solid foundation for democracy and growth.” Also favors tax reform to foster economic growth. Other top issues: Cites national security and education. “We must continue to address the current war on terror and the national security issues present in the world today.

Money raised/spent: $1.5 million as of June 30

Top contributors: Nearly $1 million of that from PACs. Among the PACs giving Crapo the maximum $10,000 in contributions were American Bankers Association PAC, Boise Cascade Political Fund, Federal Express PAC, National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC, Qwest Communications PAC, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. PAC.

Quote: “There has been excessive spending in Washington.”

Favorite book: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand

First priority if elected: “National and economic security.” Crapo said his top priority in a second term in the Senate would continue to be balancing the federal budget, which also topped his priority list when he first was elected to Congress 12 years ago.

Website: www.CrapoForSenate.com

Q&A with the Associated Press

AP: Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? Why or why not?

Crapo: At the federal level, I would oppose that. I believe it’s a state issue. If I were at the state level, I would vote against that. I believe in the sanctity of the traditional form of marriage.

AP: Do you believe Congress met its commitment to finance the No Child Left Behind initiative, and if not, how much more should be made available by the federal government?

Crapo: The government has made significant progress. In fact, one of the good things was that this significantly increased resources put into education in the act. They will never be able to find sufficient funding for everything. It’s something we’ll always be working to achieve.

That being said, I do have some significant problems with No Child Left Behind in the arena of unfunded mandates, because of the burden put on the state by it. My biggest concern about the act is that it provided or mandated a system of national testing, and I don’t believe that’s a proper role for the federal government. That should be made at the state or school board level, not at the federal level.

AP: Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? Why or why not?

Crapo: No, I do not believe we should increase the minimum wage. We’ve had several significant increases in the past, and each time that it’s done, it causes a reduction of jobs at the small business level. It’s a question of jobs and the adequacy of jobs.

AP: Would you support increasing the number of visas issued for foreign agricultural workers?

Crapo: That decision would need to be made on the basis of need.

At the current time, I do believe we have a need for a better guest worker program that would allow workers to come in when American citizens have not filled the jobs.

Have we first made jobs available to American citizens and they remain unfilled? Then the level of visas should match the unfulfilled need.

Scott J. McClure

Democrat/ write-in

Age: 57

Personal: Married to Claire for 34 years; three grown children, one grandchild

Education: Jerome High School; B.S. form Idaho State University, 1971

Professional: U.S. Marine Corps, 1971-1974 U.S. Marine Corps Reserve; 1974-75 U&I Inc., plant engineer in sugar factories in Idaho and Washington; 1975-78 Founder and President, McClure Engineering Inc.; 1978 to present-licensed engineer in 12 states

Political: Student body president, Idaho State University; Chairman, Idaho Student Government Council; Active in civic, church and engineering groups

Key issues: Taxes/Budget: McClure opposes the proposed extension of current federal tax cuts, saying, “They are not needed and may well be detrimental to the U.S. economy … The national debt is predicted to nearly double in the next 10 years if the tax cuts are extended … This federal debt is an unacceptable burden to place on our children.” Energy: McClure favors more emphasis on conservation and alternative energy sources. “A policy relying exclusively on exploitation of oil and natural gas is not a policy but an invitation to disaster.”

Money raised/spent: McClure reported raising a little under $7,000

Top contributors: $5,000 donation from NCEC Services Inc.; $1,000 from his sister, Judith Kaylor of Silverdale, Wash.; $500 of his own money; $250 from J.M. and Rickie Orchin Brady of Idaho Falls; and $100 from D. Justin Stormogipson, Coeur d’Alene.

Quote: “I believe there are too many issues facing this state and this nation to allow such an important position as a seat in the U.S. Senate to go uncontested.”

Key influence: Williaim E. (Bud) Davis, president, Idaho State University, 1965-1975

Favorite book: Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Aldous Huxley

First priority if elected: Investigate what is happening on the ground of Iraq and potential means of resolving the conflict.

Website: www.mcclureforsenate.com

Q&A with the Associated Press

AP: Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? Why or why not?

McClure: Same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not have marriages. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and civil unions are more of a matter of recognition that two people are together.

AP: Do you believe Congress met its commitment to finance the No Child Left Behind initiative, and if not, how much more should be made available by the federal government?

McClure: The idea of the No Child Left Behind act is good. The critical thing is – once they identify the students that are not meeting the current criteria – whether the school districts have sufficient funding to bring them up to a successful level.

It’s one thing to provide a grade, but if you’re truly committed you have to put out the money to fund the additional effort to bring them up to standard. From the administrators that I’ve talked to, that’s the area that they’re deficient on.

I think there was some problems in the state of Idaho, but again, from when I’ve talked to educators, a lot of those questions are getting worked out.

AP: Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? Why or why not?

McClure: I think an incremental increase would be appropriate, just simply because an individual having to live on the current minimum wage would have a very difficult time. With dependents it becomes even more difficult.

AP: Would you support increasing the number of visas issued for foreign agricultural workers?

McClure: The current system that we have with undocumented workers coming across and filling these slots is basically not working for us. It doesn’t protect our borders and it brings people across who do not enjoy the protection of our civil systems. So we have to create a system that in my mind protects this country and also serves those individuals who serve a very valuable purpose. They’re critical to our economy in a lot of ways. They cover a lot of jobs that need to be done in this country.