The 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments and serve on committees. District 23 stretches from El Paso’s Lower Valley through West Texas to San Antonio. U.S. representatives get paid $174,000 per year and serve two-year terms.
Who’s running for this seat?
Lee Bausinger, 54, a Democrat, is a chemical engineer.
Santos Limon, 50, a Democrat, is a civil engineer and small business owner.
Candidate Questionnaires
Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 100 words. Responses have been lightly edited for grammar.
Lee Bausinger: Increased staffing of judges and support staff to more quickly interview and process people, perform background checks, etc. increased funding of humanitarian support for blankets and supplies to create a “welcome home” atmosphere instead of the current “stay out” message America is sending.
Santos Limon: We need federal immigration judges at the border. We must have Immigration reform.
Lee Bausinger: Increase commercial entry capacity. More staffing for customs inspections and coordination with my political counterpart in Mexico to find solutions to bottlenecks seen in both directions, not just those headed north.
Santos Limon: Economic development must be a priority. Promote manufacturing with incentives and utilize all federal government programs such as Port Authority .
Lee Bausinger: Setting a legally binding, hard deadline. Creating a law that will not allow non-budgetary issues and spending to be part of the process, a more formal bill amendment procedure and deadline to prevent last minute additions from derailing the process.
Santos Limon: Congress must work on a bipartisan 10-year bill that would balance the federal budget over the next decade. By balancing our federal budget we will be cutting our nation’s deficit by more than $15 trillion during a period alone.
Lee Bausinger: Inflation is currently reasonably low. The government has little influence available to it. Encouraging open trade will help, a bit. Infrastructure improvements can also help along with energy sector investments.
Santos Limon: The Inflation Reduction Act must be reform to work for the people. We also must use our federal reserves in times of need knowing that our reserves alone can not fix inflation.
Lee Bausinger: Yes. International agreements are being negatively impacted and U.S. credibility is falling. Mexico is an important ally and the constitution mandates the federal government is solely responsible for international agreements. It is dangerous and constitutionally illegal for Abbott to interfere in this way.
Santos Limon: YES..!! It’s the duty of our federal government, not the state’s.
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The post Meet the Democratic U.S. representative candidates for District 23 in March 5 primary appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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