You can download a printable copy of Eric's issues booklet here.

Families are feeling the crunch at the pumps and we simply cannot drill our way out of this oil crisis. The time to enact an energy policy with real requirements and real goals is now. I propose the following five steps on the path to true energy independence.

1. Stop spending our tax dollar on Big Oil handouts. Start investing in the accelerated development of hybrid, low cost automobiles, as a national priority.
2. Invest in Clean Energy Sources.
3. Raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for vehicle emissions to 50 miles per gallon by no later than 2020.
4. Protect our strategic oil reserve.
5. Let each coastal state decide whether or not to drill offshore.

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Science has more than proven that global climate change is a real and present danger to future generations. The subsequent logical step is to make significant and immediate changes to our policies with the purpose of protecting our environment. While many Big Oil insiders insist that climate change is not a reality or is merely the result of natural cycles, it is clear that human activity is the primary cause of this environmental phenomenon. This is not an issue of left versus right, liberal versus conservative, or Democrat versus Republican. This is an issue of saving our planet and we simply cannot play politics with the facts.

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Predatory lending, outrageous interest rates and unfair college loans are out of control. Today, if you so much as miss one credit card payment by a single day, your mandatory minimum interest rate could skyrocket to 30% on all of your credit cards. This is a result of the now infamous bankruptcy bill that was written for the lending industry by the lending industry without regard for the reality that half of the Americans who go into bankruptcy do so because they are overwhelmed by a terminal or acute care medical situation.

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My wife, Beverly, and I are parents of two teenagers in high school, and like all parents, we want the best possible education for our children. All our children deserve a quality education that will allow them to reach their highest potential. However, far too many of them are not getting that chance today. Our most at-risk students are trapped in failing, impoverished schools, those who make it to college graduate under a mountain of debt, and for those in the lowest incomes, the staggering cost can put a college education out of reach.

Education is the cornerstone of our culture and our economy, and the key to unlocking our potential as a region. America has made a long-standing promise to educate every child. We have an obligation to honor that promise and give every child the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential. The current administration is failing to keep that promise. Education is also a jobs issue. When Toyota decided in June 2005 to locate a new auto assembly plant (and 1,300 new jobs) in Ontario, Canada, over several southern states that had offered multi-million-dollar incentive packages, one of the big reasons cited was the education level of the Canadian workforce.

My education platform, in a nutshell:
- Fully fund and fix "No Child Left Behind"
-Implement proven programs like "Success for All"
- No taxpayer money to private schools via voucher programs
- Raise the Pell Grant to at least $5,100

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As a twenty-four year veteran of the U.S. Navy I have long experience with firearms, ranging from my father's old .22 rifle to the canons on the deck of the USS New Jersey. I took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution, and that includes the 2nd Amendment.

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The U.S. health care system is in crisis. I know this from personal experience as a cancer patient and from my time as a cancer outreach worker, long hours spent listening to extraordinary working Americans with serious health concerns. I had the eye-opening experience of touring the country as a cancer outreach specialist. I learned, much to my dismay, that hundreds of thousands of families across this country are forced to make incredible sacrifices in order to afford necessary medical attention. But actually, it's worse than that.

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Homeland Security is more than a military issue. It is, or should be, a balance: equal parts "preventive medicine" and "emergency room." Sadly, our resources for investing in needed Homeland Security initiatives have been diverted to fund the war in Iraq, a colossal misjudgment on the part of the Bush Administration, and rubber-stamp Republican Congressional representatives should be held accountable by voters.

True Homeland Security is more than a military and "intelligence" matter anyway. Hurricane
Katrina showed us all how badly prepared we are for a major disaster. The Administration's reorganization of the Federal emergency response system following the attacks of 9/11 was put to the test in New Orleans -- and it failed. And recovery efforts in the year since have been dismally inadequate. Despite these clear failures of government and leadership, for six years Congress voted repeatedly to reject calls for investigation and oversight, and refused to hold the Administration accountable.

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"Immigrant" is part of who we are as Americans, a melting pot from the beginning. People have come here to escape persecution -- religious, racial, political; to live in a place that is open and inclusive; to have a shot at the American dream. My own grandparents came here through Ellis Island. But clearly, we face a new problem: a growing wave of illegal immigration. It's a serious problem, for one thing because it can affect national security. It's also a complicated economic problem.

The biggest problem, though, is that the Bush administration and Congress have only just now discovered it, and suddenly immigration is on everyone's agenda. After years of looking the other way as illegal immigration exploded, this Administration is manufacturing yet another crisis to divert attention from its multitude of failures, particularly in Iraq. And their "solutions" won't even begin to solve the problem, which has become institutionalized at multiple levels in our society, especially the economy.

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The Iraq war was a bill-of-goods sold to the American people on the basis of misinformation and political positioning, and we need to remember how we got into this terrible mess in order to get out of it. And whatever the original goals, we're now less secure, not more. Americans will hold the President, the civilian Pentagon leadership, and the entire Republican-dominated U.S. Congress accountable.
There are three key components to my position on Iraq:

• -- A Political Solution: Like Bosnia
• -- An Exit Strategy: Out in less than 24 Months
• -- Accountability: The Key to the Future

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I know first-hand how critically important a good job is. I moved to Corning in 2001, and four months later I lost my job. I know exactly what it means to get sick, lose your job, and have bills you can't pay. We've had some pockets of success in the 29th District, but the reality is that over the last 3-1/2 years we've lost more than 10,000 jobs. By any measure we're in serious trouble, and two or three addictive Washington pork-barrel hand-outs aren't going to be enough. We need major change, now. We need more good, living wage jobs -- and lots of them.

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I spent 24 years in the Navy, often in hostile conditions, defending our country. Much of my military career was spent in the Middle East. When the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed in 1983, my roommate from the Naval Academy died inside. In the 1990s, I worked for General Wesley Clark, NATO Commander, who helped settle the conflict in Bosnia. Today, we spend billions of dollars every week in Iraq, on their national security, while much of the work to make America safe is still not done. As we pass each new anniversary of September 11, for example, we should be asking our government, every day, "Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden?"

True national security depends upon far more than just the bombs on the wings of an airplane, or cowboy bluster in front of a TV camera. It comes from a combination of all our national strengths -- military, economic, cultural, and diplomatic. I see several urgent tasks undone -- along with extracting our forces from the unnecessary mess in Iraq -- that I will fight for in Congress.

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I believe that abortion should be safe, legal, and above all, rare, and I am fully committed to using all the political and social means available to reduce its frequency. At the same time, I am concerned about the increasing intrusion of government into the private lives, the family and medical affairs, of American families. And in this extremely difficult area, many of us find ourselves locked into hard, polarized positions on this issue, and that reduces our ability to find common ground and take positive steps to solve the problem.

Reproductive rights are one of the most profoundly difficult and divisive public policy issues facing American leaders today. The debate is often framed in a polarized, either/or way, "right to life" or "pro choice." The issue divides friends and families, and for many it's the single issue on which they vote.

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I am absolutely "pro-cure." Stem cell studies are the most promising area of medical research to come along in decades, offering hope to millions who suffer from chronic diseases like Diabetes, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. We need this research to save lives. I recognize that this issue has been highly politicized, with the Administration and some supporters in Congress (Mr. Kuhl included) seeking to exploit this issue for political gain, but believe that we must do all we can to find critical cures. This is too important to let politics get in the way of saving lives.

• I will vote "YES" on any bill like H.R. 810, which expands federal support for stem cell research in ethical ways, and I will lead the fight to override any veto. Period.

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Fiscal policy under the Bush Administration is nothing less than an organized assault on the middle- and working-class. With one hand they gave to the rich when no one was looking, and with the other they cut programs for the poor, the working and middle class, and veterans. And they've salted the land with hidden taxes that make it all possible. This is a sham, it runs contrary to American values, it's just plain wrong -- and it's going to be hard work to undo the damage.

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As far as I'm concerned, "Support the Troops" is a serious, long-term commitment, not just a slogan -- and Congress plays a crucial role here. Today, even as our soldiers are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan, the administration has instituted a cynical policy of quietly cutting veterans' benefits in almost every area. I will press the fight for fair treatment of men and women in uniform, and their families, who have made such enormous sacrifices to serve their country. I'm making a set of ironclad commitments to veterans for improvements in health care, financial and educational support.

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On August 5th of 2007, President Bush signed into law the Protect America Act of 2007, a bill which was designed to rewrite the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. This bill became a necessity for the Republican Leadership following the revelation that President Bush had enacted the National Security Association (NSA) to illegally spy on American citizens without a warrant and without going before a secret FISA Court.

When we look at specific details of the original FISA bill in 1978, the Government did what was necessary to protect Americans from terrorist attacks while maintaining the Fourth Amendment which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. FISA 1978 required the government to secure a warrant from secret FISA courts to wiretap anyone within the United States, however in the case of an "emergency," they could commence surveillance before obtaining a warrant. However, the follow on requirement was that enforcement agencies would then have to return within 72 hours to present their case to a secret FISA court to receive approval and continue surveillance. Since 1978, these retroactive requests have only been denied a handful of times -- and most agreed that the system worked. I believe that this was a fair and safe way to walk the line between protecting American citizens and the rights guaranteed to all of us by the Bill of Rights.

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