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Patricia Madrid, Democrat

Patricia Madrid

The Job of 1st Congressional District

Pass laws; write budget; act as a liaison between residents and federal government. Pays $165,200. Two-year term. (i) denotes incumbent.

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Candidate: 1st Congressional District

Name: Patricia Madrid, Democrat

Age: 59

Campaign Web site: www.madridforcongress.com

Family: Husband of 31 years, Mike Messina. One son, Giancarlo.

Education: BA, University of New Mexico; JD, University of New Mexico Law School.

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a felony or misdemeanor: No.

Are you satisfied with the Patriot Act?

No. As the chief law enforcement officer for the State of New Mexico, I know how critical good intelligence is to protecting our citizens. The Patriot Act gives law enforcement many of the tools that are critical to fighting the war on terror. However, I believe the Patriot Act poses challenges to civil liberties. When the people of New Mexico's First Congressional District send me to Congress, I will work to revise the Patriot Act so that it protects American lives and the American way of life - as well as fundamental civil liberties.

What is your stance on the Iraq war?

There is no easy answer for this no-exit war. However, it is clear that we need a responsible exit plan to finally end the war in Iraq. "Stay the course" is not a strategy. It is time that our leaders in Washington started asking the tough questions: Why did we go to war on faulty intelligence? What is going to be done about corruption and war profiteering? And what is the plan for bring our troops home safely? When I am in Congress, I will ask the tough questions. I will work with my colleagues to explore all options - including strategic redeployment and non-permanent installations in the Middle East - and build a responsible plan to end this misguided war. It is time for a change.

Explain your stance on warrantless wiretapping.

Having served as the state's top law enforcement officer for eight years, I know that gathering evidence is critical to keeping citizens safe. However, there are rules that must be followed in any investigation. When I track down and put Internet child sexual predators in prison, I do it legally. I am concerned about the Bush Administration engaging in warrantless wiretapping beyond the bounds prescribed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Act provides a process by which the Administration can engage in such surveillance, but the Administration appears to have circumvented it not as a matter of necessity but as one of convenience. The rule of law must be followed.

What can or should be done to help ease the pain at the pump?

It is time for a change. The Bush-Wilson-Cheney Administration is the Oil and Gas Administration. Heather Wilson and George Bush overhauled our nation's energy policies for the benefit of their friends in big oil.

I know a young couple living in Rio Rancho, with both parents working and kids in school. They now pay more for the gas they need to get to school and work than they do for their mortgage. It is time for a change.

I have taken on big oil for defrauding New Mexicans and brought in $30 million for the state. I've sued Enron. I also represented consumers and sued PNM on their behalf - lowering New Mexico energy rates by $34 million.

When I am elected to Congress, I won't be beholden to PNM. I won't be bought and paid for by the oil companies. I will vote for your interests, not special interests. I will support energy policies that end billion-dollar subsidies to big oil and gas companies. And I will vote to invest that money in to renewable energy sources - like wind, solar and biomass. Energy independence must be our goal. High gas prices are an economic issue, a security issue and an environmental issue.

What will you do to help Americans understand Medicare Part D's intricacies and to improve the program?

The Medicare prescription drug plan is a disaster. It is called Medicare D because it deserves a D. This bill was written by and for the pharmaceutical industry. Thanks to Heather Wilson, the Medicare prescription drug program passed the U.S. House of Representatives by one vote. It is confusing, chaotic, inept and - at its worst - corrupt.

When I am in Congress, I will work to completely overhaul Medicare Plan D to require the federal government to negotiate lower prices by buying in bulk; close the "doughnut hole" coverage gap; allow seniors to get prescriptions through their own doctor; and eliminate penalties for seniors who have difficulty signing up for a plan.

Our seniors - not the drug companies, insurance industry and HMOs - must be our priority.

What should Congress do to curb deficit spending?

This is the most fiscally irresponsible Administration and Congress in the history of this country. Period. New Mexico's working families are struggling to make ends meet while billionaires enjoy added tax breaks. It's time for a change.

I have a record of fiscal responsibility. I spent eight years managing a $13-million-a-year budget and brought in half a billion dollars for our state. I also fought to keep property taxes low so that working New Mexicans could fulfill their dream of owning a home. And I've taken on predatory mortgages lenders who prey on the most vulnerable in our community.

When I am in Congress, I will fight to restore fiscal responsibility by ending the Bush-Wilson tax giveaways to billionaires. This Congress inherited a record budget surplus, but squandered it on billions of dollars in tax breaks for the wealthiest 1.5 percent of Americans. We must also repeal tax cuts and subsidies for the oil industry and the pharmaceutical industry. It is further vital that Congress exercise some oversight over existing contracts in Iraq and the damaged Gulf regions, and stop bleeding money through no-bid contracts to Halliburton. In short, Congress must exercise some basic financial restraint and common sense. We need to restore fiscal responsibility to our country and restore hope to our working families.

What limits, if any, should government impose on women seeking abortions?

I am a mother, a grandmother and a Catholic. And I am pro choice. The decision to have an abortion is always a deeply difficult choice. But abortions will occur and access to reproductive health care services is necessary.

Abortions must be safe, legal and rare.

In the United States we have a culture and a tradition of choice, freedom and personal responsibility. Politicians and government should not play a role in what is a deeply personal, private decision a woman must make with her family and her physician. Every woman deserves the right to choose and to have control over her reproductive health care.

This has been a divisive issue in our country, but we can and must find common ground. We all share the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies. By working together, we can do more to reduce the need for abortion by reducing the number of unintended pregnancies. We can do that by providing access to safe, reliable birth control - like Plan B; age-appropriate sex education; and access to family planning services.

As your congresswoman, I will always vote to provide women and their families the right to make the reproductive health care choices that are right for them - in consultation with their families and their physicians.

What changes, if any, would you make to the No Child Left Behind Act?

As it is written, the so-called No Child Left Behind Act leaves New Mexico children behind. It is time for a change. The legislation must be overhauled with a focus our children's needs. First, the legislation must be fully funded. As an unfunded mandate, it now puts an unreasonable financial burden on our state. It is also necessary to revisit the Adequate Yearly Progress measurement, which does not accurately measure the progress of our students. By judging the progress of a school by successive classes rather than tracking the progress of students, it places schools at the mercy of being evaluated based on forces they cannot control. For example, testing fifth graders in 2004, then the fifth graders in 2005 does not provide a good sense of how a school is doing; testing the third graders in 2003, then measuring their progress as fourth graders in 2004, then as fifth graders in 2005, for example, provides a better measure of how a school is doing.

Finally, testing has created a system where teachers must sacrifice time spent on critical social studies and science curricula in order to teach to the reading and math tests. Replacing education with evaluation will not serve our children and our nation well in the long-term.

Under what conditions would you support an increase in the minimum wage?

I will support any clean, straight up-or-down vote on a federal minimum wage increase. A hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay. I have always advocated for better wages for workers. What's more, when I am elected to Congress, I will never vote for an increase in my salary until the Congress has raised the salaries of working New Mexicans.

What kind of campaign finance reform do you support?

I have always supporting public financing of campaigns and have held my campaigns to the highest ethical standards. When I am in Congress, I will fight for enforcement of current campaign finance law, I will vote for campaign finance reform and lobbying reform that takes the special interests out of the business of writing legislation and buy votes. And I will continue my fight for public financing so that corporate special interests won't be the only voices heard in Washington. It is time for a change.